Quotables v.3 The Way To Fairyland
November 6, 2009
Once upon at time I’d do Quotables on Saturdays. It lasted two straight weeks. Oops. You see the problem is that Quotables are mysterious specimens that do not act on a schedule. They appear when they want to appear and there’s just nothing you can do about it. They can’t be tamed into obedience to a schedule. So I’m just going to do it whenever the mood strikes.
I was reading this passage from L.M. Montgomery’s The Story Girl earlier this week on the bus and loved it. It’s very Montgomeryish isn’t it?
“I wish there was such as place as fairlyland – and a way to get to get to it,” said Cecily.
“I think there IS such a place – in spite of Uncle Edward,” said the Story Girl dreamily, “and I think there is way of getting there too, if we could only find it.”
Well, the Story Girl was right. There is such a place as fairyland – but only children can find the way to it. And they do not know that it is fairyland until they have grown so old that they forget the way. One bitter day, when they seek it and cannot find it, they realize what they have lost; and that is the tragedy of life. On that day the gates of Eden are shut behind them and the age of gold is over. Henceforth they must dwell in the common light of common day. Only a few, who remain children at heart, can every find that fair, lost path again; and blessed are they above mortals. They, and only they, can bring us tidings from that dear country where we once sojourned and from which we must evermore be exiles. The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland. “
Do you remember the way to fairyland?
November 6th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
That’s lovely! On a walk the other morning, I was thinking about being a kid and always looking for little out-of-the-way secret spots in our neighborhood. This passage captures that feeling perfectly!
Amy Reads Good Books´s last blog ..Book Blogger Holiday Swap
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I grew up in the country so it was about finding the best tree nooks. Or best spots to sit by a stream.
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November 6th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Beautiful. LMM’s prose is sometimes too purple for me, but this is a lovely bit.
Niranjana´s last blog ..Best of 2009 list excludes women writers
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
She can be very purple, especially when she’s writing about/for kids. But when she finds the right balance it’s pretty great.
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November 6th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Montgomery always has wonderful passages like this.
I had forgotten about this one, thanks for reminding me. 
Court´s last blog ..Arabella
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I probably haven’t read The Story Girl since I was a tween or teen. It’s nice to revisit it. Looking forward to reading The Golden Road next, though if I remember correctly I always feel a little sad when I finish it.
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November 8th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Awwww. Yes, that is absolutely Montgomeryish. Like the other commenters say, she can get a bit overwrought in her prose, but I’ve been reading her books so long that it hardly registers as a flaw anymore. Just makes me feel fond of her.
Jenny´s last blog ..The Magicians, Lev Grossman
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sassymonkey Reply:
November 9th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
It’s funny because in this book I do find it bothers me sometimes. There’s lots of storytelling in it (hardly surprising given the title) and I find the language of the stories a bit much at times. But yet at the same time it’s so very her that you can’t help but like her for it.
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