The night our book club debated whether Anne of Green Gables was a secret anarchist

Last Wednesday at the community center on Elm Street, seven of us got into a heated argument about Anne Shirley's political leanings. The whole thing started when Barbara asked if Anne's refusal to apologize to Mrs. Lynde was a sign of early rebelliousness. Within twenty minutes, someone had pulled out a printed copy of the Communist Manifesto and another person was arguing that Anne was actually a capitalist for starting her own garden business. We never did settle it, but Jim's wife came looking for him at 10 PM because he forgot to pick up milk. Has anyone else had a book club debate spiral completely off the rails like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_linda1mo ago

Wait, someone brought the Communist Manifesto to a book club meeting?

the_wesley1mo ago

Is this the part where I admit I'd probably bring snacks to that meeting, @the_linda?

the_jana1mo ago

And really that tracks because half the stuff we call "serious" is just personal preference dressed up in theory anyway.

lewis.terry1mo ago

Bring a six-pack of cheap lager and see how long it takes for someone to call petit-bourgeois privilege, right? I'm just imagining the discussion going off the rails over whether Taco Tuesday is a bourgeois construct or just a solid meal deal. Honestly, a manifesto at a book club feels like the person was either really committed or forgot to check the reading list and grabbed the first thing off their shelf. Either way, it beats the time someone brought a Chuck Tingle novel to our sci-fi group, which was a whole different kind of weird.