#28 - Anna Karenina

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." The first line of Anna Karenina may be its most well-known part, but it's also probably one of the only parts I truly loved. Before my first Russian book Crime and Punishment, I was concerned about how heavy and dreary it was going to be, and was instead happily surprised by an excellent psychological thriller. However, after my second Russian book, Anna Karenina, the score stands tied at one apiece. While C + P was about Russians killing and dealing with the ramifications of that, Anna Karenina is about Russians cheating and dealing with the ramifications of THAT. The result is a much thicker, slower read, filled with Austen-esque inner monologues on the thoughts behind the words during the dance with that boy at the ball last week at this princess' house. The writing still carries the same realist style of the other Russians, something that I'm coming more and more to terms with as I move forward. It's amazing how out of the driest language they can still create a vivid picture, like the pointillism of writing.

There's something in how all of the old books were written - every author takes the opportunity to fill their empty spaces with essays on whatever tickles their fancy. When I thought it was just Melville in Moby Dick I shrugged, figuring him to just be pretentious. But then long novel after long novel started containing passages and entire chapters on philosophy, economics, religion, history and all manner of academic topics. Discussions amongst people at parties are indepth analyses of artists, authors and plays - with the winner of the argument always furthering the agenda of the author himself. This sort of philandering is, I suppose, acceptable when you consider that these were published in serial magazines, and these magazines were often one of the only sources of new media available for consumption, and so had to try and cater to all audiences.

That said, to talk about the actual book. This was phenomenally slow going from the start, and unlike so many of the other books on the list, it didn't pick up as it went on. Only through sheer force of will did I pull myself through the books - procrastinating by studying and then forcing myself to go for another round. The book revolved around a group of noble Russian families and their various liaisons, and climaxed with the violent suicide of the title Anna Arkadyevna Karenina. It was a fine plot, strong and passionate characters, and showed all of the stages of infatuation, love and loss that happen in real life. I simply did not enjoy it throughout, and while many parts were well written, it was lost upon me as an entire work. On the other hand, it got me to learn my Russified name, Nikolay Iosefovitch - Kolya for short.

6/10