Disclaimer: I’m no literary critic or someone trained in understanding the various literary elements in fiction. Thus this review is simply my experience of reading this novel and not a commentary on the writer’s writing style. Many a times you might find my descriptions incorrect and not in line with the views of literary critics. So please do not quote or refer to this review in any literary analysis of the book.
Yes, I read a classic.
Well, if you go to any blogs about the top romance novels, this name is definitely going to pop in that list somewhere. So of course I had every intention to read this…someday…
I’ve had it in my reading list for over a year now but never could bring myself to start a lengthy classic. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against classics. I have read a few in the past and some, or at least one, of my favourite books of all times is a classic: Gone With the Wind. I do think that the writing style of classics is really good and it creates such vivid visualizations in your mind that you are likely to forget what your own spouse wore to your wedding, but remember what Scarlett O’Hara wore to each party she attended. But the thing is that to remember those things and daydream about those scenes later in life, one needs to get through long and at times unnecessary pages of commentary about everything related to those times. And being someone who can’t skip even a sentence while reading novels, this can prove a bit tedious.
Anna Karenina, in that sense, is a perfect classic. The writing style is one of a kind, with some extremely witty and engaging sentences. You don’t just get a glimpse into the lives of the 7 – 8 characters, you look at their life from their eyes. What goes on in the minds of even some of the side characters is so explicitly presented that you are compelled to create an image of even the butler, the coachman and the house maid.
I’ll have to give it to Tolstoy, this story gave me the most fantastical romantic proposal scenes that I have ever read. And I thought that men can’t write romantic scenes as well as women… (Getting excited to know what that scene is? Well…you’ll have to read half of the book to get there…that would be roughly 500 pages I suppose…)Trust me, the scene is so childish, yet so beautiful… brings a smile to my face whenever I think of it.
It’s Tolstoy so don’t expect just romance when you start this book after coming across its name in the top 10 romantic novels of all times’ list. Once you finish this book, you would be qualified to participate in intellectual discussions about the political scenario, the agriculture and the infrastructure development in 19th century Russia.
Over all, it is what it is… a classic. So if you are somebody who can’t read a novel for more than two days, don’t attempt this one. If you generally enjoy reading classics and are tired of the whole YA movement in romance fiction, give this a try.
Related links:
