Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy (1873)

Anna Karenina

I picked up this book immediately after reading Our Mutual Friend, and by a strange coincidence it appears Tolstoy did the same when writing it. He makes an early reference to an obscure character from Dickens’ dark tale, and then proceeds to give us a story which shares its unusual structure as we follow the largely unrelated life stories of the eponymous Anna and of the lovable but overly analytical Konstantin Levin.

Levin’s part of the story is mostly a gentle affair, as he experiences life ups and downs while continuously wrestling with deep philosophical questions of right and wrong, the meaning of existence, and his relationship with his land and the peasants who work on it. He marries a nice girl and eventually pulls himself together to provide a happy ending of sorts.

Anna Karenina’s section is very different. She cheats on her husband, abandons her child and then finds that the life of an adulteress is not easy in 19^th century Russia. Unable to find any easy answers to her problems she eventually spirals towards depression, madness and suicide. It would have been easy for Tolstoy to awaken our sympathy for Anna by making her a better mother, or her husband an intolerable monster but he avoids going down this route. One of Anna’s chief grievances against her spouse, for example, is that he has sticking out ears.

I found myself warming to Anna less and less as the story progressed, despite her beauty, intelligence and charm, and it was only in the very last moments of her life that I found myself suddenly feeling sorry for her – if this was Tolstoy’s aim he achieves it brilliantly. What he does less well is the ending of the book, which in my opinion should have closed with Anna’s death. Instead, in a manner reminiscent of War and Peace, we have to wade through another hundred pages of philosophical waffle in order to find out what happens to Levin (he cheers up a bit).

Another feature which the book shares with Tolstoy’s best known work is the concept of having multiple characters with the same name. I thought he may have done this almost by accident with the many Nikolays of War and Peace, but there is no excuse for giving Anna’s husband and lover the same first name - come on Tolstoy!

Rating: 7/10 – decent effort with a few flaws

Other Resources for this Book:

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- The Bookshelf Review

 

The Woman Who Died A Lot, Jasper Fforde (2012)

I am a massive Thursday Next fan, to the extent that I shed a tear when Thursday died aged 120 at the end of her 4th book, seemingly never to return. Luckily Jasper Fforde doesn't follow the normal rules of literature and Thursday was soon back for more adventures.

As usual the Goliath corporation are up to no good, trying to make money out of the tragic smiting of Swindon by an all powerful deity. It's up to Thursday to stop them in an enjoyable romp involving time travel, cloning and librarians who shoot to kill (as authorised by the "Shush" law).

I found this book more enjoyable than its 2 predecessors, the best since the original (classic) series of 4 books. Fforde has been writing various other books recently - not featuring Thursday Next - all of which are worth reading, but the literary detective remains his finest creation. Keep 'em coming Jasper :)

Rating: 7/10 - the 4th best of the seven in the series.

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (1864)

Our Mutual Friend is sometimes considered to be an under appreciated gem amongst Dickens' better known works, so I had high expectations.

The book opens with a sinister and brooding scene that reminded me at once of another of his later works, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The story then shifts rapidly to a humorously satirical portrayal of the Veneerings, a couple of superficial social climbers whose many dinner parties provide the setting for several chapters of the book. The blend of dark tragedy with genuinely comical moments continues throughout an enjoyable story.

If one can take a single message away from this book it would be that love is more important than money, and this point is hammered home fairly hard by the author.

The book follows the largely unrelated fortunes of Lizzie Hexam and John Rokesmith, whose lives are briefly linked when Lizzie's father is wrongly accused of John's murder. Both strands of the tale become love stories as Lizzie falls for an indolent lawyer far above her lowly station, while John pursues Bella - a girl selected for him (for reasons unknown) by his father during his unhappy childhood.

Lizzie's story makes grim reading as we see her lose her father and then attract the attentions of an unhinged stalker, whose obsessive passion forces her to flee London. Meanwhile, John wins Bella's heart while featuring in a real collectors' item - a truly surprising Dickensian plot twist.

I enjoyed Lizzie's half of the book most. Dickens is so busy fooling is with John that by necessity we can't really get to know him, and the way he deceives his young wife "for her own good" is rather unsavoury to a modern reader. That said, the book has one of the author's greatest supporting casts including one of my all time favourites (Jenny Wren). It's a well-written page turner that falls just sort of greatness.

 

Rating: 7/10 - no Oliver Twist, but well worth reading

 

Up Next: Anna Karenina - I'm hoping for War and Peace without all that boring "War" nonsense.