Tolstoy & Karenina

I’ve been on a reading freeze of sorts. Normally having books lined up, very little is interesting now. I really don’t know what I am in the mood for – action, romance, what? With a confused mind, I drifted in the library last week, looking for anything that would be exciting.

Came across Coehlo’s new book O Aleph but it was on a week express ride. Not to say I wouldn’t have been able to finish but I already owe the library $9.50 and if this book was late and I was fined again; after $10 you are not issued any books. So why not pay the fine, one would ask? Well…I don’t know. Someday I will; until then I hang at the $9.50 charge.

After much disinterested browsing, I stumbled upon the stack of books which display the OBC or Oprah’s Book Club books. By no means am I a follower but she has some interesting books and when devoid of ideas, it could be a good place to look. One of the first ones I saw was Say You’re One of Them. I diligently read these short stories when they were released; partly due to the praise they received and partly because of their origin. The fictional stories were written in Nigeria and talked about characters like us and the daily difficulties life threw at them. One was about 2 kids – who had to escape from being sold, another one about a family that had to escape a bloody riot. The subjects were good, but the writing was really dry and left me completely unimpressed. So you see, OBC is not completely dependable.

My eyes, however, fell on a great author whose work I’ve been meaning to read for a while – Leo Tolstoy. His Anna Karenina lay on the shelf inviting me to read. We’ve all heard about this classic but I didn’t know much about it so I decided to dive into the path less taken; especially since reading Fall of Giants; I’ve been completely mesmerized with Germany & Russia!

 It’s a story about a rich lady Anna Karenina, who according to people who view her is living the perfect life – a rich husband, good standing in society and a lovely boy – but falls haplessly in love with someone else. Along with the drama, the story promises to bring to light more about Russian history and politics, everything that appeals to me right now!

So far the story is still developing; Anna Karenina is visiting her husband and has met this man she is supposed to fall in love with. But right now, that man is busy wooing someone else; albeit he has already noticed Anna Karenina.

No impressions – good or bad – about the story yet but I am sure that will change soon. Let’s see if Anna destroys her life (because in those days when you stepped out of the line, that’s pretty much what happened) or resigns herself to her fate (which she doesn’t sound like at all). But I am refraining from any judgment, will wait for time to divulge her secrets to me!