On last week’s post,
I rediscovered a book that I had read as a teenager and mentioned that I
should read other books again, too, to have a more mature view on them. But
there are books I’ll never read again. One of them is Anna Karenina by Leo
Tolstoy.
Anna Karenina is a
good book; great even, if you understand its complexity. I got immersed in the
story and couldn’t put it down. I had no idea what to expect so I didn’t expect
anything – except a happy ending like everything I had read so far had had. In
hindsight, I was maybe too young to read it, but it was on my parents’ shelf and
there were no limitations to what I was allowed to read.
There are many layers
to Anna Karenina, cultural, political and historical, that a fourteen-year-old
simply couldn’t grasp properly. I was fascinated by everything I read, and I’m
sure I learned a lot, especially about the restrictions governing a woman’s
life. Mostly, however, I read it as a romance.
And we all know how
that romance ends.
I believe Anna
Karenina was my first encounter with a book that didn’t end the way I wanted it
to. It certainly was the one to make a lasting impression. I had lived through
the incredible love story of Anna and Vronsky, only to be bitterly
disappointed. I couldn’t quite comprehend what happened on that railway
station; I definitely couldn’t predict Anna’s choice. I was flabbergasted and
left wanting a different ending.
I remember being very
angry with the book. I felt cheated out of my happy ending. Moreover, the feeling
lasted beyond that book. I wouldn’t pick up a book until I was reasonably sure
it would end well. Coping with the emotional stress of a tragedy was beyond my mental capacity.
I read books that had no romance in them whatsoever; all Agatha Christie books
that I could find, for example, their predictable logic and guaranteed ending
exactly what I wanted from a book. It took a couple of years before I ventured
to read another Russian classic. This time, however, I knew what to expect and
the impact wasn’t as profound.
I’ve seen a couple of
movie adaptations of Anna Karenina, but knowing how the story will end has
guaranteed that I go in feeling apprehensive. The ending isn’t such a shock,
but the experience is never enjoyable. I haven’t seen the latest version – nor
shall I. I haven’t quite recovered from the book yet.
