December Classics Club Meme Question

What is your favorite classic book?

The Classics Club originally asked this question in August 2012 and my answer was Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. I thought for this question I’d pick another one of my favorites. I’m going to venture into Russian territory for this one for two reasons.

1) I think that Russian lit is incredibly intimidating for some people (it was for me!)

2) I read this book before I started blogging and so I’ve never written about it on the blog.  

So the book in question… Anna Karenina. This one was an unexpected delight for me. I was expecting a melodramatic romance and lots of “woe is me” bits. Instead I found a novel that delved into personal happiness vs. social expectations, religion, and Russian culture.

The booked is packed with interesting characters, only one of which is mentioned in the title. Anna might be the headliner, but she’s certainly not the only act. The book really parallels the lives and journeys of two characters, Anna and Levin. At the beginning of the book Anna is optimistic. She travels to visit her family to help her brother put his marriage back together. By the end of the book her life has been thrown upside down and she loses her faith.

Levin on the other hand is awkward and pessimistic. He’s in love, but has no idea how to go about wooing the woman he’s interested in. Throughout the book he finds solace in hard labor. Through his struggles and trails he finds his faith. He learns the meaning of true love and understands the difference a good woman makes to his life. Both characters seem to do a complete 180 by the end of the novel.

There is so much more that I’m not even touching on. Tolstoy deals with the social customs at the time, the ease at which people can be welcomed or shunned from society and the rights women didn’t have during that time period, etc. He makes the reader consider the difference between momentary bliss and the sometimes sedate, but long-lasting joy of family, but at the same time he never makes it feel like a preachy cautionary tale.

If you’re thinking about trying Tolstoy I would highly recommend starting here. There are fewer major characters than there are in War and Peace and the plot is easier to follow.

Join in the fun here. 

Top Ten Favorite Romances

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for my Top Ten Favorite Romances. There will be some SPOILERS if you haven’t read these books.

1) Anne and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion – Their love withstands years of separation and rekindles in the most beautiful way.

2) Anne and Gilbert in the Anne of Green Gables series – I love that we get to see their whole relationship, from courtship through marriage and children throughout the series.

3) Henry and Clare in The Time Traveler’s Wife – Spanning almost Clare’s entire life, these two had a romance that defied fate.

4) Jo and Professor Bhaer in Little Women – I know most people rooted for Laurie and Jo, but re-reading this as an adult made me fall in love with Bhaer along with Jo. They were perfectly suited for each other and they both thought they would probably never find love.

5) Thursday and Landon in the Thursday Next series – What would you do if the man you loved was completely erased from existence? Thursday has to deal with this, yet the books are still hilarious.

6) Levin and Kitty in Anna Karenina – Sure, Anna’s romance is more dramatic, but Levin and Kitty were always my favorite. Their relationship was not an easy one. They both had to mature before they could be together. Their relationship shows that real love is hard work, but worth every second of it!

7) Lucy and George in A Room with a View – The ultimate question in a good romance; do you marry the sensible guy or do you throw caution to the wind and follow your heart? This book has one of the best examples of this kind of romance that I’ve ever read. Plus, they meet in Florence, which is just a lovely bonus.

8) Marco and Celia in The Night Circus – A ridiculously difficult obstacle to overcome, magic in the air, what more could you want?

9) Arwen and Aragorn in Lord of the Rings – A romance that was relegated to the Appendix for the most part, but undoubtedly swoon-worthy. To be together Arwen must give up eternal life, but she knows that a short lifetime with him is better than an eternity without him.

10) Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester – Of course they made my list! Their love is undeniable, yet Jane still walks away because she won’t compromise her belief system for any man. Then comes one of literature’s most irresistible lines … “Reader, I married him.”

Image from here.