Anna Karenina

Respect was invented to cover the empty space where love should be

Synopsis: 800+ pages and dozens of major characters. Synopsis? That’s harder than actually reading it! Anna Arkadyevna married Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, a man two decades older than she, and dutifully produced a son. She settled into a comfortable life with no financial worries, enjoying beautiful clothes and a busy social life. Things could have gone on nicely, but she had the misfortune of falling in love with someone who wasn’t her husband. A messy mid life crisis to say the least. Count Vronsky creates the drama! The second major narrative thread involves Levin, the prosperous farmer who marries a distant relative of Anna’s and is struggling to figure out the purpose of life. Impossible to truly summarize as human lives are expansive.

Corey’s Review: This book is not for the faint of heart. I think it took me 6 months to finish it. It is said to be one of the greatest literary works of all time. I think it’s because there are so many emotions; love, loss and death, that people can relate to. I remember calling my mom when I was in college and told her that this novel was basically like One Tree Hill, except it is set in imperial Russia. I enjoyed the overall story line, but I will admit It was not an easy read. It is one of those books you have to read because One thing I vividly remember thinking was how upsetting it was that Anna let two men essentially ruin her life. There were multiple points throughout the story I felt sorry for her. This is a book you should read once in your lifetime, but I do not think I will re-read this. I have a feeling my mom will disagree with me. She is extra smart and wise like that.

Rating: 4/5

Nicholette’s Review: Corey, did you set me up? Because I have actually read this twice! I had a period in my twenties of voraciously consuming Russian literature from War and Peace, to Anna Karenina, The Brothers Karamozov, and others. I then read this again much later in life. I liked it even better the second time around. It’s everything you would think, part soap opera, drama, incredible character development, and an interesting commentary on the modernization of Russia. However, at its heart, it is the story of Anna, who left her comfortable life as wife and mother to take up an extramarital affair and has a baby out of wedlock. She needed to have some passion in her life, not just comfort, but sadly, it didn’t work out so well for her. It’s quite exasperating to see the double standard that governs how the story plays out. One thousand percent worthy of its acclaim, it’s an amazing novel.

Rating: 5/5

Menu: Naturally, we would want to pick something classically Russian to accompany this masterpiece of Russian literature. I thought of Russian Tea Cakes, which are also sometimes called Mexican wedding cookies, snowballs, or other names. Anything that can be called both Russian or Mexican seems to have a dubious ethnic heritage. Are Russian Tea Cakes actually Russian? I took to Google to try and find out. I didn’t get an answer but ultimately decided, who cares? They are delicious! Who wouldn’t want wonderful cookies?

Review: One of my favorite cookies ever, 5/5.

Method:

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

In a medium bowl, cream butter, vanilla, almond extract until smooth. Combine 6 tablespoons confectioners sugar and flour, stir into the butter until blended. Mix in chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners sugar.