Jenny Lee’s Anna K is a modern retelling of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, with Anna K being called by her older brother to come and help him after his girlfriend finds out he’s been cheating on her.
Even though we aren’t introduced to Anna beyond being mentioned in these first 3 chapters, it has one of my favourite writing styles. Each chapter focuses on a different character and goes so far as to introduce all of their backstories in that chapter in the context of the wider plot, something that’s also used in Catch-22, which I loved.
In this first look, we’re immediately greeted with a whole cast list, which is perfect for an adaptation of a Russian classic, which always seem to have a massive cast of characters. I love that Jenny Lee has adapted the cast for a more diverse time, and that they still embody the selfishness of the social elite in contrast to the ‘have nots’, one of my favourite narrative decisions.
Changing the setting from Russia to the social elite of America is such an interesting take. The writing and detailing of the world reminds me of Gossip Girl in the best way, in showing how unbearable the gossip and lives of these people can be.
There’s also such a stark contrast in the way this is written: it has ‘adamantly opposed’ right next to the abbreviated ‘fb’, and it works. Rather than taking you out of the story with colloquialisms that may be outdated, it paints a picture of society at this exact moment of time the story is being told, which is the best way to use modern slang.
A strong beginning, I’ll definitely be reading the full novel!
Even though we aren’t introduced to Anna beyond being mentioned in these first 3 chapters, it has one of my favourite writing styles. Each chapter focuses on a different character and goes so far as to introduce all of their backstories in that chapter in the context of the wider plot, something that’s also used in Catch-22, which I loved.
In this first look, we’re immediately greeted with a whole cast list, which is perfect for an adaptation of a Russian classic, which always seem to have a massive cast of characters. I love that Jenny Lee has adapted the cast for a more diverse time, and that they still embody the selfishness of the social elite in contrast to the ‘have nots’, one of my favourite narrative decisions.
Changing the setting from Russia to the social elite of America is such an interesting take. The writing and detailing of the world reminds me of Gossip Girl in the best way, in showing how unbearable the gossip and lives of these people can be.
There’s also such a stark contrast in the way this is written: it has ‘adamantly opposed’ right next to the abbreviated ‘fb’, and it works. Rather than taking you out of the story with colloquialisms that may be outdated, it paints a picture of society at this exact moment of time the story is being told, which is the best way to use modern slang.
A strong beginning, I’ll definitely be reading the full novel!