Love is like throwing yourself under a train. You take a literal leap towards something forceful and dangerous knowing the risks and yet, the question is: will you survive? Maybe that was a bad metaphor, but stick with me. Whether you have or have not read or watched the various film adaptations of Leo Tolstoy's tragic love story Anna Karenina, but know the plot, you will definitely appreciate and enjoy Jenny Lee's Anna K. In this modern day retelling of the classic novel, the story is now set in the glittering high society world of New York and Greenwich, Connecticut elite told in spectacular Gossip Girl fashion with a touch of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. The characters have been updated to the present day setting as wealthy and spoiled teenagers, but the doomed love affair and deep emotional drama that comes with it still remains.
Anna K. is practically the darling teenage princess of Manhattan and Greenwich society at only seventeen. Coming from a wealthy and highly regarded family, that includes her beautiful WASP mother, Korean American father, and half-Korean brother, Stephen K., she remains down to earth with grace and poise. She is scandal-free compared to her friends, especially since she is practically engaged to her longtime boyfriend, known as the "Greenwich OG," and Harvard University freshman, Alexander W. That is until she meets infamous playboy, Alexia "Count" Vronsky.
Vronsky is known about town for his notorious hookups and sexual history, whether true or not. Even Kimmie S., the younger fifteen year old sister of Lolly S. who is dating Stephen K., cannot help but fall for his charms despite being aware that Stephen K.'s tutor and childhood friend, Dustin L., is in love with her. The minute Vronsky meets Anna on the train platform of Grand Central Station, he instantly falls head over heels in love with her, forgetting all the women who came before. The feeling is mutual as Anna cannot stop thinking about Vronsky. What unravels is an undeniable love affair that comes with risks and consequences, but also a journey of self discovery and what it means to be a girl following her heart.
I absolutely loved this book! I know I have probably said this for almost all the books I've read and blogged about here, but I genuinely really liked this one. It's a little strange though that it is categorized under Young Adult Fiction, because a lot of the content in this book is pretty mature. Then again, since this did remind me of Gossip Girl, which is a teen based show, I guess it makes sense. I also liked how current the book felt as it references the Variety Blues college scandal, social media, Rick and Morty, and Coachella. I will say though, the fact that young Kimmie did not know what Sixteen Candles is or who Meg Ryan is made me feel really old.
I have not read Anna Karenina, but I did watch the Keira Knightly adaptation when it came out so I knew the basic plot of the story and that she throws herself under a train at the end. After reading Anna K. though I want to go back and read Anna Karenina. I had to Wikipedia some of the characters in the original story just compare and contrast the updated characters in Anna K. I liked a majority of what Jenny Lee did and some of the changes she made, especially with the ending. Before I get to that though, I want to talk about Anna herself as well as some of the characters.
I really liked how in this version Anna is half-Korean. Being Asian myself, we definitely need more Asian representation in all mediums. Fortunately, the book already has a TV adaptation underway. While Anna and Stephen are treated equally among their peers, there were some low-key racial remarks they and even their parents have dealt with. In the beginning alone, when Anna is talking about being half-Korean and half-white to Lolly, she makes a comment about how Anna does not have to worry about shaving because Asians are rarely hairy. It was probably meant to come off as a compliment, but like Anna even I thought it was a questionable racial statement. Anna also mentions how when her parents officially became engaged, her mother's parents threw her an Asian theme engagement party and that during the first few years she was married she received a variety of gifts ranging from chopsticks to kimonos, which is downright highly offensive. Honestly, people can be so ignorant. As Anna puts it "...eventually [her mother] got over it and realized that most people were stupid and had no idea that Asia was divided into many different countries, each with their own distinct histories and cultures." With all that aside though, I liked how Anna - half-Korean and all - is just a normal (if not overtly wealthy) teenage girl and the heroine of this story.
Apart from Anna, Dustin was probably my second favorite character. Being a cinephile as well, I related to his love of movies and referencing them off the cuff. I thought his relationship with Kimmie was the second most interesting plot among the other storylines because how it begins, ends, and then starts over anew, all while dealing with his brother's drug addiction. Speaking of Kimmie, I thought she was the most developed out of all the characters by the book's end. She transforms from a failed figure skater so doe-eyed and hopelessly in love with Vronsky to later a stronger independent young woman finding herself again. I also liked how she confronted him about how she felt about him and that he was unkind with how he handled it, unaware that Anna was listening in and siding with her. In some way, I want to say that she is like the Jenny Humphrey of Anna K. but I think Kimmie becomes her own person no longer fitting into a mold or an identity of what is expected of her.
The book is divided into three parts compared to the original source material that is divided into eight, which I think gives the book an easy natural flow. Part One is primarily set in New York and is all about the beginning of first love and even first heartbreak, where Anna is still high on the pedestal that is about to crack because of her encounter with Vronsky. I also liked how in this part, in lieu of the famous ballroom dance between Anna and Vronsky, we get them intimately dancing at a 90's theme Sweet Sixteen party. The events that happen in Part Two is just like the complicated holiday known as Valentine's Day, where it can be a hit or a miss for anyone single or in a relationship. It is also no coincidence that a lot of the events that transpire for all of the characters happen around this day. Part Three is all about consequences, where Anna and Vronsky's affair as well as Dustin and Kimmie's lives all culminate.
Since this is a modern retelling of a classic, you would probably expect some changes to be made. The ending has the biggest change of them all - one that really surprised me - and one that I approve of. *Spoiler ahead*
As I had mentioned, in the original ending of Anna Karenina, Anna throws herself under the train after being disgraced for her affair with Vronsky and fear that Vronsky will leave her for another woman. In Anna K., Anna is at the forefront of scandal when someone (not Vronsky or Alexander W.) sends out a secretly recorded video of her with Vronsky that goes viral. She ends up taking acid at Coachella, both to enjoy the music festival and to cope with the video, but ends up having hallucinations that Vronsky is cheating on her. With the video released, she becomes shamed and looked down upon by both her peers and even the adults in society, including her father who doted on her over Stephen. In a state of depression, she goes to Grand Central Station, where she first met Vronsky when he helped saved a homeless man's dog on the train tracks. Vronsky follows her and pleads with her to work out their relationship. A scuffle happens and Anna falls on the tracks along with the same homeless man's dog, calling back to the beginning of the book. Vronsky and the homeless man save Anna, but then Vronsky goes on the tracks to save the dog. Just before the train comes, he goes back again to grab the necklace he gave Anna that fell but is hit by the train with his final word being "Anna!"
That ending had me yelling "oh no!" I did not see it coming and I got worried that when Anna fell on the tracks that she was about to meet the same grim fate. The fact that it's Vronsky in the end was shocking if not heartbreaking. In the epilogue, Anna is being sent to attend high school in South Korea until everything blows over. She originally plans to kills herself before her flight so she can be with Vronsky but is stopped when she encounters Natalia, who was dating Dustin's brother before he died. My favorite quote comes up in their exchange, said by Anna, that basically summarizes the ending:
Women have suffered throughout history forever at the hands of men. Why should we suffer in the romance, too? I mean, if we don't have to.
Yes, honestly why should women have to suffer? Anna does not have to die in the end as per written by a man two centuries ago. She unfortunately loses the love of her life though, but at least - and as Natalia notes - she will always know someone once loved her so much. She gets a second chance both in the context of the novel and metaphorically for the character she is based on. I liked how despite all the hardship she faced and the sexist slut shaming she dealt with that she comes out of it hopeful and towards becoming a stronger person. She is no longer tied down to being the perfect girlfriend dating the Greenwich OG or the fallen princess who had an affair with the Count. In the end, she gets to be just her, Anna K., where she can forge her own identity. I think Anna does have a long way to go compared to Kimmie, but if Kimmie can do it then I am pretty sure Anna can too. It's a long way to go, but this is only the beginning. She is only seventeen after all with her whole life ahead of her. *End of spoiler*
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Anna K. and I'm glad that it is this month's book club pick for Marie Claire magazine. There is a bit of everything here for everyone whether you like reading about drama or the lifestyle of the rich and spoiled (I'm looking at you Gossip Girl and Real Housewives fans) or are just a romantic at heart. It's definitely worth a read.
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