Recently, I was fortunate enough to receive a windfall in the form of book vouchers to a nearby bookstore. I didn’t want to spend all the money on random stuff, or the latest bestsellers, instead I felt very much the need to stretch my mind, read things that would definitely shape my thoughts and ideas, feel again as if I was in my teens and discovering the world of good writing. So much of what we do nowadays is dictated by quick fixes, and I feel as though my mind has turned to mush.
It was time to do some strengthening, it was time to have a reading list. And so, my next couple of columns are going to be about my journey with this list, about how I tried in my late 20s to change the way I read.
So, I picked up a leather bound copy of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I first read Tolstoy when I was 14, War And Peace, to be exact, and while I enjoyed it, I admit I don’t remember much beyond the very long Russian names. Was Anna Karenina going to be the same? It was recommended on no less than three ‘Books To Read Before You Die’ lists in magazines, and the iconic first line: “All happy families resemble one another, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” has been passed down through history.
It’s a bit daunting to read Tolstoy, also I felt somewhat pretentious. It’s the sort of book you trot out at cocktail parties, talking about your love for the Russians, it’s a book that everyone claims to be familiar with, but I bet, like me, a lot of people haven’t even gone through it. I began Tolstoy with a faint heart, but it was a Sunday afternoon and I hadn’t much else to do.
Surprisingly, I fell right into it. It begins with a family quarrel, a man has just cheated on his wife and needs some way to make it up to her. The characters, once you learn how to tell them apart, are vivid and clear and life in Russia back then seems not very different from life in India now. For instance, the mother of a young Princess is concerned about her daughter’s marital status, but knows that no one arranges marriages any more and her daughter must make her own choices.
It’s a cumbersome book to take to bed with you, but bed is where I do most of my reading, and Tolstoy is known as a great writer for a reason. His observations about people and society are spot on, and now, when I am older, it’s a lot easier to keep all the Russian names straight.
That’s my reading list for this week. If you haven’t read Tolstoy yet, do. It may look scary, but I assure you, the feeling you will have having reached the end will be completely worth it.
The columnist is an author