Fridays with Anna: Week One

Remember last week, when I swooned about how reasonable the reading schedule for Anna Karenina is? Well, I suppose I still think it is reasonable, but I didn't quite manage to make it to Chapter XX though.

I am, however, greatly enjoying my dates with Anna. Here are the things that stick out to me thus far in my adventure:

1. The sentences are really long, but it works. I don't get lost in the sentences. In fact, I find them to be lovely. They're ridiculously descriptive, and thus far I think these long, comma-filled, descriptive sentences provide fascinating insight into the characters, both past and present.

2. It's not a good book to read in public. I read on the go a lot, but it doesn't work for me with Anna. I need the quiet focus of my apartment. This week has been ridiculously busy, and I just haven't had as much time to read as I like. It's especially annoying when I'm loving The Marriage Plot, enjoying Anna Karenina, and eager to start reading the National Book Award finalists (p.s. it's Friday!)

3. The Oprah bookmark is helpful. I'm not confused about characters yet, but I am using it to jot down some of the character descriptions. I may be reading on my Kindle, but in terms of character mapping, I still keep it in print. The rest of my notes for future Friday posts and the eventual review stay on the Kindle. Speaking of the characters...

4. I like the characters (and they feel like people.) I realize from my surprise at liking the characters how many preconceived notions I had about this book. Obviously, I'm not very far into my reading yet, but like so many great novels, the years and miles are immediately erased through the shared experience of human emotions.

5. It's even kind of funny. Again, my pre-conceptions have me shaking my head. While the humor may not be the driving force of my enjoyment thus far, I did not expect Anna to be funny. At all. To be fair, I haven't found her to be terribly funny yet, but her brother makes me giggle in a very proper way.

Next week: I'm playing catch up this weekend, and I'll be (back) on track for next Friday's post (through Part 2, Chapter VIII. Until then, you can follow all the action at Wallace's blog.


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