Finally tackling "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy!

Hellooooooooooo, Boho Belle Bookclubbers!

            Today, I am coming to you live from a Greyhound bus, tying away on my Macbook while travelling back to Connecticut. I’ve been in Cambridge for the weekend visiting one of my good friends, Emma. I don’t think she reads this blog, but hi, Emma! It was a fantastic time. We went on a historical tour, ate a ridiculously amazing amount of Mexican food, and spent a good two hours in her favorite bookstore. I picked up two very cool books regarding trauma and sociopaths, respectively, and am excited to read and review them for you guys! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – I am about to attempt the very difficult task of reviewing Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina.

            Deemed “the greatest novel ever written” by Time Magazine and many celebrated authors, I was very excited the first time I picked up a copy a few years ago. Despite the fact that I really did enjoy the first few chapters, I would always inevitably get bored with the length and wordiness and thus would stop reading after Part I. But this summer, I rediscovered my copy of the novel and decided that I would actually finish Anna Karenina. It took me a month and four days, but I did it! *victory lap*

            Anna Karenina follows several different storylines, but the major plotlines have to do with Anna Karenina, the novel’s namesake, and Constatine Levin. Basically, everyone has a really long and confusing Russian name that is impossible to remember, and they all have affairs or are worrying about their husband/wife/friend/neighbor having affairs. But deeper than that, Anna Karenina is a story about passion, societal expectations, and acceptance. I honestly am at a loss for words on how else I can describe this magnificent 954 pages of literature.

            The characters in this story are impeccably depicted throughout the entirety of the novel. My favorite character would have to be Levin. This co-protagonist is not your average Prince Charming. He’s awkward, unfazed by the glamour of the luxurious life, and questioning love and his faith. He doesn’t fit into the standard roles in Russian society, and instead searchingly paves his own path. While he is awkward in many respects, Levin is certainly kind-hearted and generous. Throughout the novel, readers watch the ever-endearing character experience true love, tumultuous childbirth, and the discovery of true happiness.

            I also learned a lot about Russia in the 19^th century. Despite my sophomore year in high school stint with AP European History, I’m genuinely pretty clueless when it comes to the history of Russia. I was absolutely enthralled with the enormous amount of social progress that was taking place during the time period of the novel. Specifically, of course, I was very fascinated with the theme of women’s rights laced throughout the pages. I appreciated watching Kitty’s mother have difficulty with allowing her to choose her own husband, needing to adjust to the more modern way of love in society. It was also interesting to watch the potential process of divorce occur- how difficult it was to get a divorce, with a woman having no chance of being able to successfully file for divorce.

            While I really did enjoy the story, I seemed to have difficulty with the length of the novel. Tolstoy is brilliant and every single word was a part of the masterpiece that is Anna Karenina, but I was frustrated knowing that he could have written the exact same story in about half the words. Upon researching the format of the book a little more, I found that Tolstoy published the novel in installments over a period of four years. Once I found this out, I definitely appreciated the length a lot more than I had previously.

            I could rant and rant about my personal pros and cons of Anna Karenina, but I attempted to summarize my feelings in a somewhat concise fashion. If you’ve been debating whether or not to tackle the long, long novel, I recommend taking the plunge and going for it. While slow at some points, this book does truly deserve all of the praise it has been given throughout the course of history. I’m giving it 4.5 stars. Perhaps if I revisit the novel in the future, my rating will change. I’ll let you know!

xoxo,

Abby

"Ovenly" by Agatha Kulaga & Erin Patinkin

Helloooooooo, BohoBelle Bookclub readers! Long time, no talk. And that might have something to do with the fact that I've been trying to finish Anna Karenina (let me know if you want a review of that!). But to switch things up today, I'm going to be talking about the fantastic cookbook Ovenly by Erin Patinkin and Agatha Kulaga. The book won't come out until September 30, but you can preorder it from Amazon here!

"Ovenly" is a baking-fiend's best fried in the kitchen. I've been using this cookbook for a few weeks now and have nothing but good things to say.

Let's start with the structure of the book - PHENOMENAL. The book starts off with the tools and ingredients you should have in your kitchen, the beauty of a "baking plan," and some handy conversion charts. The recipes themselves are broken down into the categories (1) scones and biscuits, (2) quick breads and coffee cakes, (3) muffins, (4) cookies and shortbreads, (5) pies and tarts, (6) brownies and bars, (7) cakes and cupcakes, (8) baking for the holidays, (9) fillings, frostings, and sauces, and (9) bar snacks.

Regarding the food, I absolutely adore the fact that the author had a good mix of salty desserts, as well as sweet ones! I'm a definite salty girl and I feel like most dessert cookbooks tend to stick to the sweet side of the yummy treats. My favorite dessert in the entire book was the SALTED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. Oh my goodness, NOM NOM NOM. I could literally eat them everyday - it could be dangerous for my health. Oh, now I can't stop thinking about them...

And the pictures! These pictures are totally "Pinterest-worthy" and make the food look so amazingly tempting. There aren't pictures of every single recipe, but they do supplement most of them.

All in all, I give this book 5 stars. I have used and will continue using this book often when baking, and also enjoy just reading/looking at it. Great book!

Monday Funday and "Solitude of a Birdcage" by Brielle Skye

Helloooooo, beautiful readers! Are there any readers out there? I don't know, but whoever is reading this, HI. It's a humid Monday here in Connecticut, and I've spent the day in an air-conditioned office. There was lots of downtime to read today, though- and I got a chance to finish my advanced copy of "Solitude of a Birdcage," graciously bestowed upon me by the fantastic publisher to review. And, alas, here are my thoughts on the book. :)

Maxie Shannon is a girl with a dark past and a bright future. The orphaned dancer-turned-chef shares an apartment with her best-friend-turned sister, Savannah (Van). Seems simple enough, right? Wrong. Maxie is secretly carrying on an intense, passionate love affair with Van's boyfriend, Isaac. Isaac is subjected to a terrible violent attack, causing him to lose his memory of the past year and a half, leading to the love, missteps, and new discoveries that take place within the novel. Does Maxie follow her head of her heart? Does she choose the one person she's always had or the man she's fallen deeply, madly in love with?

I was slightly hesitant when picking up this book. Don't get me wrong, I (not-so) secretly love chick lit. But I tend to be wary of cheesy romances incorporating a man's loss of memory in which women need to compete to reclaim his heart. I did, however, find this story completely enthralling. Once I finished the first few chapters, I couldn't stop reading. I went about my day, anxious to return to my book and find out what had happened with Maxie and the gang. The language, plotline, and character development were incredibly well-executed!

I got through about 3/4 of the book, completely ga-ga over Isaac, the main love story. However, I soon realized how strange and manipulating he was. As a feminist, I kind of wound up taking issue with the way that Isaac played with both Maxie and Van. Similarly, consent lines were definitely blurred- in certain scenes I took issue with Maxie saying no to Isaac, but him continuing his advances. Although she was totally into him and wanted to be with him, he still should have respected that "no." Along the same consent lines, dear readers, be aware if you may be triggered by mentions of sexual assault. Definitely not a huge plotline or subject in the novel, but there are a few points that you may want to watch out for!

In total, I'd give the book 3 stars. Definitely a great, quick read- I will definitely buy the other books in the series when they come out. If you're interested in the book, it will be out on September 13, 2014! Find out more at Brielle's website here.



Have a great night! xoxoxox Abby

"Skin and Bones" by Sherry Shahan

In a wonderful twist on a YA story about eating disorders, Sherry Shahan addresses a multitude of hard-to-hear but important issues in an easy-to-read, 274 novel. Meet Jack, also known as "Bones," a teenager with anorexia. Bones enters into the world of an inpatient hospitalization program where he attempts to regain his control over food, shed his eating disorder, and learn to be at peace with a healthy lifestyle. While reluctant at first, Jack befriends his very overweight roommate (who dubs himself "Lard" based on his appearance) and a frail dancer who also has anorexia (Alice).

This book was good- not bad by any means- but definitely didn't have me jumping for joy. Let's work out a pros-and-cons list, shall we?

Pro: Addresses eating disorders at an appropriate level for YA readers
Con: Portrays an unrealistic inpatient hospitalization environment
The fact that the book addresses (1) eating disorders and (2) A MALE with anorexia is absolutely fantastic. This is something rarely captured in most literature, especially YA. However, the inpatient environment that Bones is put into is completely inaccurate and may skew some YA readers' visions of inpatient to be less serious than it actually is. Patients, while technically having many restrictions, are able to roam freely and sneak out without repercussion. They hang out on the roof (which would NEVER be allowed in ANY inpatient unit) and smoke (also wouldn't be allowed for teenagers). While I do agree that eating disorders need to be addressed differently in YA books and adult books, I think it is important to show a realistic hospital setting.

Pro: Shows the actual effects of anorexia (ie. Alice)
Con: Cuts off at an odd place which doesn't leave any room for closure with Alice
Alice was an easily-lovable character, at least for me. Within moments of the character's introduction, I felt sympathy and compassion for a little girl who just wanted to dance and be "perfect." I was nervous, however, that the book would turn into a boy-meets-girl boy-tells-girl-she's-beautiful girl-recovers kind of book. Thankfully, Shahan did a wonderful job of portraying the actual medical, physical effects of such a disorder (not just with Alice, but also with other characters). Specifically regarding Alice, the a character we love and are rooting for is just as vulnerable as everyone else to the effects of anorexia is a very important point. On a more literary note, I did not like how the Alice plotline was abruptly ended at the end of the book. While I was content with the endings for the other characters, I felt like Alice's was incomplete in a way. We kind of never really knew what had happened - I want to find out about dear, sweet Alice!

In general, it's a good read. I did really enjoy it! 3 stars.