After Reading Anna Karenina
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As of yesterday I finished reading Anna Karenina, a lengthy 19th-century Russian novel by Leo Tolstoy in English translation, and felt free and relieved as if I had taken a weighty burden off my back. You wouldn't believe me if I say that it took me almost a year to finish it. Believe me. It did. This morning, looking at the novel lying before me on my desk, I felt very proud of the fact that I have read this long novel at last, at least once, in my life.
A year for reading a novel? Are you some kind of nut? You may well yell at me. I could have finished it earlier by reading more and faster at one sitting, but the text was in English and there was no reason for an old man like me to do so. Like a man sipping at a cup of good and hot coffee in the morning, I read only one or two chapters a day. Often I put it away several days for other attractions or distractions, and came back to it later forgetting completely what I had read about and had to go back to the previous chapters in order to follow the flow of the story and identify the names of the characters.
In fact, I did not have to bother myself with reading it. As most of the people of my age probably have done, I have seen it as a movie long before. The novel is about a married woman called Anna with a young son. She meets by chance a handsome unmarried man, a military officer, Count Vronsky on the train, the two fall deeply and passionately in love, commit adultery, and she gives birth to a daughter and finally ends her life by throwing herself under the wheels of the oncoming train.
But fortunately or unfortunately the voluminous novel has always been on my bookshelf, and whenever it caught my eyes I said to myself that I would read it someday and I put it off until now. I picked it up one day last year, opened the book and got immensely intrigued by the first sentence of that long novel: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." I began to read it and went to the end of the book in spite of myself.
Reading the entire novel was quite a different experience. I found the novel much more complex and complicated in its construction, plot and characters. It consisted of many stories other than the love story between Anna and Vronsky. During the reading I felt as if I had travelled far and wide into the land, nature, history, society and people of the 19th century Russia for a long while. And at the same time I could attend to Tolstoy's philosophical lecture on life, love, religion and death. It was a unique pleasure as well as a laborious work.
After reading it, somewhat excited and elated, I felt a strong desire to talk about the novel and tried to find out ones who have read it in order to share the experience and the pleasure of reading it with, but I failed. Most of the people I contacted said that they have seen it as a movie, or read something written about it somewhere, or heard the story from somebody else. I could not find out anybody who really has read the whole of Anna Karenina around me. Understandable.
Anna Karenina is, like many other long novels of the 19th century, one of the many famous novels whose titles and stories are known to us one way or another. We are daunted before the sheer volume of the novels. We always wish to read them once some day, but few of us have time, obligation or patience to read them to the end. We know about them but rarely read them. That is the common destiny of the many great works of literature in the world.
Once there was a time when reading the great works of literature, especially the novels, such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles, The Brothers Karamazov, Crime and Punishment, The Red and Black, Les Miserables, Don Quixote, Moby-Dick, David Copperfield, Of Human Bondage, just to name a few, was regarded as one of the most important as well as valuable means of entertainment. In fact, it was more than that. Readers of these novels felt themselves more cultured, educated, enlightened and even superior to those who were not. They who have not read them thought themselves lagging behind the world culturally as well as intellectually. And indeed in the novels readers sought and found all they wanted to learn - philosophy, psychology, history, sociology, moral teaching, and what not.
But to my sadness, the fate of these great novels of the past seems to be doomed. The great days of reading these long and lengthy novels are gone. The great novels of realism are no longer being written. Only the fantastic best-sellers are being made. To make the matters worse, novels are transformed into or replaced by other forms of entertainments - movies, videos, cartoons and comics, and instead of reading them, people prefer seeing them. All the great novels have lost all their former glories, distinctions and merits. The great age of the great novels is definitely over and out. I feel sorry for them.
I persist, however, in reading. Now having finished Anna Karenina I am thinking of attacking another big novel, War and Peace, by the same author, Leo Tolstoy. This novel have also been made into a movie already and I have seen it, but I know I will be amply rewarded by reading the millions, billions, nay, trillions of small letters printed black on the white paper. I know it would take me another year or longer. I don't care.
But I don't have the book. I have to buy it. I will go to the foreign bookstore downtown next week. I hope they have a copy of it. Very fortunately I know that these novels are still being printed and available to the readers. I am glad. It means there are still some ardent readers of these lengthy novels somewhere like me who would like read them instead of seeing them. I feel getting excited again as if I am an adventurer, like Christopher Columbus, embarking on an extraordinary expedition into a brave new world.
(May 19, 2008)
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고영주님의 댓글
고영주 이름으로 검색 작성일
안녕하세요? 이장국 교수님.
저는 Korea Times를 구독하고 있는 대학원생 고영주입니다. 제가 오늘 이장국 교수님의 글을 읽으면서 힘을 얻었습니다. 이번에 읽고 있는 책은 Modern Times라는 책인데요. 워낙 책이 두껍고 글씨가 깨알같아서 3개월이 지난 지금 3분의 1정도 읽었습니다. 솔직히 처음에 구입하였을때에는 한 6개월 정도 잡아끌겠구나 싶었는데......
이장국 교수님께서 1년정도 걸렸다는 말에 의외로 놀랐습니다. 저도 영어를 전공하였고 지금은 영어에 대해서 연구하는 학생이지만, 영어라면 훤히 꿰뚫을실 교수님의 경험담과 소감을 읽고 참 제가 부끄러웠습니다.
그래서, 모던 타임즈라는 책이 앞으로 언제 완독할 수 있을지 잘 모르겠지만, 한동안 놓았던 그책의 책장을 펼치게 되었습니다.
감사인사드리고자 이렇게 멜 한장 띄웁니다. 교수님의 솔직하고 자상하신 글 한편때문에 한동안 놓았던 모던타임즈 그리고 셰익스피어 원전등 다시 읽기로 결심할 수 있었습니다.
앞으로도 좋은 글, 사람들에게 귀감이 많이 담긴 명문을 바라며, 이만 줄입니다. 항상 건강하시고 행복하세요.
애독자 고영주 드림.
Sean Reed님의 댓글
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Dear Dr. Lee,
After reading your article in the Saturday, May 31 edition of the Korea Times, "After Reading 'Anna Karenina,'" I was inspired by a feeling of kinship to let you know that, indeed, you are not alone in your passion for reading the more weighty, thoughtful literature or classics. I share similar feelings of wanting to talk through certain chapters of the latest book I have read. There are quite a few who have read Tolstoy or Melville. To ask someone to sit down for an hour or two and share some thoughts, now that is a different matter. However, does this shyness or busy-ness have to continue? I, for one, would like the company of another person or two to talk over my latest reading.. There are several cafes that are all too-well equipped for discussion to let a chair stand empty or a cup of coffee cool under the oaken air, unfulfilled, devoid of conversation.
If they were a chance to sit down with you and share the experience of reading a novel next on your list, I would be the first in a growing group of readers to share the pleasure.
Enjoy your next book. If I could join you for discussion, let me know. It would be a pleasure to share this long lost culture.
Sincerely, wishing peace and health,
Sean Reed
Dankook University
Cheonan
Ms.Anne님의 댓글
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Dear Mr. Lee
I was looking up interesting articles to read online at the KoreaTimes website when I chanced at your article on Anna Karenina. I found your article very enriching in the fact that it was an honestly written article. I share your sentiments on reading lengthy novels in a second language, I myself learned English as a second language here in the heart of the Philippines-- Manila. However, unlike most people who merely leaf through pages and pages of books just so it may be included in their "have-read that-book-list," we prefer to savour every page and try our best to partake in the events of the writer's world. People like us who take extra effort to read literature written in English are admired by others not so much for fossilizing the novel into memory but more for being patient enough to accomplish the task.
This patience to try and achieve something for intellectual growth or for the mere challenge of it is not often shared by most students nowadays. They always ask me "Professor, what do I get in return?" If you respond by saying "knowledge in another language." They shrug their shoulders and walk on. Sometimes they ask you for any translated version or if the book you've been suggesting to the class came out as a film version. These are sad but harsh realities of what technology brings to literature.
I've been teaching English across cultures now for more than five years but I still consider myself a budding professional in my field. There have been a mixture of Asian students in many of my classes, mostly Koreans. Reading your article affirmed my belief in the famous quote " The sum of human knowledge does not exist in any one language"
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on English literature. It has been a refreshing reading experience.
Sincerely,
Ms.Anne
hermesbaby님의 댓글
hermesbaby 이름으로 검색 작성일Like you,whenever I complete reading those novels,I have felt a strong desire to talk about them and share the experience and pleasure,but failed and given up. So,allow me to tell you that you,d rather read 'The Imjin War'written by Samuel Hawley published by Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch.Its story is really really amusing,fascinating and intellectual.Trust me!
hermesbaby님의 댓글
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Congratulations!
I,m a great reader. I,ve read Russian writers' novels,French writers' short storys,moreover great English and American writers' novels.
강조자님의 댓글
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Right after having read your essay, I fall into a habit of waiting
for your next one in spite of myself.
Although I like another column appearing every Wednesday in
another newspaper too, your column in Saturday's newspaper looks
like really a refreshing and long-awaited rain in about six or
eight weeks's absence.
I feel relieved at the fact that I still have not read Anna Karenina
wholly, only to have just a smattering knowledge of it.
I have thought you've already read the great novels, whatever
numbers they are, because you used to be an English professor.
But how in the world, could you read all the great novels!!!
Anyway, I love your essay like today's topic, far away from dealing
with those dismal and complex social phenomena facing Korea
nowadays.
This time you are stimulating us to read Leo Tolstoy's great works,
but I am going to read the whole story in near future, though those
copies of "Anna Karerina and War and Peace" are staring at me in my
book shelf, and I very well understand Tolstoy is no less an educator
than a novelist.
Ever since "A summing up of the summing up" which you wrote in
July 18, 1991. I wanted to read, as if taking the cue from you,
"summing up" of Somerset Maugham, but I couldn't bring myself to
read it fully due to my arduous job. and I didn't seem to comprehend
it without reading his works such as "of human bondage", "cakes and
ale", "Razor's edge", and many short stories written in his early days.
Today I am in the middle of reading of "of human bondage", and
may I ask you to write about those works written by Somerset
Maugham, besides of "A summing up of the summing up" soon?
Now I am proud of it that I love reading literary works as a retired
medical practitioner. I am happy because I have a good eyesight and
patience to read small letters for hours on end.
I am looking forward to reading your column again.
Thank you, Prof. Lee
Jakhongir님의 댓글
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Dear Professor Lee,
I have read your article on Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina" and I was quite impressed by the fact that a korean has read a russian novel and was impressed by it. I found your article really interesting and would like to thank you for sharing your opinion about the book and trying to inform people in Korea about the classics of the world literature.
I've been living in South Korea for about 3 years and I have found that very few people actually bother reading literature, particularly, classics. I am a student from Uzbekistan studying in South Korea. Since childhood reading literature, especially Russian literature, has always been my passion, so if you like to exchange opinions and ideas about Russian literature I will always be glad to discuss it with you.
I am a native speaker of Russian language, therefore, it is a lot easier for me to understand most of the complexities of russian literature in contrast to someone reading it in English, nevertheless, I hope you will keep discovering more in fascinating novels in Russian literature.
Thank you again!
Kind Regards,
Jakhongir
Lacey님의 댓글
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Hello Lee Chang-kook,
I have just finished reading the novel "Anna Karenina". I wanted to find someone to talk to about it, but knew that no one in my circle would have read it. And so I turned to the Internet, where I found a copy of the article you wrote on the book for the Korea Times, "After reading Anna Karenina". I felt that you would like to hear that I, a 24 year old Australian female, am still reading the great, long novels.
I'm currently working my way through a list of the BBC's "Top 100 Books of All Time" or something of the sort. I can't remember where I got the list from, but it's sitting on my computer, and I'm slowly but surely working my way through it. Last year I read 10 novels from the list, including Vanity Fair and Tess of the D'ubervilles. They were both fantastic reads. To tell you the truth, I didn't enjoy Anna Karenina anywhere near as much, but I feel a certain sense of triumph in having read something I know none of my own friends have ever, and may never read.
If I'm truly honest, I also read the Twilight series last year, but on the whole, I spent most of my time, energy and money on devouring the classics, and feel a much more educated and well-rounded reader because of it. I hope that gives you hope for the future generations of readers -- while a good majority are spending their time on Twitter and Harry Potter, there will always be someone to read the great novels of our history.
Regards,
Lacey
