Category 5: A book set in or about one of the five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, or South Africa)
Android Karenina
Author: Ben H. Winters & Leo Tolstoy
Publisher: Quirk Classics
Publisher: Quirk Classics
Published: June 8 2010 (first published January 1st 2010)
Page count: 541
Genres: steampunk, historical, parody, scifi
Page count: 541
Genres: steampunk, historical, parody, scifi
Date read: August 13, 2018
Number of times read: 1
Format: paperbackSource: Chapters/Indigo (probably...either that or Walmart...)
Summary
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters co-author Ben H. Winters is back with an all-new collaborator, legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, and the result is Android Karenina an enhanced edition of the classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel.
As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya.These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them-but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society's high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen."
Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction. -- via Goodreads
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters co-author Ben H. Winters is back with an all-new collaborator, legendary Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, and the result is Android Karenina an enhanced edition of the classic love story set in a dystopian world of robots, cyborgs, and interstellar space travel.
As in the original novel, our story follows two relationships: the tragic adulterous romance of Anna Karenina and Count Alexei Vronsky, and the much more hopeful marriage of Konstantin Levin and Kitty Shcherbatskaya.These four, yearning for true love, live in a steampunk-inspired 19th century of mechanical butlers, extraterrestrial-worshiping cults, and airborne debutante balls. Their passions alone would be enough to consume them-but when a secret cabal of radical scientific revolutionaries launches an attack on Russian high society's high-tech lifestyle, our heroes must fight back with all their courage, all their gadgets, and all the power of a sleek new cyborg model like nothing the world has ever seen."
Filled with the same blend of romance, drama, and fantasy that made the first two Quirk Classics New York Times best sellers, Android Karenina brings this celebrated series into the exciting world of science fiction. -- via Goodreads
Review
It's funny I had the hardest time trying to figure out a book to read for this category and I'd resigned myself to reading something I knew I wasn't going to enjoy. And then I remembered that I own this. So that worked well for me. As a parody of the 'classic' Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, this book is set primarily in Russia, with a brief sojourn to the moon (of course). You may be asking yourself, why did she put quotes around 'classic', that's what it is? Here I heave a sigh and go into my whole spiel for you. I'm a former English major - I'm a former English major who is absolutely bored by the so-called 'classics' and who thinks that what we consider the 'canon of English literature' to be completely and unforgivably biased. Now I know what you're thinking, in the historical context these were the big names of the time, of course, their books are still classics and everyone should read them. I wholeheartedly disagree, as a former English major, as a trained teacher, and as a library professional, I am completely against the idea of prescribed reading. One of the most famous sayings in the library world is that every book has its reader and every reader has their book. The idea of 'classics' and a 'canon of English literature' that must be read and appreciated completely goes against that idea. It's elitist, imperialist, and also tends to be sexist, misogynistic and/or racist (which ties in with it being imperialist).
So what that long-winded tirade I just put you through boils down to is this: wherever possible I avoid reading anything considered 'classic' because with very few exceptions I haven't enjoyed most of the 'classics' that I've read and this is especially true of Russian literature (The Cherry Tree was the absolute bane of my existence for an entire semester in undergrad). But, I LOVE the idea of taking the classics and turning them on their heads with a good parody; it reminds me of AU fanfiction which I always enjoy. Plus I do really like steampunk. So when I found out that steampunk Anna Karenina was a thing I immediately wanted to try it as a way to actually become familiar with the plot of Tolstoy's original. And then, as with a lot of books I buy, it ended up languishing on a shelf for literally years.
As you can see, I finally got around to reading it this year. And I can safely say, I loved it. I love the way Ben H. Winters seamlessly meshes his parody in with Tolstoy's original. It really did feel organic to me. Winters introduces the steampunk technology into 19th century Russian in an impressive way. The androids are a very interesting addition to the story and I thought his incorporation of Russian nomenclature into android naming conventions was inspired. I never found myself disengaged from the story, which is a problem I regularly have with straight-up 'classics'. Obviously, I can't say with 100% certainty, but I don't think Winters's parody loses anything from Tolstoy's original, and as I said what it added it added well. Even the parts about space travel and a moon colony didn't feel out of place. My only real complaint is that I feel like it dragged on in places, but I suspect that has more to do with the pace of the original vs. the parody itself. Probably the biggest praise I can give this book is that it made me considered wanting to read the source work because I really did enjoy the story at its base level in addition to enjoying the additions.
If you've never read a parody of a classic I recommend this one, I'll definitely be checking out his other one, and not just because someone bought it for me as a birthday gift.
It's funny I had the hardest time trying to figure out a book to read for this category and I'd resigned myself to reading something I knew I wasn't going to enjoy. And then I remembered that I own this. So that worked well for me. As a parody of the 'classic' Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, this book is set primarily in Russia, with a brief sojourn to the moon (of course). You may be asking yourself, why did she put quotes around 'classic', that's what it is? Here I heave a sigh and go into my whole spiel for you. I'm a former English major - I'm a former English major who is absolutely bored by the so-called 'classics' and who thinks that what we consider the 'canon of English literature' to be completely and unforgivably biased. Now I know what you're thinking, in the historical context these were the big names of the time, of course, their books are still classics and everyone should read them. I wholeheartedly disagree, as a former English major, as a trained teacher, and as a library professional, I am completely against the idea of prescribed reading. One of the most famous sayings in the library world is that every book has its reader and every reader has their book. The idea of 'classics' and a 'canon of English literature' that must be read and appreciated completely goes against that idea. It's elitist, imperialist, and also tends to be sexist, misogynistic and/or racist (which ties in with it being imperialist).
So what that long-winded tirade I just put you through boils down to is this: wherever possible I avoid reading anything considered 'classic' because with very few exceptions I haven't enjoyed most of the 'classics' that I've read and this is especially true of Russian literature (The Cherry Tree was the absolute bane of my existence for an entire semester in undergrad). But, I LOVE the idea of taking the classics and turning them on their heads with a good parody; it reminds me of AU fanfiction which I always enjoy. Plus I do really like steampunk. So when I found out that steampunk Anna Karenina was a thing I immediately wanted to try it as a way to actually become familiar with the plot of Tolstoy's original. And then, as with a lot of books I buy, it ended up languishing on a shelf for literally years.
As you can see, I finally got around to reading it this year. And I can safely say, I loved it. I love the way Ben H. Winters seamlessly meshes his parody in with Tolstoy's original. It really did feel organic to me. Winters introduces the steampunk technology into 19th century Russian in an impressive way. The androids are a very interesting addition to the story and I thought his incorporation of Russian nomenclature into android naming conventions was inspired. I never found myself disengaged from the story, which is a problem I regularly have with straight-up 'classics'. Obviously, I can't say with 100% certainty, but I don't think Winters's parody loses anything from Tolstoy's original, and as I said what it added it added well. Even the parts about space travel and a moon colony didn't feel out of place. My only real complaint is that I feel like it dragged on in places, but I suspect that has more to do with the pace of the original vs. the parody itself. Probably the biggest praise I can give this book is that it made me considered wanting to read the source work because I really did enjoy the story at its base level in addition to enjoying the additions.
If you've never read a parody of a classic I recommend this one, I'll definitely be checking out his other one, and not just because someone bought it for me as a birthday gift.
Overall Rating
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| 4 bolts |
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