Shreya's Treasures

ANNA KARENINA LEO TOLSTOY FIRST PUBLISHED: 1878 “All happy families resemble each other; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way” We all have books that imprint a lasting memory on us, not simply for the entertainment value, but rather for the way in which they communicate the truth of the human person. For me, Tolstoy’s  Anna Karenina  is an exemplar in character development and as such presents an unparalleled disclosure of the human condition and the effects of both sin and virtue in the life of man.  The story follows four individuals arranged as couples.  The first, for whom the novel is named, is Anna.  When she comes on the scene, she is nothing short of captivating: beautiful and mysterious in every way.  Anna is married, albeit unhappily.  As the story progresses, she falls into an illicit affair with the young Count Vronsky, who pursues her with both intensity and persistence.  The third is a young woman named Ki...

LOLITA EROTIC LITERATURE, TRAGICOMEDY VLADIMIR NABOKOV FIRST PUBLISHED: 1955 Vladimir Nabokov is probably one of the very few writers who wrote a book which is so shocking yet remains to be a  favorite  among the readers. Lolita, his disturbing masterpiece, revolves around the story of middle aged Humbert Humbert, and his tragic love story with his 12 year old step daughter. What's interesting is, the entire novel has been written considering H. H 's opinions - his feelings, his thoughts, his actions, his introspection. Not once has Nabokov mentioned about what Lolita feels, what is she going through, or what she actually thinks of her relationship with her stepfather. As a consequence, we know Humbert is wrong(evil so as to say) , but we also know that he knows he is wrong(he considers himself a murderer in fact).So we actually hate him and also strangely develop a sense of pity for him (due to his childhood incident) at the end of the novel when Lolit...