Irina Reyn

If you've read Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, you know very well what happend to Anna K. That, however, didn't detract from this beautifully written novel one bit.

Anna K. marries an older man early in this novel. After becoming a mother, she falls deeply in love with her counsin's boyfriend. She then makes a series of choices that ultimately lead to her downfall.

Irina Reyn has set this story, which shares the basic plot of Anna Karenina, in modern day New York City. The story unfolds in a show more close-knit community of Russian immigrants. In this way, the author captures not only a classic story of depression and self-destruction, but a very contempory story of maintaining one's culture surrounded by all the social and material trappings of the "American dream".

The main characters in Ms. Reyn's novel are shown in fine detail, and even the glimpses provided into the lives and hearts of secondary characters are finely drawn to create a well-rounded picture of life in this immigrant community. Even had Anna Karenina never been written, this novel would stand as a compelling story. show less

One of the most rewarding novels in a long while. The hero is a woman specialist in Russian art at a leading Manhattan auction house. An object connected with the Russian Empress Catherine the Great is up for bids: it is a highly desirable piece and interest among the super wealthy of Moscow is quite high. The locale shifts from New York to Monaco to Moscow, and back in time to that moment when the actual Catherine received the item now up for sale. There is plenty of palace show more intrigue--matched by contemporary tales including an extended theme on what it means to be an immigrant (and also: the ups and downs of marriage and family). This book is like a glass of great champagne; it goes down quickly, is delicious, and is unforgettable. show less

Impressive debut novel! Taking inspiration from Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Irina Reyn brings Anna's character into the 21st century. In Reyn's imagination, Anna is a Russian-Jewish immigrant living in New York. In a comfortable marriage to an older man, Anna feels restless and unfulfilled, and begins a reckless affair with her cousin Katya's boyfriend.

I loved absolutely everything about this novel - from the mesmerizing descriptions, to novel's tragic sense of humor and the hopeless show more characters. Being a Russian immigrant myself, and having dated Bukharian men, I constantly found myself thinking, "Yes! This is exactly how things work!" while reading the book. Reyn's chapter on the "Great Russian Soul" was priceless; her take on the Jewish-Russian immigrants in NYC and the Bukharian community was dead-on.

This is not a happy-ending novel; the characters can be thought of as hopeless, self-centered, and to have no redeeming qualities. However, that was part of the novel's appeal. I've found that there are few books that stay away from the cliche everything-works-out endings, and Reyn was definitely not afraid to take that chance. A stellar debut on all counts! show less

Modern day Anna Karenina? Quite a daring idea, to say the least. In "Acknowledgments", the author writes that her novel "would doubtlessly appall" Lev Tolstoy, and I admire her humility in saying that. To me, though, it seemed that Ms.Reyn used Anna's story just as a skeleton of sorts to build around - to tell the story of recent Russian Jewish immigrants in New York, which she did with perfection, a sharp eye for detail and for nuances of their transition. As for Anna's tragedy, it did make show more me want to re-read Tolstoy, rather urgently, and see how much of Anna's soul is in this book. Self-absorption leads to self-destruction... show less