YOUNG ADULT
ANNA K
By Jenny Lee
Macmillan/Paperback/385 pages/ $18.94/Available here
3 Stars
Think Anna Karenina, but make it about rich teenagers living in modern Manhattan - that is the premise of young adult (YA) novel Anna K.
The original tome by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, about a woman who embarks on an extramarital love affair, is regarded as a classic about love, betrayal, family, marriage and society in 19th-century Russia.
Anna K, however, is a half-Korean 17-year-old girl who lives a blessed life: beautiful and blue-blooded with a perfect boyfriend and good grades.
But all that changes when she meets the dashing Vronsky, who takes her breath away.
This uneven YA retelling has some smart ideas about how Anna Karenina might unfold in the complicated landscape of modern adolescence, but it is bogged down by flawed pacing, clunky dialogue and an abrupt ending.
The novel starts off strong and engrossing: fast-paced, hilarious, witty and spilling over with pop-culture and modern references - singer Dua Lipa, Apple Watch, the "friend zone" - as Anna's older brother Steven is caught cheating on his girlfriend.
It makes for a quick and effective introduction to the main players, who take turns being the point-of-view characters of different chapters.
Early on, Anna and Vronsky are attracted to each other on first sight - which is not hard to buy.
Teenage love affairs are rarely governed by logic and author Jenny Lee, also of Korean descent, does a good job illustrating the fervent lust and longing of young love.
The ultra-rich lifestyles of the characters are described in detail and with a palpable energy: a party with a large ice sculpture of animated characters Rick and Morty, flying to music festival Coachella on a private jet, an exclusive invitation using a pager to a 1990s-themed hip-hop party.
But as the story continues, the dialogue sometimes comes off as trying too hard, as though an adult were trying desperately to be a cool teenager - sprinkling "forevs", "me likey", "lit AF" and modern music and film references to excess in the text.
The novel also suffers from patchy pacing. Anna and Vronsky's sordid affair does not fully kick off until the later half of the novel. All the action and fallout of their relationship is rushed and packed close to the end.
Several extremely disturbing and tragic incidents touching on the issues of teenage drug addiction and revenge porn happen in quick succession in the last third of the novel - and none of them is given the space to fester.
In fact, one of the major turning points in the novel involving a family tragedy is, unfortunately, used simply as a plot device to resolve the narrative arc of a couple.
The depressing end of the book, while in line with Tolstoy's original, also does not go well with the overall light-hearted, almost comedic tone of the novel.
It is disappointing the novel failed to stick the landing because Anna K is a book with good ideas and a keen and smart understanding of what social media, bullying, drugs and family discord can do to teenagers.
And while flawed, especially near the end, for the most part, it is a fun, glossy read.
If you like this, read: Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (Random House, 2014, $16.05, available here), a love story of a normal Asian-American girl and an ultra-rich Singaporean Prince Charming and the family drama and scheming backstabbers that stand in their way.
