The Lady in the Café by Anu Jacob Review – Exploring Artistic Genius

The Lady in the Café by Anu Jacob has been divided into two parts. The first part is actually a story that is called “The Lady in the Café, and the second part has been comprised of two essays about popular artists from 1800s, Leo Tolstoy and Giuseppe Verdi. The story of The Lady in the Café revolves around Matteo, an ER doctor and Anastasia, an English teacher. Both of them meet by chance at a café in a small town known as River Falls. Both of them felt a connection right away, but Anastasia is guarded because of her past. It shows the relationship that is growing over few months and how they face their challenges in their lives.

The first essay is all about Giuseppe Verdi who was a very popular Italian composer of opera music. It is all about Verdi’s music which is full of strong emotions and how he has redefined the opera. The essay explains how he has portrayed the feeling and emotions of love and anger through his music and how he became a composer over time. The second essay is about Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina. This essay looks at the characters as well as themes in this book. It talks about how Leo Tolstoy wrote about people in Russian society and how he used different perspective to tell a gripping story.

All in all, the novella The Lady in the Café by Anu Jacob tells the story of Matteo and Anastasia and how their relationship develops. The essays in the second part explore the great works from two great artists i.e. Verdi and Tolstoy. The essays showed the importance and impact of Verdi and Leo Tolstoy. This book is must read for the ones who are interested in literature, music as well as understanding of the emotions and difficulties of human relationships.