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abhi_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think I have enough patience to finish this book. I couldn't pull myself to care about the characters, the story, or the theme. The characters are quite dry and honestly "miserable" most of the time. I have enjoyed similar classics in the past but for me, Anna Karenina wasn't enticing enough to indulge myself for 900 pages! I am just going to read a summary and be done with it!
jhouses's review against another edition
2.0
De vez en cuando hay que desintoxicarse de best sellers y tenía cierto interés por los clásicos rusos. Por desgracia el lado místico de Tolstoi ha sido un poco indigesto para mi. Por lo demás no está mal, conocer la sociedad rusa (alta) de finales del siglo XIX y es un libro con personajes bien construidos.
sarahalfa's review against another edition
5.0
absolutely phenomenal collection of individuals all interlinked with a common thread
lev_selivanov's review against another edition
5.0
Я бы посоветовала чтобы все прочитали такой роман, хотя бы раз в жизни. Это одно из лучших произведений мировой литературы. КЛАССИКА!
oregon_small_fry's review against another edition
5.0
I think this might be the greatest book I've ever read. Every page was completely engrossing & poetic
shicklin's review against another edition
4.0
Done.. At last! I am glad I read this and found Tolstoy's writing absolutely delightful--so true to life and easy to access and relate to.
I didn't like Anna. However, I really enjoyed Levin's story line--even the long hunting scenes. I am looking forward to discussing it.
I didn't like Anna. However, I really enjoyed Levin's story line--even the long hunting scenes. I am looking forward to discussing it.
helenskaa's review against another edition
5.0
i- wow. speechless. that was incredible. the characters, the writing, everything was absolutely astonishing
books_and_cha's review against another edition
4.0
“I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many
kinds of love as there are hearts.”
Anna Karenina was a psychological novel with a generous side helping of socio-economic commentary. It is both personal and political. Leo Tolstoy dives into the minds of his characters with incisiveness, digging deep to reveal flaws, desires and rendering their mental states clearly. Sometimes using metaphor, and sometimes speaking plainly, Tolstoy never fails to be sharp in his observations.
The story follows a cast of characters that form the nobility of 19th-century Russian society. Weaving between characters, the book follows three sets: the love triangle with Karenin, Anna, and Vronsky; Oblonsky and Dolly; Levin and Kitty. All these pairings have varying levels of happiness and tragedy. Anna's story takes up the center of the plot, with Levin's being almost as important. While Oblonsky and Dolly are not primary characters, their marriage offers a contrast to the relative happiness of other couples in the book.
I appreciated the depth, empathy, and attention given to the women in this novel. The book begins with a rift in Oblonsky and Dolly's marriage. Although this subplot is resolved fairly quickly, Dolly's position is given due deliberation. She isn't written off. We return to her again. Similarly, Anna's story, though darkly foreshadowed, is drawn in great detail. There is no stone unturned: Tolstoy lets us watch her fall in love, take risks, and see the effects of the consequences that follow. Anna's emotions were rendered poignantly. Her story was told completely and well. Kitty, who I liked the least, is given a proper journey in her struggle to find happiness and love, same as the rest.
Another thing to point out is how each character is distinct. None of the women are the same. Dolly, for example, is very much a mother-woman. Her role as a mother is central to her identity, a contrast to Anna, who loves her son, but also has desires and dreams independent of motherhood. Karenin, Vronsky, Oblonsky, each have their own path in this story.
Levin, a faithful portrait of Tolstoy, was used as a mouthpiece for the author's various opinions. I had mixed feelings about this. Levin often goes off on a tangent about this, that or the other. I liked reading about some of his opinions, like his take on the problem of the Russian farmers and landowners. Some of what he thought about went completely over my head. There was also a little that I empathized with, such as Levin's agnosticism. His spiritual crisis was well-developed but wrapped up too neatly in the end. The contemplation was well-drawn, but the conclusion seemed a bit of a jump.
There was a lot I loved about this book. Tolstoy uses side characters to represent varying viewpoints in society, especially as they relate to Anna and Vronsky's affair. Anna is written, as mentioned, with empathy. There are characters who react without mercy towards her position, and others who are less severe. Tolstoy balances Anna's actions with the reactions of society - both are shown. He doesn't take sides.
Rosemary Edmunds, the translator of the edition I read, points out that Tolstoy doesn't moralize, but rather implies that one person's happiness cannot be built on the loss of another's, which isn't very different, in my opinion. Some assert that Anna's story, especially in contrast to Levin's, was meant to be a cautionary tale. I disagree. I think Anna Karenina is, among many things, a portrait of a woman who tried to take control of her life with drastic consequences. Those consequences were a result of her own actions, society, the law of that time, and the help that was given her. It is a complete tragedy, but my interpretation was that it wasn't her fault.
Debates and interpretations aside, this was a brilliant, moving novel. I suspect I'll enjoy in future perusals as well.
kinds of love as there are hearts.”
Anna Karenina was a psychological novel with a generous side helping of socio-economic commentary. It is both personal and political. Leo Tolstoy dives into the minds of his characters with incisiveness, digging deep to reveal flaws, desires and rendering their mental states clearly. Sometimes using metaphor, and sometimes speaking plainly, Tolstoy never fails to be sharp in his observations.
The story follows a cast of characters that form the nobility of 19th-century Russian society. Weaving between characters, the book follows three sets: the love triangle with Karenin, Anna, and Vronsky; Oblonsky and Dolly; Levin and Kitty. All these pairings have varying levels of happiness and tragedy. Anna's story takes up the center of the plot, with Levin's being almost as important. While Oblonsky and Dolly are not primary characters, their marriage offers a contrast to the relative happiness of other couples in the book.
I appreciated the depth, empathy, and attention given to the women in this novel. The book begins with a rift in Oblonsky and Dolly's marriage. Although this subplot is resolved fairly quickly, Dolly's position is given due deliberation. She isn't written off. We return to her again. Similarly, Anna's story, though darkly foreshadowed, is drawn in great detail. There is no stone unturned: Tolstoy lets us watch her fall in love, take risks, and see the effects of the consequences that follow. Anna's emotions were rendered poignantly. Her story was told completely and well. Kitty, who I liked the least, is given a proper journey in her struggle to find happiness and love, same as the rest.
Another thing to point out is how each character is distinct. None of the women are the same. Dolly, for example, is very much a mother-woman. Her role as a mother is central to her identity, a contrast to Anna, who loves her son, but also has desires and dreams independent of motherhood. Karenin, Vronsky, Oblonsky, each have their own path in this story.
Levin, a faithful portrait of Tolstoy, was used as a mouthpiece for the author's various opinions. I had mixed feelings about this. Levin often goes off on a tangent about this, that or the other. I liked reading about some of his opinions, like his take on the problem of the Russian farmers and landowners. Some of what he thought about went completely over my head. There was also a little that I empathized with, such as Levin's agnosticism. His spiritual crisis was well-developed but wrapped up too neatly in the end. The contemplation was well-drawn, but the conclusion seemed a bit of a jump.
There was a lot I loved about this book. Tolstoy uses side characters to represent varying viewpoints in society, especially as they relate to Anna and Vronsky's affair. Anna is written, as mentioned, with empathy. There are characters who react without mercy towards her position, and others who are less severe. Tolstoy balances Anna's actions with the reactions of society - both are shown. He doesn't take sides.
Rosemary Edmunds, the translator of the edition I read, points out that Tolstoy doesn't moralize, but rather implies that one person's happiness cannot be built on the loss of another's, which isn't very different, in my opinion. Some assert that Anna's story, especially in contrast to Levin's, was meant to be a cautionary tale. I disagree. I think Anna Karenina is, among many things, a portrait of a woman who tried to take control of her life with drastic consequences. Those consequences were a result of her own actions, society, the law of that time, and the help that was given her. It is a complete tragedy, but my interpretation was that it wasn't her fault.
Debates and interpretations aside, this was a brilliant, moving novel. I suspect I'll enjoy in future perusals as well.