Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

13 reviews

karenclare's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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tatjanasbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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barefootsierra's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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skelleybean's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I will not say that I’m not smart enough to understand this book, merely not educated enough. I’m uneducated in politics, Russian history, and general philosophy so that this book is a bit hard to read. However, the moments that I was able to grasp and truly understand were wonderful. It is well written and the characters feel so real— they think and talk and love and fight like real people do. If you are up for the challenge and the length, it is worth the read (or listen).

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celery's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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aude's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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knenigans's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I did not love the story or the overarching message but I did very much enjoy the writing and it is clear why this remains so popular.

I wish I had read this novel when I was 15, I think that would've been the perfect age for me to fully appreciate it.

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mariasrv's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

(Note: I read this in Russian)

In an attempt to examine my own Russian-ness and form an opinion on Tolstoy as an adult (I studied his books in high school), I recently finished reading War and Peace and decided to tackle Anna Karenina next. 

On a personal level, I enjoyed Anna Karenina a lot more than I did War and Peace. Anna Karenina is a lot more contained, the plot is more linear, the structure of the book was great, and the characters cohesive. I loved Tolstoy's language, factual but poetic, and I found his psychologism mesmerizing. 

I think Tolstoy's insight into the human nature, together with his tenderness towards life and mastery as a writer, worked amazingly in this book. Of course, Tolstoy was examining the question of what makes a happy family through his own lense, which at this point is deeply outdated, both on a personal level (sometimes he comes off as a ranting grandpa) and on a societal level. But if you try to squint a bit, so to say, at some of the details, the bigger picture is beautiful and still relevant. 

Anna's plot line is a disturbing and poignant examination of a life being ruined because of feeling unloved, getting caught in passion, misunderstandings, and societal limitations.
The scene where she throws herself under the train is scary because of how much the text managed to put me in the same hopeless mindset.


Contrary to many other reviewers, I deeply sympathized with Levin. He is, of course, a bit of a self-insert, with accordingly Tolstovian views and values, but, unlikely basically everyone else in the novel, his primary driving force is sincerity, and Tolstoy doesn't shy away from acknowledging that sincerity is not without its faults. As Levin says in the end,
he will still fight with his wife, be inappropriate in conversations, and argue with the maids, but his life will, despite that, be full of meaning, because he strives to do good and follow his heart.
I don't agree with Levin (and Tolstoy) about many things, from religion to his stance on women's rights, but I think he's right that being led by a sincere and sometimes awkward earnestness is perhaps the best choice to deal with this life. 

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mondovertigo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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obfuscatress's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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