A review by mcgbreads
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
2.0
As usual, I only comment on the books I read, and I save the rest for myself. Maybe one day I'll get into writing structured reviews, but not today, and definitely not about Anna Karenina.
I enjoyed the 2012 film so much that I decided I was going to read the novel at some point, and now I have. I had no idea Anna Karenina wasn't actually the main character of this story. It should be titled "Konstantin Levin". But then again, I don't think as many people would've read it if that was the case. He's not an interesting character. Actually, none of them are truly interesting, so it feels like there's no end to the book. There was no pleasure in reading this story, except *spoiler ahead* that one bit of satisfaction when Anna killed herself.
The characters are boring and the ones that were not completely boring were mostly reprehensible and just... unnecessary. It was unnecessary for me to get to know some of the characters and I forgot about them the minute I was allowed to. The writing is surprisingly redundant and there's a lot of ranting going on, a lot of useless information that was honestly a waste of my time. I kept getting distracted and reading without actually reading, but nothing I missed was necessary for me to follow the story and understand what was going on. I hate it when a book allows me to do that.
Overall, I didn't enjoy this book. I think it's an overrated piece of work and Anna's story is not even that interesting because, in the end, she is just a self-destructive, whiny and weak woman in spite of being presented as much better and lovable than she actually was. There was meanness in her and I can't respect a character that destroys her life like she did and ends her life for such base, stupid reasons. I couldn't respect any character either way.
I feel like I wasted my time reading this book and I hate that feeling. I hate not enjoying a piece of work because I make an effort to finish it either way and when it's an uninteresting story it feels like torture. So, yeah...
I enjoyed the 2012 film so much that I decided I was going to read the novel at some point, and now I have. I had no idea Anna Karenina wasn't actually the main character of this story. It should be titled "Konstantin Levin". But then again, I don't think as many people would've read it if that was the case. He's not an interesting character. Actually, none of them are truly interesting, so it feels like there's no end to the book. There was no pleasure in reading this story, except *spoiler ahead* that one bit of satisfaction when Anna killed herself.
The characters are boring and the ones that were not completely boring were mostly reprehensible and just... unnecessary. It was unnecessary for me to get to know some of the characters and I forgot about them the minute I was allowed to. The writing is surprisingly redundant and there's a lot of ranting going on, a lot of useless information that was honestly a waste of my time. I kept getting distracted and reading without actually reading, but nothing I missed was necessary for me to follow the story and understand what was going on. I hate it when a book allows me to do that.
Overall, I didn't enjoy this book. I think it's an overrated piece of work and Anna's story is not even that interesting because, in the end, she is just a self-destructive, whiny and weak woman in spite of being presented as much better and lovable than she actually was. There was meanness in her and I can't respect a character that destroys her life like she did and ends her life for such base, stupid reasons. I couldn't respect any character either way.
I feel like I wasted my time reading this book and I hate that feeling. I hate not enjoying a piece of work because I make an effort to finish it either way and when it's an uninteresting story it feels like torture. So, yeah...