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A review by joanybaloney
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
3.0
This beast of a book packs a wallop. As in, if you hit somebody on the head with it, you may be liable for homicide. Other than its sheer size, the sheer amount of detail and conversation contained in this book is impressive. Long books can be good and bad.
The good? We follow various characters around, most of them upper middle-class to the aristocracy of Russia. We have Stefan Oblonsky, a jolly, likable adulterer, and his put-upon wife, Dolly, who is the elder sister of Kitty, a young, slightly naive debutante, who is torn between Vronsky, a polished colonel, and Levin, a robust farmer. There are also various other friends and family - a cast of characters so long, I kept instinctively trying to flip to the back of my copy to see if there was a Cast of Characters, like in any of the books in A Song of Ice and Fire.
These characters develop. We get to know their innermost selves, their penchants, their daily lives, their relationships, their shortcomings and triumphs, and their political views. The latter is what marked this book down a star because while I initially found the discussion somewhat interesting, as being revealing of the time and place of the book's setting, eventually I found my head jerking and drooping in that odd, uncomfortable, drowsy trying-to-fall-asleep-when-I-am-not-prone head bob.
There are also quite a few discussions on farming and the relationship between the peasants, landowners, and the land. Similarly, these were interesting . . . until Levin all but destroyed any notion I had of ever reading about a farmer again. Seriously, Levin. You talk and think a lot. Still, through Levin's philosophical, political, and social musings, we see an interesting picture of a man who likes to argue and have intelligent conversation, but is not quite good at either capturing his own opinion or expressing it eloquently and clearly. I can sympathize here, never having been good at the verbal art. And Levin's musings on religion, morality, and philosophy towards the latter half of the book I found fascinating, as while modern books these days tend to avoid discussion of religion whatsoever, since apparently any notion of religious doctrine or discussion in a fictional book is anathema to today's tolerant coexist-er, I liked seeing the struggle of a man attempting to improve upon himself - not purely because of his religious beliefs, in his case - and fail, only to struggle, down to the very depths of his heart and soul.
The domestic details and discussions were also very interesting. Tolstoy almost evoked Jane Austen to me in certain places, what with the attention he gave to society, relationships, and the link between the two.
My main problem was the titular character herself. I understand, to the best of my ability, and appreciate the struggle she goes through throughout the book. I am enthusiastic that Tolstoy, at that time and place, understood the unfairness of Anna having to choose between child and lover, that a woman who enters into an affair is locked out of "high" society whereas a man in the same position (see Anna's brother) is not. However, Anna in the latter half of the book, was miserable and uglyjealous. This depiction of jealousy is realistic, as there are people out there who become so overcome and transformed by their misery and jealousy that they wish for no happiness on Earth, but her actions and wicked thoughts towards Kitty, her triumph in swaying Levin, her purported love for her son, whom she did not choose over her lover, her inability to love her infant daughter - I could not understand this woman. This woman, who was depicted as being charming, friendly, admirable in the beginning half of the book, that she fell to such depths - that frightened me. And therein I admired Tolstoy's skill in how Anna's transformation took place. Still, it doesn't mean I delighted in reading it. I wanted to tear out those pages, figuratively give her a slap in the face. Of course, I've wanted to slap every character in the face at some point, so there you have it: Tolstoy can write realistic characters.
Still, you should read Anna Karenina. Truly, a book ahead of its time, in how women are depicted, if you can manage to get through the constant discussions of politics, land, society, and Tolstoy's not-so-subtle views.
The good? We follow various characters around, most of them upper middle-class to the aristocracy of Russia. We have Stefan Oblonsky, a jolly, likable adulterer, and his put-upon wife, Dolly, who is the elder sister of Kitty, a young, slightly naive debutante, who is torn between Vronsky, a polished colonel, and Levin, a robust farmer. There are also various other friends and family - a cast of characters so long, I kept instinctively trying to flip to the back of my copy to see if there was a Cast of Characters, like in any of the books in A Song of Ice and Fire.
These characters develop. We get to know their innermost selves, their penchants, their daily lives, their relationships, their shortcomings and triumphs, and their political views. The latter is what marked this book down a star because while I initially found the discussion somewhat interesting, as being revealing of the time and place of the book's setting, eventually I found my head jerking and drooping in that odd, uncomfortable, drowsy trying-to-fall-asleep-when-I-am-not-prone head bob.
There are also quite a few discussions on farming and the relationship between the peasants, landowners, and the land. Similarly, these were interesting . . . until Levin all but destroyed any notion I had of ever reading about a farmer again. Seriously, Levin. You talk and think a lot. Still, through Levin's philosophical, political, and social musings, we see an interesting picture of a man who likes to argue and have intelligent conversation, but is not quite good at either capturing his own opinion or expressing it eloquently and clearly. I can sympathize here, never having been good at the verbal art. And Levin's musings on religion, morality, and philosophy towards the latter half of the book I found fascinating, as while modern books these days tend to avoid discussion of religion whatsoever, since apparently any notion of religious doctrine or discussion in a fictional book is anathema to today's tolerant coexist-er, I liked seeing the struggle of a man attempting to improve upon himself - not purely because of his religious beliefs, in his case - and fail, only to struggle, down to the very depths of his heart and soul.
The domestic details and discussions were also very interesting. Tolstoy almost evoked Jane Austen to me in certain places, what with the attention he gave to society, relationships, and the link between the two.
My main problem was the titular character herself. I understand, to the best of my ability, and appreciate the struggle she goes through throughout the book. I am enthusiastic that Tolstoy, at that time and place, understood the unfairness of Anna having to choose between child and lover, that a woman who enters into an affair is locked out of "high" society whereas a man in the same position (see Anna's brother) is not. However, Anna in the latter half of the book, was miserable and uglyjealous. This depiction of jealousy is realistic, as there are people out there who become so overcome and transformed by their misery and jealousy that they wish for no happiness on Earth, but her actions and wicked thoughts towards Kitty, her triumph in swaying Levin, her purported love for her son, whom she did not choose over her lover, her inability to love her infant daughter - I could not understand this woman. This woman, who was depicted as being charming, friendly, admirable in the beginning half of the book, that she fell to such depths - that frightened me. And therein I admired Tolstoy's skill in how Anna's transformation took place. Still, it doesn't mean I delighted in reading it. I wanted to tear out those pages, figuratively give her a slap in the face. Of course, I've wanted to slap every character in the face at some point, so there you have it: Tolstoy can write realistic characters.
Still, you should read Anna Karenina. Truly, a book ahead of its time, in how women are depicted, if you can manage to get through the constant discussions of politics, land, society, and Tolstoy's not-so-subtle views.