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molly_greenshields's review against another edition
challenging
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
4.0
She's only gone and completed one of her biggest literary goals of the year! After all, isn't Anna Karenina one of the greatest works of literature of all time? And although I went into this 800+ page beast... slightly daunted to say the least, I actually ended up having a lot of fun! I was living for the sheer drama and scandal of Russian Society (fair warning: Anna Karenina is just the tip of the iceberg), and Tolstoy's prose was just stunning (it's true that he actually had me laughing aloud from time to time) Loved, loved, loved.
I will readily admit, however, that I did skim over Levin's musings on scythes and agriculture...
I will readily admit, however, that I did skim over Levin's musings on scythes and agriculture...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Infidelity, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Emotional abuse
saroreen's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism and Toxic relationship
Minor: Addiction and Violence
margauxreadit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Suicide
spirotechnics's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Addiction
heidi_meredith's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
As soon as I started this, I felt I'd rated my previous book too highly. Tolstoy has such incredible and witty insight into human nature. I'd never noticed before how similar he is to Austen, albeit she works more through dialogue than monologue.
I found Levin and Dolly most relatable for me. 'All day she felt as if she were acting in a theatre with better actors than herself, and that her bad performance was spoiling the whole affair.'
It is interesting to see the parallel journeys that Anna and Levin make in their quests for meaning and to note the similarities in some of their lines of thought, but their very different outcomes.
I found Levin and Dolly most relatable for me. 'All day she felt as if she were acting in a theatre with better actors than herself, and that her bad performance was spoiling the whole affair.'
It is interesting to see the parallel journeys that Anna and Levin make in their quests for meaning and to note the similarities in some of their lines of thought, but their very different outcomes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Racism
sarasreading's review against another edition
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I finished Anna Karenina! Or should I say Konstantin Levin? It really felt like he was the main character. Then I went to Goodreads and read the blurb, "Levin is a reflection of Tolstoy himself, often expressing the author's own views and convictions." Levin is a Mary Sue lol! Everything makes so much sense now. He was a much more compelling character to me, and he's in so much more of the book.
It's strange, because while I never felt much emotion while reading this, I was rarely, if ever, bored. It held my interest through the entire thing. That's saying something for a book this long with a relatively simple plot and almost no forward momentum. It was also very easy to understand, aside from several characters going by multiple names.
I think if you like classics and aren't intimidated by how thick this is, give it a go.
It's strange, because while I never felt much emotion while reading this, I was rarely, if ever, bored. It held my interest through the entire thing. That's saying something for a book this long with a relatively simple plot and almost no forward momentum. It was also very easy to understand, aside from several characters going by multiple names.
I think if you like classics and aren't intimidated by how thick this is, give it a go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Moderate: Classism
yolanda_h's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death and Pregnancy
mariasrv's review against another edition
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.
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.
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,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Suicide
Minor: War and Child death
razmatesz's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
julygiu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt