Reviews

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

marion's review against another edition

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4.0

il était vraiment très fort, tolstoï.

bon. j'ai lu ce classique parce que je suis absolument matrixée par le film de 2012. ça a fait quelque chose à mon cerveau et je DEVAIS lire ce roman. j'avais besoin de tout connaître, de tout comprendre.
comme on peut tous s'en douter, on a tellement plus de détails dans le livre, plus de perspectives, plus de points de vue... que dans les adaptations. et merci, ça me permet tellement de mieux comprendre et apprécier l'histoire.
pour une fois, je vais dire que voir le film avant d'avoir lu le livre était la meilleure décision à prendre.

croyez-moi, l'histoire vaut tellement le coup.
oui, c'est vrai, il n'y a pas vraiment d'intrigue, c'est principalement une étude de personnages.
on suit trois couples (anna, son mari et vronsky par la suite ; oblonski et daria ; levine et kitty) dans leur vie bourgeoise (sauf Levine même s'il vient du milieu), on suit leur choix, leur pensées, leur parcours. on voit les personnages se rencontrer et se détacher, se quitter et se retrouver dans cette société où les conventions sociales et les apparences sont maîtres.

ne vous attendez pas à lire seulement sur la relation amoureuse entre vronsky et anna car le livre ne se restreint pas seulement à cela. ça va bien plus loin, ça touche tellement de sujets différents qui nous font réfléchir (même encore à notre époque).

dans mon coeur, c'est un 5 étoiles parce que c'est vraiment une histoire (principalement l'histoire entre vronsky et anna) à laquelle je pense on a daily basis.
j'ai enlevé une étoile car il m'est arrivé de lire en diagonale certains passages (principalement ceux concernant l'agriculture - il y en avait tellement j'en pouvais plus) donc l'histoire me semblait encore plus longue.

mais voilà, c'est vraiment un classique à lire dans sa vie.

lit_laugh_luv's review against another edition

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5.0

There's truly no way to review or summarize a book of this length and scope. Tolstoy captures everything about the human experience - envy, lust, greed, love, loss, purpose, fulfillment, identity, obligation and ambition. We see how characters connect to political upheaval, war, religion, affairs, parenthood, and each other in so many facets. The book speaks so well to the timelessness of the human experience; despite this taking place in the 1870s in a culture I have no personal connection to, these characters are so complex and the issues they face still closely resemble what we experience today.

Anna Karenina herself is such a complex and nuanced character at the heart of this novel. She's in some ways morally grey and an anti-hero; I still don't know entirely how I feel about her by the end of this. The limitations she experiences as a woman are central to her character, yet her actions are hard to justify nonetheless. Dolly and Kitty are both such stars in this novel I couldn't help but love; everyone raves about Levin (who I also enjoyed), but they definitely stole my heart.

I completely understand why this novel is heralded as the best of all time. The symbolism and parallels Tolstoy creates are magnificent and satisfying as a reader. Every character is so deep and complex, and the intricate web of connections that span over these 800+ pages was a pleasure to read from start to finish. While it may not be my absolute favourite novel ever, there's no denying that this is a literary masterpiece and shows how artistic a skilled writer can be.

While reading Anna Karenina is certainly a commitment, I don't regret it in the slightest. This novel is absolutely beautiful and encapsulates the human experience in a way I've never read before. This book will definitely stay with me indefinitely and I am so glad to check this off my literary bucket list after years of being intimidated by it!

baghead's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective 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

5.0

bookbadass6969's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

andotherworlds's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5?! // rtc (actually blog post to come) but yeah didly did it and am done dear gowd monsieur tolstoy likes to TALK

*i swear if i update this review every five minutes with a different rating just ignore it ok let’s pretend im not questioning it all like my boy levin k cool

rosiesroses's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny tense slow-paced

4.0

ismaupin's review against another edition

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

4.5

sararose_cozy's review against another edition

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3.0

I was interested in the beginning and lost it as it went on. Haven’t read a “classic” in awhile and am not used to the length and indepthness of everything. Probably would have enjoyed it more if I took the time to really get into it and explore the themes and characters.

sandydollreads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

chloe1912's review against another edition

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

4.25