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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A must read for all lovers of history and the classics, even for those who do not like the genre. While the book might feel like it's running a bit too long towards the end, the style of his writing is breath-taking. Some basic knowledge of french is a bonus, for some knowledge of the inside jokes.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This Pevear and Volokhonsky translation is beautiful. It reads like a Russian novel that has been translated into English rather than a Russian novel than has been transformed into an English novel, which can happen depending on the translator's choices.
I had hoped to like this book more than I have but I was disappointed in the ending. Tolstoy's writing is often insightful in regard to people's internal worlds, which is why I expected the rest of the characters to have something, anything to say about her after Anna jumps to her death. All we get are complaints from Vronsky's mother and Lensky's endless ramblings about having finally understood the meaning of life through the flimsiest of arguments in favour of believing in God.
As a character study and a snapshot of a time and place it was fascinating. What I got out of it is that I'm glad I'm alive in a time period in which I'm not expected to marry someone after we've exchanged approximately three sentences.
I had hoped to like this book more than I have but I was disappointed in the ending. Tolstoy's writing is often insightful in regard to people's internal worlds, which is why I expected the rest of the characters to have something, anything to say about her after Anna jumps to her death. All we get are complaints from Vronsky's mother and Lensky's endless ramblings about having finally understood the meaning of life through the flimsiest of arguments in favour of believing in God.
As a character study and a snapshot of a time and place it was fascinating. What I got out of it is that I'm glad I'm alive in a time period in which I'm not expected to marry someone after we've exchanged approximately three sentences.
"All happy families are alike, all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way"
One of my favorite and most infamous opening lines to a book.
Anna Karenina is a beautiful book, I loved this book. I loved most of this book.
I will admit the seemingly endless chapters dedicated to Constantines agricultural endeavors lost me. Lost me hard.
But the tortured life of Anna Karenina is a beautiful one that can unfortunately get lost in the over 800 pages of this book
I found myself constantly rooting for Anna, despite the fact that she did not always need, or arguably deserve the readers support.
This is a brilliant book, a challenging, yet brilliant book.
One of my favorite and most infamous opening lines to a book.
Anna Karenina is a beautiful book, I loved this book. I loved most of this book.
I will admit the seemingly endless chapters dedicated to Constantines agricultural endeavors lost me. Lost me hard.
But the tortured life of Anna Karenina is a beautiful one that can unfortunately get lost in the over 800 pages of this book
I found myself constantly rooting for Anna, despite the fact that she did not always need, or arguably deserve the readers support.
This is a brilliant book, a challenging, yet brilliant book.
dark
emotional
reflective
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
A great undertaking that weaves its way across families, politics, geographies, doubts and more.
Particularly liked its exploration of character, how it moved between people and gave such depth and lovely insight into quirks and thought.
Gives space - such as the 100 or so pages devoted to Levin in rural Russia finding his way amongst the peasants and the land. Lovely rural descriptions against the politics / Karenin sterility / excess / pace and modernity of the city (that has devastating consequences).
Anna a great character of force, Levin and Oblonksy the contradictions and their determined faults even more so.
Had that weird Crime and Punishment ending when goes all Christian religious!
All happy families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Particularly liked its exploration of character, how it moved between people and gave such depth and lovely insight into quirks and thought.
Gives space - such as the 100 or so pages devoted to Levin in rural Russia finding his way amongst the peasants and the land. Lovely rural descriptions against the politics / Karenin sterility / excess / pace and modernity of the city (that has devastating consequences).
Anna a great character of force, Levin and Oblonksy the contradictions and their determined faults even more so.
Had that weird Crime and Punishment ending when goes all Christian religious!
All happy families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
challenging
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Literally could have been half the length and would have been better for it. So many unnecessary, long, uninteresting scenes! Tolstoy just LOVES to yap and I am not here for it.
Good though many uninteresting parts about farming which are detrimental to the book's general pace