Scan barcode
tiny_reader_bri's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I vowed that before 2024, I would finish Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. And after an arduous journey (817 pages 😭), I finally did.
I went into the book thinking it’d be about a passionate love affair that would withstand the test of time, but it was so much darker than that. Anna Karenina is such a fascinating character. I pitied, admired, and disliked her for some of the things she said and decisions she made. She gets ostracized from society after being unfaithful to her husband and engaging in an illicit affair with the proud Count Vronsky. Like Anna, I found him hard to like, but I pitied him nonetheless. Anna was incredibly troubled, often described an archetype of the “fallen woman,” in the sense that she lost God’s grace. There was some underlying misogyny towards Anna and the other female characters. I’m sure it was intentional. At least, I hope it was. Anna’s fate still haunts me a little bit, but I felt it looming before it happened.
The second protagonist, Levin, is slightly more likable. He certainly has his share of flaws and spends most of the book questioning the purpose of life and tends to seek this out by use of logic. Levin loves to think and that often keeps him from embracing spirituality and faith. That description sounds eerily familiar…
Levin and Anna have many similarities, but how they conduct themselves is different. Where Levin is able to have a healthy, loving relationship with his wife (Kitty), Anna and Vronsky are the equivalent of a dumpster fire. Maybe Tolstoy wanted to convey the difference between love and lust or truly loving someone vs loving the idea of them.
When I finished it, I didn’t know what to think. The ending felt anticlimactic to me, and I was disappointed because I invested so much time into it. But after spending some time away from it, I’ve decided I like it. It’s undeniable that Tolstoy is an incredible storyteller. He got a bit long-winded from time to time, but I learned that in his time, writers were paid according to their book’s word count. He wanted every penny. Can’t blame him, though.
I wouldn’t say Anna Karenina is a new favorite of mine, but I don’t regret reading it. I feel indifferent to the story, like after I read Wuthering Heights the first time. I suppose the heart of the novel points back to the epigraph: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,” thus, the main characters get the ending they “deserve.” It’ll probably be 10 years before I read it again and I’m sure I’ll read it with different eyes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
aude's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Suicide, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Child death
Minor: Racial slurs, Classism, and War
aristarcodisamo's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Addiction, War, and Alcoholism
seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Infidelity, Classism, Violence, Toxic friendship, Grief, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Pregnancy
aristarcodisamo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Misogyny, and Animal death
Minor: Emotional abuse and Classism
knenigans's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I did not love the story or the overarching message but I did very much enjoy the writing and it is clear why this remains so popular.
I wish I had read this novel when I was 15, I think that would've been the perfect age for me to fully appreciate it.
I wish I had read this novel when I was 15, I think that would've been the perfect age for me to fully appreciate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Infidelity, Suicide, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexism, Pregnancy, Drug use, Grief, Classism, Death, Antisemitism, Child death, and Addiction
reginahafner_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
such an interesting character study! genuinely a book written so early on where there are conflicts and traits going on with every character, which i like. no one is plain. really easy to understand too. i find some classics to be confusing. even though this book is intimidating it’s easy to be absorbed into the story. i’m glad this was my first entry into russian lit, i will be going down it’s windy path. also kitty is my favorite <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Medical content, War, and Toxic relationship
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
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