Reviews

Anna Karenina by Nina Berberova, Leo Tolstoy

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sirloin027's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

maggieshalloe's review against another edition

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5.0

I’m so glad I read this book, even if at times it was kind of a trudge through certain topics! Tolstoy did tend to linger on certain thoughts for a long time, but that being said the book was paced really well and had this modern feel to it. I learned a lot about society & what a woman’s place would have been in those times, and I really felt for Anna being in such an impossible situation. From the first chapter I had this odd fondness for Stepan and Dolly, and I soon had this same sentimental feeling towards all of the main players. Levin frustrated me at times with his failure to make his mind up about what he felt or what he believed, but towards the end I found myself relating to him in many ways.

bellamont's review against another edition

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emotional relaxing 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

3.25

splittsyj10's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

4.0

kagera's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

3.5

akacya's review against another edition

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2024 reads: 120/250

2024 tbr: 54/120

anna karenina is a sophisticated woman who becomes restless with her life. she pursues her passion with count vronsky, but the consequences that follow lead her to question if this was worth it.

as probably any other reader would say, this book scared me at first. this is one of the longest books i’ve read, second only to the bible (i’m being serious), and my first russian literature novel, so i had no idea what to expect. however, this book quickly drew me in. i love character-driven novels, and this is probably the most character-driven novel i’ve read. i’m glad i knew a bit about russian naming conventions going into this, because there are a lot of characters, and i think having this prior knowledge helped me keep them straight.

overall, this was a very enjoyable classic, and i’ll be reading more from tolstoy in the future.