Scan barcode
celery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Misogyny, Child death, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Classism, Colonisation, Toxic friendship, War, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Medical content, Racial slurs, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Self harm, Sexism, and Violence
aude's review against another edition
- 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
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
ninaleonie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide
Minor: Violence and War
aristarcodisamo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Addiction, War, and Alcoholism
joanabacana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War
thedandybrambler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, War, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Grief, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Gun violence
reginahafner_'s review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Medical content, War, and Toxic relationship
mariasrv's review against another edition
- 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
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,
Graphic: Animal death and Suicide
Minor: War and Child death
thewrongalice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: War and Xenophobia
madddiebear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, and War
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism