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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading this convinces me I should read more classics. The translation was excellent, and made the language almost breezy in a way that older books often aren’t, although I’m curious how much of that is the original text versus this translation.
Things I liked:
1. The love story of Levin and Katia, while a slow burn, made me blaze through the first half of the book.
2. The footnotes were exceptionally helpful and taught a ton of interesting tidbits about Russia at the time of the novel.
3. Tolstoy can truly be quite profound at times. The bits about birth and parenthood hit me particularly hard at this point in my life.
A few small nitpicks prevented this from a five star read for me:
1. The pacing got to me a bit around the half way point. I still enjoyed it, but it didn’t grip me quite as much.
2. The Anna plotline, despite being the namesake, did t appeal to me quite as much as Levin. It was still engaging at times, but in the back half of the book the inevitability (I knew the approximate ending from the introduction) in combination to the slow pacing made me want to get back to Levin’s sections.
3. This was almost more humorous, but Levin had so many epiphanies (the book even ends on one). The last one has a feeling of definitiveness to it that maybe is supposed to make the previous ones as frivolous as they felt to me, but I may be reading into Tolstoys intent. Especially since Levin is a Tolstoy self-insert.
Things I liked:
1. The love story of Levin and Katia, while a slow burn, made me blaze through the first half of the book.
2. The footnotes were exceptionally helpful and taught a ton of interesting tidbits about Russia at the time of the novel.
3. Tolstoy can truly be quite profound at times. The bits about birth and parenthood hit me particularly hard at this point in my life.
A few small nitpicks prevented this from a five star read for me:
1. The pacing got to me a bit around the half way point. I still enjoyed it, but it didn’t grip me quite as much.
2. The Anna plotline, despite being the namesake, did t appeal to me quite as much as Levin. It was still engaging at times, but in the back half of the book the inevitability (I knew the approximate ending from the introduction) in combination to the slow pacing made me want to get back to Levin’s sections.
3. This was almost more humorous, but Levin had so many epiphanies (the book even ends on one). The last one has a feeling of definitiveness to it that maybe is supposed to make the previous ones as frivolous as they felt to me, but I may be reading into Tolstoys intent. Especially since Levin is a Tolstoy self-insert.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
heart stopping. How the fuck does Tolstoy understand what goes on in the head of a tormented woman??? The Anna chapters were uncomfortably revealing, the Levin/country life chapters idyllic and nostalgic. Every character flawed but deeply sympathetic. Well maybe not her first husband, weirdo.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to increase my rating from 3 to 4 stars because I finished this a month ago and I’m STILL thinking about what it all meant.
Though it was long, I can’t think of any part that should have been cut. One day I’ll be able to make sense of what Tolstoy was trying to impart with the different outcomes of the two protagonists.
Though it was long, I can’t think of any part that should have been cut. One day I’ll be able to make sense of what Tolstoy was trying to impart with the different outcomes of the two protagonists.
i finally finished anna karenina, and it really deserves that 5/5, i was hooked the whole time, and even when i wasn’t sure what i felt about certain characters or choices, i was still completely pulled in, the writing is beautiful in a way that feels effortless, and the characters feel so painfully real even when they’re being petty or foolish, it’s a story about love, sure, but it’s also about society, pride, loneliness, obsession, and the ugly sides of both romance and duty.
anna’s story hit me the hardest, she’s not written to be perfect, she’s selfish, desperate, proud, and still somehow incredibly fragile, you want to shake her and protect her at the same time, her fall isn’t just about her love for vronsky, it’s about the world around her collapsing too, how society turned its back on her, how her identity started to blur, how her emotions consumed her, it’s tragic but not just because of what she did, but because of how she ended up feeling like there was no place for her anywhere.
but honestly, the parallel with levin was what made the novel feel complete for me, he’s such a different kind of character, someone deeply thoughtful but constantly lost in his head, he’s searching for purpose, meaning, something to hold on to, and it’s interesting how his simple life and struggles end up giving more clarity than the grand drama of anna and vronsky, the contrast between them makes everything more powerful, it’s like one half is destruction, and the other is trying to find balance even when everything feels uncertain.
this book really says a lot about double standards too, especially for women, and how society will always find ways to punish them more for the same things men do, anna’s isolation wasn’t just emotional, it was systemic and cruel, and even though she had her flaws, the world made sure she couldn’t escape them, meanwhile someone like karenin is cold and unbearable but still respected just because he plays by the rules.
overall, it’s just one of those stories that makes you feel everything, and think about your own life choices, even when you finish it, you don’t really stop thinking about these characters, it’s heavy in parts but worth every page, it’s not just about a doomed affair, it’s about what it means to live with your choices, and whether love is ever enough when the world is watching and judging.
anna’s story hit me the hardest, she’s not written to be perfect, she’s selfish, desperate, proud, and still somehow incredibly fragile, you want to shake her and protect her at the same time, her fall isn’t just about her love for vronsky, it’s about the world around her collapsing too, how society turned its back on her, how her identity started to blur, how her emotions consumed her, it’s tragic but not just because of what she did, but because of how she ended up feeling like there was no place for her anywhere.
but honestly, the parallel with levin was what made the novel feel complete for me, he’s such a different kind of character, someone deeply thoughtful but constantly lost in his head, he’s searching for purpose, meaning, something to hold on to, and it’s interesting how his simple life and struggles end up giving more clarity than the grand drama of anna and vronsky, the contrast between them makes everything more powerful, it’s like one half is destruction, and the other is trying to find balance even when everything feels uncertain.
this book really says a lot about double standards too, especially for women, and how society will always find ways to punish them more for the same things men do, anna’s isolation wasn’t just emotional, it was systemic and cruel, and even though she had her flaws, the world made sure she couldn’t escape them, meanwhile someone like karenin is cold and unbearable but still respected just because he plays by the rules.
overall, it’s just one of those stories that makes you feel everything, and think about your own life choices, even when you finish it, you don’t really stop thinking about these characters, it’s heavy in parts but worth every page, it’s not just about a doomed affair, it’s about what it means to live with your choices, and whether love is ever enough when the world is watching and judging.
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced