Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Anna Karenina

‘Anna Karenina’ is a literary masterpiece, and it is one of the greatest realistic novels out there. It raises questions about life and what it means to be human, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. The story, the characters, their choices, and their preoccupations — they stay with you for a long time, infecting you with fresh ideas and perspectives about life, people, and the human experience. Furthermore, it is timeless. It presents human conditions and issues in society that are still relevant to this day.

Tolstoy writes about the mundane details of everyday life in a way that makes them seem so fascinating. He portrays life experiences and fleeting moments with such detail and accuracy. Tolstoy describes ordinary thinking in such an intricate and insightful fashion, that after reading the book, you feel that you now have a deeper understanding of the human experience. It takes someone with a great understanding of the human mind—a master of human observation—to be able to write different kinds of characters who are so true to life and to do so in a way that is so raw, vivid, and real.

Tolstoy is fantastic at creating characters who are complex and flawed — we find ourselves loving them, hating them, condemning them, and then empathizing with them. Our perceptions of these characters keep shifting as we discover more about them and the multiple facets of their personalities. Tolstoy dives deep into the human psyche, allowing us to explore the rich internal worlds of his characters. That's where the beauty of this work lies, in its nuanced view of human emotions.

I am simply in awe at how well Tolstoy can articulate the thoughts and feelings of his characters. He writes detailed expressions in a way that brings these characters to life. It takes someone who is perceptive, with great attention to detail, to be able to write about the human mind so realistically and beautifully. It is impossible not to feel compassion towards these characters because Tolstoy breathed so much life into them. They no longer felt like characters to me; they felt like real, breathing people, and for that reason, I was able to empathize and connect with them even when they made choices that had me shaking my head in disappointment. Tolstoy effectively showed me their desires, weaknesses, motivations, and thought processes. I got to know these characters so deeply and intimately, that it almost feels like I know them even better than I know my own self.

The book explores the light and shadow aspects of human nature, blurring the lines between good and evil. This book tugged at my heartstrings so many times. The way Tolstoy writes about death, grief, and the downward spiral during a mental breakdown is so astonishingly realistic and heart-wrenching that you just want to take pause and breathe.

A lot of the complaints I see are about Levin’s repetitive philosophical rants. Indeed, it was obvious that Tolstoy was projecting his own thoughts through Levin, but personally, I see nothing wrong about an author injecting his character with a part of his own philosophies. Besides, I loved reading about these thoughts of his. Haven’t we also pondered upon similar questions about life and death? I know I have. What is the meaning of life? What happens after death? If death is inevitable, why live at all? I have ruminated over these questions myself, so following Levin’s quest to find his answers to these questions was fascinating to me. The ending was beautiful and enlightening.

Don’t expect this book to focus solely on Anna and her story. The plot of this book isn’t linear; it goes off on tangents and explores other themes like religion, politics, spirituality, farming, philosophy, etc. People who aren’t interested in these subjects may get bored as those parts do drag out, but this was something that I enjoyed personally because it brought about a sense of passing time. It’s just like ordinary life, filled with slow days and mundane moments. Tolstoy really put his heart and soul into this novel. It’s crafted with so much love and attention, and it deserves no less than 5 stars.

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uss_mary_shelley's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

I have been meaning to read this for a long time and I am glad I finally have and that I gave myself the time to enjoy it. Right up my street with a tightly woven story involving so much of my favourite things.

Content Warnings