9.6k reviews for:

Anna Karennina

Leo Tolstoy

3.97 AVERAGE

innae's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH

I have made it about a third of the way through this book, and I don't care about any of the characters. Anna herself rarely appears in the book as far as I can tell...not sure why she got the honor of the title. I am giving up...maybe one day I will revisit this, but for now I am done.
inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
medium-paced
challenging reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Finally managed to finish reading this book after picking it up and leaving it unfinished several times.

The novel constitutes a rich number of characters which made it a little difficult to follow initially. However, once I got a hang of it, I was pleased to read about these characters in depth and their interactions with one another.

I was fascinated by the way the inner lives of certain characters were written. It assisted me in empathising with these characters when they resorted to questionable behaviours. Reading about Anna’s and Levin’s personalities, one could conspicuously see how one’s train of thoughts in abject situations can exacerbate the intensity of the tribulations. I could relate to the fear of abandonment and the fear of happiness itself that was there in Anna. But Anna can’t be defined just by her insecurities. She was the most courageous person with a strong sense of self which made her take difficult decisions which women in her position wouldn’t dare to take. Moving on to Levin, his tendency to imagine the worst consequences was, unfortunately, not a stranger to me. He carried a copious amount of responsibilities on his shoulders and strive with every ounce of energy in fulfilling them. His conversations with himself were fun to read about and loved how well-written was his happiness in solitude, internal conversations, and lastly, his acceptance of himself. Another character for whom I had a soft corner for was Dolly. She seemed like an amazing person who deserved a better partner. I was happy to see her eventually living with her sister, Kitty, and her family away from Oblonsky. The bond shared between the sisters was undoubtedly wholesome.
challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes