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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
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
I tried so hard to get into this and it was difficult. I wanted to love it!
slow-paced
First of all, I'm very proud I finished this book in time for book club! It was a very long read and although it was very interesting to include a lot of the historical/political references of the time, there were very large chunks of the book that felt like overkill (i.e., all the talk of the peasantry and new machines for farming). Putting that aside, I absolutely loved the love stories and drama that affected each of the characters. Those parts were very engaging and fun to read.
This book is an absolute masterpiece. At the beginning I was very confused by the hype and I nearly quit. Thankfully, several people encouraged me to keep going and I’m so glad I did!
The writing is magnificent! I find that particularly impressive considering it has been translated. The descriptions are beautiful and Tolstoy’s genius at contrasting the characters is unsurpassed. There is so much to glean from this novel. I finished reading and immediately wanted to start over and see what else I could get from it. I will be coming back to this book again and again.
The writing is magnificent! I find that particularly impressive considering it has been translated. The descriptions are beautiful and Tolstoy’s genius at contrasting the characters is unsurpassed. There is so much to glean from this novel. I finished reading and immediately wanted to start over and see what else I could get from it. I will be coming back to this book again and again.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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
emotional
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
A collection of thoughts:
- HUGE TW for suicidal ideation. 3 characters contemplate and/or attempt it, and you get really into the minds of two of them. Consider yourself warned.
- Rich people being messy!
- I don't think the book is actually about Anna Karenina. It's really about Levin, who is an author self-insert, and kind of an annoying one at that. He's prone to jealousy, emotionally erratic, and self-pitying to an extreme. I don't mind an annoying main character, but it feels a bit bait-and-switch for this to be called Anna Karenina.
- The characters are incredibly full of life and fun to read about. I can see why people say this is a masterpiece; Tolstoy captures the nuances of human relationships, societal mores, and day-to-day living stunningly. The characters felt so alive and just very human. People in late 1800s Russia: they're just like us! A mark of how well-done this was is how I have thoughts about each and every character (but I will only give some of my thoughts here).
- Stiva was such a shitty husband but sooooo fun to read about. So charming and fun and funny. Terrible husband and father. Great friend to party with.
- Anna was such a flawed person, seeking happiness but going about it in the worst way possible. So messy and toxic but you really feel for her when
she is snubbed in St Petersburg . - Poor Dolly. She should never have
listened to Anna . - I felt so bad for Seryozha. He did nothing wrong and has a really rough go of it. I hope he and
Annie made it out of everything ok. RIP Frou-Frou. Terrible name that made me laugh aloud.
- I don't have any experience with suicidal ideation, but
Anna's unspooling at the end of her life felt very frantic and genuine. You could feel her panic and I found it very affecting. - The philosophical and economic essays in the book were sort of interesting but made it a bit slow at times. Honestly, it made me kind of want to read a book or take a course about Russian history, which is overall a positive review of the book, I guess, but it really did slow everything down. I want to read an essay about Anna Karenina and the Russian Revolution.
- Unexpected queer representation: Countess Lidia Ivanovna is canonically bisexual (like, literally written in the text) and Kitty is almost certainly bi as well (she becomes infatuated with both Varenka and Anna). Slay
- Anna
kills herself and there are still 19 chapters left in the book. It's kind of a weird denouement and really makes it feel like the book is two different novels put together. I didn't mind Levin's story, but hisfinding God/spirituality was a bit of a letdown after the breathless last chapter of Part 7. - Lastly, I think one of the biggest complaints people have about Russian literature is the number of names, which is honestly fair because the cast of this book is massive. However, if you take the time to understand the Russian naming system (given name, patronymic, family name, nickname(s)) it gets much easier. Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky is usually referred to as one of: Stepan, Stiva, Stepan Arkadyevitch, and Oblonsky. Maybe I'm just Filipino and used to nicknames, but to me this makes complete sense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Minor: Racism, Pregnancy, War