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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
I first read this in probably 2012 when I was around 18/19 and I considered it one of my fave novels and would have given it 5 stars. Rereading it at 31 I'm slightly mystified at what went over my head this time that I apparently didn't even realise went over my head back then. The character driven story is great and it surprises me how easy this is to read compared to a lot of classics, the writing style feels very fresh and modern, but a lot of the religious stuff, the agriculture stuff and general Russian history context just went straight in one eye and out the other. Need to give myself a mini history lesson and reread it in another 10 years I guess.
Each time I set the book down, Anna Karenina left me to contemplate many subjecst long into the night- relationships, religion, family, social decorum, Russian history(which I know little about), and oh the meaning of life etc.etc. I could go on and on. This is part of the reason I give the book 4 stars. The other reason is that it is just plain well written. It was an introduction to Tolstoy for me and I found it to have exceeded my expectations. I felt the story allowed the reader to be highly engaged in the development of the characters. I see all characters including ones who make a brief appearance in the novel very clearly in my mind's eye. This type of detail always makes for an enjoyable reading experience.
However, there were two major issues I had with the novel that were the cause of my 1 star reduction. I found Anna Karenina's character to be quite insufferable. There were times when it was so difficult for me to get through her imagined torture. I honestly think that when she began to despise herself for what she had done, she was no longer able to truly love Vronsky. How can you love another when you dont love yourself? Now, she began to despise herself quite early on in the book. So for me that lead to a million pages of crazy pants hooblah irrationality degredation involving her story. It was annoying to be quite frank, VERY annoying. I suspect that the second problem I had with the book may come from the fact that I have little knowledge of Tolstoy's style nor familiarity with 19th century Russian literature. I felt there was so much misplaced philisophical rambling. Fortunately, I still found value in such dialogue because I was able to grasp the perceived philosohpical point in the conversations. I just don't understand why it was written in the way it was when it could have been much clearer. Was he trying to present the true confusion and foggy thought process that the everyday person posesses when pondering such subjects? That's the only thing I can think of but it was still so long even if that was the case.. It just seemed like such an odd way to end the novel after all the build up. It didn't fit..or did it? I'm not sure but I think as I continue to read Tolstoy's works I will have a better understanding.
However, there were two major issues I had with the novel that were the cause of my 1 star reduction. I found Anna Karenina's character to be quite insufferable. There were times when it was so difficult for me to get through her imagined torture. I honestly think that when she began to despise herself for what she had done, she was no longer able to truly love Vronsky. How can you love another when you dont love yourself? Now, she began to despise herself quite early on in the book. So for me that lead to a million pages of crazy pants hooblah irrationality degredation involving her story. It was annoying to be quite frank, VERY annoying. I suspect that the second problem I had with the book may come from the fact that I have little knowledge of Tolstoy's style nor familiarity with 19th century Russian literature. I felt there was so much misplaced philisophical rambling. Fortunately, I still found value in such dialogue because I was able to grasp the perceived philosohpical point in the conversations. I just don't understand why it was written in the way it was when it could have been much clearer. Was he trying to present the true confusion and foggy thought process that the everyday person posesses when pondering such subjects? That's the only thing I can think of but it was still so long even if that was the case.. It just seemed like such an odd way to end the novel after all the build up. It didn't fit..or did it? I'm not sure but I think as I continue to read Tolstoy's works I will have a better understanding.
Don't love the way Tolstoy writes women but the book is still a masterpiece.
dark
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
I’m just proud I finally read it
2 years and 37 hours later :')
idk about greatest novel ever written but levin is funny and kitty is fruity and sometimes that's all you need
imagine reading this as it was being serialized and punching air every time u opened up ur magazine to find that it was yet another fucking levin chapter
idk about greatest novel ever written but levin is funny and kitty is fruity and sometimes that's all you need
imagine reading this as it was being serialized and punching air every time u opened up ur magazine to find that it was yet another fucking levin chapter
I don't know what to say on this one. I didn't hate it (although I hated parts) and I didn't love it (although I loved some parts). I'm glad I can say I've read Tolstoy. I think the reason we have a modern-day rule to only name important characters is because of Tolstoy. That's really all I've got after all 817 pages.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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
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
medium-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