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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief
Minor: Animal death, Death, Alcohol
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Leí este libro debido a que mi profesor de literatura estaba dando clases sobre el realismo. Recuerdo bien que mencionó tres obras en concreto, donde las protagonistas eran víctimas del entorno social de la época: La Regenta, Madame Bovary y Anna Karenina. Yo, fan de la literatura, quise leer por primera vez un libro ruso. El punto es que este libro me dijó patas arriba y vuelta loca. No sé qué opinar ni qué pensar de esta mujer. Me enloqueció. Un día amo el libro y al día siguiente lo odio.
dark
emotional
informative
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
I had Anna Karenina for many years on my want to read list and now I have finally read it. What a mammoth...the only way to tackle such a mammoth is a bite at a time. It is not a book to be rushed, it took me almost 4 months, though I did read other books concurrently. I'm happy to have read it, some parts were sublime, others a little tedious, Tolstoy has packed a lot into this novel. The story of Levin parallels that of Anna but almost in reverse. The opening line that differs in different translations:
Video link:
my review on YouTube
All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.sets the tone for the book, there are many unhappy families here. We begin with Dolly and Oblonsky, Dolly is devastated by her husband's infidelity. The book exposes the hypocrisy of high society in Moscow and St Petersburg, through the lens of a doomed love affair between Anna and Vronsky; it looks at love and modernity, it looks at agricultural practices in the Russian countryside and how to raise a family. It is epic in scale, Faulkner described it as the greatest novel of all time.
Video link:
my review on YouTube