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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: War
Having read and not loved War and Peace I was hesitant to give Anna Karenina a chance. Turns out I was already hooked in the first hundred pages (about a 10th of the sprawling novel) and proceeded to fly through the tale of adultery, love, death and the ‘meaning of it all’. With some of the most complex and well written characters I’ve ever read this quickly became one of my favorite novels and certainly up there with my top Russian novels.
this one took me a long time!
some parts i found were dense and i took me a while to process what i was reading but some others were really easy and fun.
i liked it, how people re described ad how they live are portrayed beautifully.
i found it really interesting to see some of they way of acting of people nowadays can be read in this book, as i said before it is really human you can share fears and joys with most of the characters.
as a non religious person i nonetheless enjoyed how religion is placed and shown in the book and i find Levin´s thought of religion really interesting.
i would recommend this books because i think reading classics is really important, if you like them or hate them when you are done its up to you but hey at least you gave them a try!
some parts i found were dense and i took me a while to process what i was reading but some others were really easy and fun.
i liked it, how people re described ad how they live are portrayed beautifully.
i found it really interesting to see some of they way of acting of people nowadays can be read in this book, as i said before it is really human you can share fears and joys with most of the characters.
as a non religious person i nonetheless enjoyed how religion is placed and shown in the book and i find Levin´s thought of religion really interesting.
i would recommend this books because i think reading classics is really important, if you like them or hate them when you are done its up to you but hey at least you gave them a try!
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
Okay, I'm going to be honest, this was a hard read, but entirely worth it. On that same note, it was heart-breaking. Reading this book was like watching two flowers side by side. One is beautiful, but as time goes on, it wilts, and all you can do is watch helplessly. That would be Anna and Vronsky's relationship. The other flower starts off as a seedling;you get to watch it develop and encourage it along. It turns out to be more beautiful than the first. That flower represents Levin and Kitty's relationship. Leo Tolstoy was a brilliant writer, and Anna Karenina deserves every praise, but the book was so frustratingly beautiful. It juxtapositions the two relationships against each other. While Anna's relationship wilts, Kitty's Thrives. How strange do things turn out.
The worst part for me was watching Anna slowly spiral to nothing. She was everything I admired and then Vronsky came. From the beginning, I loved their relationship. All that forbidden love and undying loyalty really gets to me. And when Karenin was introduced, I despised him like Anna did. But everything took a turn for the worse when she got pregnant with Vronksy's child. I started to pity Karenin. When you saw it from his point of view, you can see how the whole thing strained on him. He can't express himself, his emotions are presented as anger and indifference because that's the only way he knew how. He became the better man when he forgave Anna for everything on her supposed deathbed during delivery. Vronsky became so wretched about it he tried to commit suicide. Suicide is never the answer, whatever the situation. There's always help, even if you don't see it.
Meanwhile, during breaks from Anna's life, you see how Levin is. He had faced rejection from the woman he loved: Kitty. She had chosen Vronksy over Levin, who in turn chose Anna over her. Levin's story became the one I could love and see develop. He was someone who felt awkward in society, never had the right thing to say or do. That I can relate to. He tore himself down when Kitty didn't choose him. I tend to do that a lot, even if i'm not proposing to someone and ultimately get rejected. But he could never forget his love, no mater how hard he tried. She was everywhere. They finally are reconciled by Oblonsky. Their reconciliation was beautiful; the sweetest thing anyone could ever wish for. And I know i'm pretty much saying everything that ever happened but there were so many feels reading this book. Anyway, you can really tell the differences between the two relationships. I was sad, however, as Anna's relationship with Vronsky changed her. She was so perfect, and beautiful. But she was unhappy and wretched, she became jealous and never trusted him. That eventually drove her to commit suicide.
She first met Vronsky at the train station. The same day a man committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. The exact same way she died. FORESHADOWING. Her death was a terrible thing, no matter what Vronsky thought earlier, you could see how much he actually loved her. Their love ruined them.
After marriage, Kitty and Levin found their place. I especially love Levin saying the first three months of supposed happiness of marriage was actually bitter and rough. They were real to me, the relationship, them, everything. I connected with Levin considerably through his struggles in faith and God. I do believe, but like him it's hard to not doubt it all. But he found his place.
Two of my favorite quotes from him are:
"The question of other religions and their relations to Divinity I have no right to decide, and no possibility of deciding."
"I shall still be as unable to understand with my reason why I pray, and I shall still go on praying; but my life now, my whole life apart from anything that can happen to me, every minute of this no more meaningless, as it was before, but it has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it."
Tolstoy's inclusion of Levin's journey as well as Anna's was truly brilliance. This classic novel is indeed a classic, which should be read by many.
The worst part for me was watching Anna slowly spiral to nothing. She was everything I admired and then Vronsky came. From the beginning, I loved their relationship. All that forbidden love and undying loyalty really gets to me. And when Karenin was introduced, I despised him like Anna did. But everything took a turn for the worse when she got pregnant with Vronksy's child. I started to pity Karenin. When you saw it from his point of view, you can see how the whole thing strained on him. He can't express himself, his emotions are presented as anger and indifference because that's the only way he knew how. He became the better man when he forgave Anna for everything on her supposed deathbed during delivery. Vronsky became so wretched about it he tried to commit suicide. Suicide is never the answer, whatever the situation. There's always help, even if you don't see it.
Meanwhile, during breaks from Anna's life, you see how Levin is. He had faced rejection from the woman he loved: Kitty. She had chosen Vronksy over Levin, who in turn chose Anna over her. Levin's story became the one I could love and see develop. He was someone who felt awkward in society, never had the right thing to say or do. That I can relate to. He tore himself down when Kitty didn't choose him. I tend to do that a lot, even if i'm not proposing to someone and ultimately get rejected. But he could never forget his love, no mater how hard he tried. She was everywhere. They finally are reconciled by Oblonsky. Their reconciliation was beautiful; the sweetest thing anyone could ever wish for. And I know i'm pretty much saying everything that ever happened but there were so many feels reading this book. Anyway, you can really tell the differences between the two relationships. I was sad, however, as Anna's relationship with Vronsky changed her. She was so perfect, and beautiful. But she was unhappy and wretched, she became jealous and never trusted him. That eventually drove her to commit suicide.
She first met Vronsky at the train station. The same day a man committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. The exact same way she died. FORESHADOWING. Her death was a terrible thing, no matter what Vronsky thought earlier, you could see how much he actually loved her. Their love ruined them.
After marriage, Kitty and Levin found their place. I especially love Levin saying the first three months of supposed happiness of marriage was actually bitter and rough. They were real to me, the relationship, them, everything. I connected with Levin considerably through his struggles in faith and God. I do believe, but like him it's hard to not doubt it all. But he found his place.
Two of my favorite quotes from him are:
"The question of other religions and their relations to Divinity I have no right to decide, and no possibility of deciding."
"I shall still be as unable to understand with my reason why I pray, and I shall still go on praying; but my life now, my whole life apart from anything that can happen to me, every minute of this no more meaningless, as it was before, but it has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it."
Tolstoy's inclusion of Levin's journey as well as Anna's was truly brilliance. This classic novel is indeed a classic, which should be read by many.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Anna Karenina", written by Leo Tolstoy and published in the 1870s, is a novel about betrayal, hardships, pain, suffering, and of course, love. And despite the story taking place over 100 years ago, I could still relate to each of these attributes.
The entire story takes place through the eyes of numerous characters, but all of them were a part of Russian nobility of varying levels. Now, not only do I have an understanding of Russian nobility, but I feel like I lived it. Every single character in "Anna Karenina" offered a different perspective of the same thing. Opinions differed, and minds thought very differently. It's hard to believe that this was a work of fiction.
I would recommend "Anna Karenina" to anybody. Everybody should read it at some point in their lives, it can offer perspective that is not usually found, especially in the frenetic society of today. Overall, I am very glad I read this novel, and just after one reading I am a huge fan of Leo Tolstoy.
The entire story takes place through the eyes of numerous characters, but all of them were a part of Russian nobility of varying levels. Now, not only do I have an understanding of Russian nobility, but I feel like I lived it. Every single character in "Anna Karenina" offered a different perspective of the same thing. Opinions differed, and minds thought very differently. It's hard to believe that this was a work of fiction.
I would recommend "Anna Karenina" to anybody. Everybody should read it at some point in their lives, it can offer perspective that is not usually found, especially in the frenetic society of today. Overall, I am very glad I read this novel, and just after one reading I am a huge fan of Leo Tolstoy.