Reviews

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

jiulia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

rymrgard's review against another edition

5.0

4,5

Was für ein phänomenales Buch. Es erscheint mir fast unverständlich, wie derselbe Autor ,Anna Karenina‘ und die ,Kreutzersonate‘ geschrieben haben kann.

Das Mitgefühl, das Tolstoi hier seinen Figuren entgegenbringt, erinnert an das schriftstellerische Talent eines Haldor Laxness und Stefan Zweig — ohne hier einen qualitativen Vergleich anstreben zu wollen; ich bin Naturwissenschaftler, kein Literaturwissenschaftler und kann Bücher nie über die persönliche Ebene hinaus bewerten.
Wer hier versucht in Gut/Böse oder Recht/Unrecht zu unterteilen, macht es sich meiner Meinung nach viel zu einfach. Wronski, Anna, Kitty, Dolly, Oblonski, Lewin und Karenin — sie alle sind mir auf ihre Art und Weise vertraut geworden und in all ihren Fehlern, Makeln und Idealen als nichts als menschlich präsentiert worden. So simpel und doch für so manchen Schriftsteller unmöglich zu erreichen.

Zuletzt: Dies war nicht mein erstes Buch Tolstois, daher war ich mir bereits sicher, dass mir seine Sprache auch hier zusagen würde. Aber die berühmt-berüchtigte ,Heuszene‘ gehört zu dem Schönsten, dass ich jemals lesen durfte.

b1tchw1zard's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

faithculpepper's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

mldodds's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

zukigirl's review against another edition

4.0

Touching

soooohjaun's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

only not a five ⭐️ for the TWENTY PAGES LIEVIN SPENT TALKING ABT HIS FARMMMMMM I DONT CARE I WANT ANNA AND VRONSKY NOT YOU FARMER BOY

mitskacir's review against another edition

2.0

I picked this up (audiobook version) because it is a classic, but I struggled to get through this book, not because of its length but because I could not stand the majority of the characters. Levin particularly drove me crazy with his mercurial, moody inner dialogues and his extreme insecurity, particularly in regards to the woman he loves, Kitty. I was often exhausted myself just by reading the amount of emotional labor Kitty and the other characters had to bestow upon Levin. All of the characters were extremely insecure and lacked communication skills, which lead to a series of misunderstandings, arguments, and feelings of despair. The ending also seemed bizarre to me, with Anna's storyline being abruptly cut off. I will say that Tolstoy very beautifully writes about the expressions on people's faces.

judeandolin's review against another edition

3.0

I... did it. I finished Anna Karenina. 2017 goal unlocked.

Unfortunately now I just feel like I'm missing something vital in my appreciation of "fine literature". I end up feeling that a lot with classics—it's just not my genre and I almost never end up liking them, let alone understanding the hype.

Anyways, this was without a doubt exquisitely written, and a beautiful, intimate look into the psyches of a huge spread of characters. I saw one reviewer describe it as a "Russian soap-opera", and I couldn't agree more—maybe this is why it didn't really touch me. From the start, I couldn't sympathize with Anna and Vronsky's love; there was no build up, no anticipation, it just happened and all of a sudden they were ~~~in love~~~. I guess I need a bit more exposition than that to care.

The whole ending just seemed thrown together. It didn't wrap up in a satisfying way, and

Spoiler

Anna's death, though set up earlier in the book, came and went without making me so much as blink. The fact that we then didn't get to actually see Vronksy's immediate reaction to her death made what could have been heart-wrenching instead seem melodramatic

.

Idk man. Maybe I deserve to have my reader card taken away. I just didn't get it, and although from the psychological examinations of the characters and the philosophy imparted in the book, I can understand a bit of its lasting impression on culture, as a coherent story I just didn't care for it.

/

alina_books's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25