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A review by judeandolin
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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.
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.
/
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 melodramaticIdk 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.
/