A review by lorenzobc
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

4.0

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, this novel was waaay too long and random at times bc it was published serially like Dickens'. On the other, Tolstoy manages to pull off such a multi-layered portrayal of an entire society, its economy and its history without coming across as elitist. The plot is thin (it basically revolves around a love affair) but it's mostly just a vehicle for this deep exploration of Russian life at the turn of the century. The best way to analyze the novel in my opinion is given by literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, who sees Anna's story as that of the "unofficial institutions of the system, presented through social salons, function as part of the power apparatus that successfully calms the disorder created by Anna’s irrational emotional action, which is a symbol of resistance to the system of social behavioral control." I think Tolstoy's style lends itself more to something more epic in nature like "War & Peace" than something as intimate as a love affair between an aristocratic woman and a cavalry officer.