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abbylmorrell 's review for:
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"If a string isn't tight and you try to break it, it's very hard to do. But tighten it to the utmost and put just the weight of your finger on it, and it will break."
A literary exploration of Russian society, the trials and tribulations of marriage, and the pivotal theme of the fallen woman.
The central story in this book is Anna, a flawed and complex, yet beautiful and emotional woman. The pages delve into her life, her love, her lack of. Tolstoy is heavy on getting the reader to formulate their own perspective on Anna, and I think the way in which you see her heavily impacts the way that the book unfolds. Do you see her as a foolish woman who threw away social stability for a fleeting emotion, for a man that even the reader can’t truly understand the emotional side of? Or does she present herself to you as a flawed and complex woman, caught in the tidal wave of a society that longs for scandal, and a mould that she never seemed to fit?
Regardless, you experience her downfall, her punishment, with words capable of evoking a sadness for her plight, a deep resonating with her marginalisation, and even a frustration. Your respite is the other characters, the stories that weave alongside Anna’s. Levin and Kitty, Stepan and Dolly, and of course, the titular Vronksy himself. Amidst the themes of loss, dissatisfaction and upheaval, do you ever feel respite at all? Maybe in the moments where love is shown to prevail, where marriage isn’t just for validation. Tolstoy has a worthwhile way of contrasting the two, and crafting meaningful relationships between characters, ones a reader would root for- just as much as he does dismantling them.
Tolstoy tackles so many elements that comprise the backdrop of high Russian society, the judging, prying eyes that fall on almost every character, the ones that they themselves bear for others. Politics, people, the philosophy that resides in Levin, they all collide in a way that makes the novel work, that makes the pace feel just drawn out enough, the story a powerful one.
The character of Anna is one I’ll find almost haunting, in a sense. The book overall, is one I’m glad to have read.
A literary exploration of Russian society, the trials and tribulations of marriage, and the pivotal theme of the fallen woman.
The central story in this book is Anna, a flawed and complex, yet beautiful and emotional woman. The pages delve into her life, her love, her lack of. Tolstoy is heavy on getting the reader to formulate their own perspective on Anna, and I think the way in which you see her heavily impacts the way that the book unfolds. Do you see her as a foolish woman who threw away social stability for a fleeting emotion, for a man that even the reader can’t truly understand the emotional side of? Or does she present herself to you as a flawed and complex woman, caught in the tidal wave of a society that longs for scandal, and a mould that she never seemed to fit?
Regardless, you experience her downfall, her punishment, with words capable of evoking a sadness for her plight, a deep resonating with her marginalisation, and even a frustration. Your respite is the other characters, the stories that weave alongside Anna’s. Levin and Kitty, Stepan and Dolly, and of course, the titular Vronksy himself. Amidst the themes of loss, dissatisfaction and upheaval, do you ever feel respite at all? Maybe in the moments where love is shown to prevail, where marriage isn’t just for validation. Tolstoy has a worthwhile way of contrasting the two, and crafting meaningful relationships between characters, ones a reader would root for- just as much as he does dismantling them.
Tolstoy tackles so many elements that comprise the backdrop of high Russian society, the judging, prying eyes that fall on almost every character, the ones that they themselves bear for others. Politics, people, the philosophy that resides in Levin, they all collide in a way that makes the novel work, that makes the pace feel just drawn out enough, the story a powerful one.
The character of Anna is one I’ll find almost haunting, in a sense. The book overall, is one I’m glad to have read.