grapereads 's review for:

Anna Karenin by Leo Tolstoy
5.0
challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A masterful novel, quite rightly regarded as the world's greatest. A perfect view into Russian realist literature through that of an oppressively close society, where questions of life's meaning, gender roles, and ownership play out through the lives of interconnected households. I love the characters, however unlikeable some of them are they are conjured so well that one cannot but admire them. A beautiful and ever-relevant reflection of the torment of being human in an age when the grasps of religion are beginning to slip.