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A review by ieatbookz
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
5.0
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: 4.5/5 stars
I like to set reading goals for each year and 2023 is my year for Russian literature. I thought to myself, “What better book to start with than Karenina?” Before I took on the whopping 960-page novel, I decided to check out the 2012 film adaptation by Joe Wright, to get a sense of the characters because the Russian names felt intimidating. I know the 2012 adaptation is contentious with fans, but I adored its style and the visual representations of society as theater.
As for the novel itself, it was a gripping tale that had its finger on the pulse of what it means to be human. Tolstoy has a certain way of perfectly capturing a realistic conversation and behavior that is difficult to even explain; it seems to be a sort of mythical power. “He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”
Our main characters, Anna and Levin work as interesting counterparts to compare and I was quite surprised by the fact that *spoilers* they do indeed meet over the course of the novel which does not occur in the 2012 film. I found myself wondering why Tolstoy would choose to present the stories of Anna and Levin together. Are Levin’s virtues supposed to bring out Anna’s flaws? Or are we supposed to focus on the genders of the characters, and how life was seemingly set up for Levin to succeed while Anna’s life is tragic? Regardless of intention, seeing the epic rise of Levin and the fall of Anna is quite satisfying on a dramatic level. Though, I cannot say I was entirely pleased that the free-thinker, agnostic Levin ends the story by accepting the lord and savior into his heart. I know this journey parallels Tolstoy’s own, but through a modern lens and due to my personal preference, this choice was less than ideal. The comment about him getting into bee-keeping however, was a very cute little addition to end Levin’s story.
My favorite part of the novel centered around the character of Dolly, sister-in-law to both Levin and Anna, going to visit Anna and her “husband” Vronsky. It was interesting to hear Dolly’s impressions of Anna for it is one of the first times a character outside of the love triangle is able to share their honest opinion on the situation. As a good friend of Anna, Dolly is sympathetic to her situation, pitying Anna’s newly developed pathetic-ness. However, Anna does possess a certain power, and with her beauty, style, and demeanor, she enchants Dolly. It is through Dolly, that we get a very clear characterization of Anna.
Out of all of the characters, I must admit that my favorite is Oblonsky. Every time I noticed his name on the page, I lit up. The character is so humorous and makes such a great foil for Anna. While Oblonsky and Anna share a lot of the same qualities like their blunt say-it-like-it-is attitudes, charm, and their affinity for adultery. Fortunately for, Oblonsky, he gets out mostly unscathed; the same cannot be said for his sister, another indicator of proto-feminist messaging.
My only nitpick about Anna Karenina is it does get a bit repetitive from time to time and it is certainly too lengthy. It is for these reasons that it has lost half a star in my book. However, overall, I had a great time with this novel and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of good literature.
I like to set reading goals for each year and 2023 is my year for Russian literature. I thought to myself, “What better book to start with than Karenina?” Before I took on the whopping 960-page novel, I decided to check out the 2012 film adaptation by Joe Wright, to get a sense of the characters because the Russian names felt intimidating. I know the 2012 adaptation is contentious with fans, but I adored its style and the visual representations of society as theater.
As for the novel itself, it was a gripping tale that had its finger on the pulse of what it means to be human. Tolstoy has a certain way of perfectly capturing a realistic conversation and behavior that is difficult to even explain; it seems to be a sort of mythical power. “He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.”
Our main characters, Anna and Levin work as interesting counterparts to compare and I was quite surprised by the fact that *spoilers* they do indeed meet over the course of the novel which does not occur in the 2012 film. I found myself wondering why Tolstoy would choose to present the stories of Anna and Levin together. Are Levin’s virtues supposed to bring out Anna’s flaws? Or are we supposed to focus on the genders of the characters, and how life was seemingly set up for Levin to succeed while Anna’s life is tragic? Regardless of intention, seeing the epic rise of Levin and the fall of Anna is quite satisfying on a dramatic level. Though, I cannot say I was entirely pleased that the free-thinker, agnostic Levin ends the story by accepting the lord and savior into his heart. I know this journey parallels Tolstoy’s own, but through a modern lens and due to my personal preference, this choice was less than ideal. The comment about him getting into bee-keeping however, was a very cute little addition to end Levin’s story.
My favorite part of the novel centered around the character of Dolly, sister-in-law to both Levin and Anna, going to visit Anna and her “husband” Vronsky. It was interesting to hear Dolly’s impressions of Anna for it is one of the first times a character outside of the love triangle is able to share their honest opinion on the situation. As a good friend of Anna, Dolly is sympathetic to her situation, pitying Anna’s newly developed pathetic-ness. However, Anna does possess a certain power, and with her beauty, style, and demeanor, she enchants Dolly. It is through Dolly, that we get a very clear characterization of Anna.
Out of all of the characters, I must admit that my favorite is Oblonsky. Every time I noticed his name on the page, I lit up. The character is so humorous and makes such a great foil for Anna. While Oblonsky and Anna share a lot of the same qualities like their blunt say-it-like-it-is attitudes, charm, and their affinity for adultery. Fortunately for, Oblonsky, he gets out mostly unscathed; the same cannot be said for his sister, another indicator of proto-feminist messaging.
My only nitpick about Anna Karenina is it does get a bit repetitive from time to time and it is certainly too lengthy. It is for these reasons that it has lost half a star in my book. However, overall, I had a great time with this novel and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of good literature.