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A review by angeluhxx
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
5.0
4.5/5: truly surpassed the test of time. i seldom take my time with books i enjoy, and never did i think i would find myself caring so much about the trifles and affairs of unhappy Russian nobility from centuries ago, but here i am...despite the annoyance i felt, being reminded of the constant blushing and mood swings of most (if not all) of the main characters, i truly felt connected to them.
my only criticism, which is why i docked .5 stars: maybe i just don't get it, but this book really should've been called Konstantin Levin instead of Anna Karenina. unfortunately, Levin just isn't likeable to me, and being a Tolstoy self-insert, many of Levin's musings just felt tacked on, rather than carefully thought through. first came the rambling on farming practices (though i'm sure this must have been very relevant back in the day): this was, for me, the low point in the book. even after the Train Thing happens, we barely hear about the fallout; rather, we are treated to a near-hundred page rambling of sudden found faith. perhaps i'll feel differently when i come back to this sometime in the next decade.
my only criticism, which is why i docked .5 stars: maybe i just don't get it, but this book really should've been called Konstantin Levin instead of Anna Karenina. unfortunately, Levin just isn't likeable to me, and being a Tolstoy self-insert, many of Levin's musings just felt tacked on, rather than carefully thought through. first came the rambling on farming practices (though i'm sure this must have been very relevant back in the day): this was, for me, the low point in the book. even after the Train Thing happens, we barely hear about the fallout; rather, we are treated to a near-hundred page rambling of sudden found faith. perhaps i'll feel differently when i come back to this sometime in the next decade.
"It is possible to save a person who does not want to perish. But if the whole nature is so corrupt, so perverted, that perdition itself looks like salvation, what can be done?"