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A review by sebastianoblass
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Such a beautifully written book. This Tolstoy explores themes such as family, suicide, love , philosophy, class, etc. I surprised at how this book captured me from the beginning, with its lengthy descriptions of russian imperial luxury and fashion. Such a stylish read.
the story seems to divide between two main plot lines that keep intertwining with each other. Anna’s love affair with count Vronsky and Levin’s search for a purpose in life. Levin’s side of the story would often drag into lengthy monologues about diverse topics that, while insightful into russian society of the time, and the diverse social and economic dynamics of the country, i couldn’t help but feel like they dragged out a little too much, but then again, that’s russian literature for you. he was just such a tedious character and i couldn’t help but disagree with a lot of his thoughts and ways of regarding his life and the people on it. His cynicism at the start of the book was really insufferable. On the other hand, Anna’s affair with count Vronsky was to me the central focus of the book, and it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would be of them. Anna’s quick decay in society and descent into madness as well as her development of a drug addiction was documented in a kind way, which i appreciated. The author didn’t join in on the bashing of this fallen woman. the hypocrisy of russian society made me particularly mad in this respect.
Towards the end of the book we see something interesting happen, which is the revival of Religion by the end of the 19th Century, by which we see our weaker minded characters first influenced, such as Karenin, when fallen under the spell of Lydia Ivanovna < spoiler>. It was insufferable to me how he excused his own selfish desires ( revenge) behind the front of being a good religious man, specially when he had seemed to have found real authentic goodness right before influenced by Ivanovna. It annoyed me particularly how he saw Seryozha as a weapon rather than his own son. Later on, we’ll see characters like Levin and even Anna on her very end find God and start asking questions about him and the universe, which i thought was an interesting factor of the times
Other Thoughts:
We were robbed of a Kitty lesbian arch. Like, that girl kept falling in love with women… specially Vasenka.
I hope Dolly leaves her asshole husband and lives a lavish life ( though i can say that Oblonski grew on me quite a bit )
I thought the ending for Vronsky was quite appropriate, i was sick of him not experiencing any consequence to the whole situation, other than being driven mad by Anna’s jealousy.
There is so much to say about this book but these are my initial thoughts.
Best Scenes
- initial Moscow Ball when Anna dances with Vronsky.
- Dolly visits the Vronsky in the country
- Anna’s final monologue
- Levin rescues Kitty and gives that powerful final line to the book.
- Horse Race when Anna tells Karenin
- Anna Visits Seryozha
- the opera.
the story seems to divide between two main plot lines that keep intertwining with each other. Anna’s love affair with count Vronsky and Levin’s search for a purpose in life. Levin’s side of the story would often drag into lengthy monologues about diverse topics that, while insightful into russian society of the time, and the diverse social and economic dynamics of the country, i couldn’t help but feel like they dragged out a little too much, but then again, that’s russian literature for you. he was just such a tedious character and i couldn’t help but disagree with a lot of his thoughts and ways of regarding his life and the people on it. His cynicism at the start of the book was really insufferable. On the other hand, Anna’s affair with count Vronsky was to me the central focus of the book, and it kept me engaged and wanting to know what would be of them. Anna’s quick decay in society and descent into madness
Towards the end of the book we see something interesting happen, which is the revival of Religion by the end of the 19th Century, by which we see our weaker minded characters first influenced, such as
Other Thoughts:
We were robbed of a Kitty lesbian arch. Like, that girl kept falling in love with women… specially Vasenka.
I hope Dolly leaves her asshole husband and lives a lavish life ( though i can say that Oblonski grew on me quite a bit )
I thought the ending for Vronsky was quite appropriate, i was sick of him not experiencing any consequence to the whole situation, other than being driven mad by Anna’s jealousy.
There is so much to say about this book but these are my initial thoughts.
Best Scenes
- initial Moscow Ball when Anna dances with Vronsky.
- Dolly visits the Vronsky in the country
- Anna’s final monologue
- Levin rescues Kitty and gives that powerful final line to the book.
- Horse Race when Anna tells Karenin
- Anna Visits Seryozha
- the opera.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide