tranquilitycase 's review for:

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

3.0

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This book was a beast! I'm fairly sure I would never have finished it if I hadn't been listening to Maggie Gyllenhaal's narration at 1.3x speed! I can see why some call it the greatest novel ever written - it is so vast in its cast of characters and subject matter. But for me, so much of the book remained impenetrable - foremost, Anna's motivations. I loved the parts about Levin's peaceful life in the country, as a satisfying counterpoint. Tolstoy seemed to be saying "Act right, think right - but act wrong, think wrong." And perhaps "Lay off the opium."