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A review by ninfadeloslagos
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What is deeply complicated about this book is how it jumps back and forth from having empathy and understanding for its female characters to condemning them in the same way it seems to be criticizing!
I loved Anna and Kitty (And the others but mainly these two) They were complex but sympathetic each in their own way. And when the story was told from their perspective or even just focused on them as full people, it soared.
But sometimes it treated them as cardboard, Anna as a femme fatale manipulative black widow, Kitty as a silly, naive, superfluous girl.
This isn’t even getting into the male characters, who were detestable when meant to be, but also when they weren’t. Levin didn’t seem a rational, calm, salt of the earth man. He seemed dull, judgy, condescending and arrogant from beginning to end.
It really did feel like this book was written by more than one person with more than one worldview.
All I’m saying is I know there is no actual proof Sophia Tolstoya actually wrote any of this, but her influence in the book is well known and I think larger than we can imagine.
I loved Anna and Kitty (And the others but mainly these two) They were complex but sympathetic each in their own way. And when the story was told from their perspective or even just focused on them as full people, it soared.
But sometimes it treated them as cardboard, Anna as a femme fatale manipulative black widow, Kitty as a silly, naive, superfluous girl.
This isn’t even getting into the male characters, who were detestable when meant to be, but also when they weren’t. Levin didn’t seem a rational, calm, salt of the earth man. He seemed dull, judgy, condescending and arrogant from beginning to end.
It really did feel like this book was written by more than one person with more than one worldview.
All I’m saying is I know there is no actual proof Sophia Tolstoya actually wrote any of this, but her influence in the book is well known and I think larger than we can imagine.