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tabdugg 's review for:
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
Okay, I'm going to be honest, this was a hard read, but entirely worth it. On that same note, it was heart-breaking. Reading this book was like watching two flowers side by side. One is beautiful, but as time goes on, it wilts, and all you can do is watch helplessly. That would be Anna and Vronsky's relationship. The other flower starts off as a seedling;you get to watch it develop and encourage it along. It turns out to be more beautiful than the first. That flower represents Levin and Kitty's relationship. Leo Tolstoy was a brilliant writer, and Anna Karenina deserves every praise, but the book was so frustratingly beautiful. It juxtapositions the two relationships against each other. While Anna's relationship wilts, Kitty's Thrives. How strange do things turn out.
The worst part for me was watching Anna slowly spiral to nothing. She was everything I admired and then Vronsky came. From the beginning, I loved their relationship. All that forbidden love and undying loyalty really gets to me. And when Karenin was introduced, I despised him like Anna did. But everything took a turn for the worse when she got pregnant with Vronksy's child. I started to pity Karenin. When you saw it from his point of view, you can see how the whole thing strained on him. He can't express himself, his emotions are presented as anger and indifference because that's the only way he knew how. He became the better man when he forgave Anna for everything on her supposed deathbed during delivery. Vronsky became so wretched about it he tried to commit suicide. Suicide is never the answer, whatever the situation. There's always help, even if you don't see it.
Meanwhile, during breaks from Anna's life, you see how Levin is. He had faced rejection from the woman he loved: Kitty. She had chosen Vronksy over Levin, who in turn chose Anna over her. Levin's story became the one I could love and see develop. He was someone who felt awkward in society, never had the right thing to say or do. That I can relate to. He tore himself down when Kitty didn't choose him. I tend to do that a lot, even if i'm not proposing to someone and ultimately get rejected. But he could never forget his love, no mater how hard he tried. She was everywhere. They finally are reconciled by Oblonsky. Their reconciliation was beautiful; the sweetest thing anyone could ever wish for. And I know i'm pretty much saying everything that ever happened but there were so many feels reading this book. Anyway, you can really tell the differences between the two relationships. I was sad, however, as Anna's relationship with Vronsky changed her. She was so perfect, and beautiful. But she was unhappy and wretched, she became jealous and never trusted him. That eventually drove her to commit suicide.
She first met Vronsky at the train station. The same day a man committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. The exact same way she died. FORESHADOWING. Her death was a terrible thing, no matter what Vronsky thought earlier, you could see how much he actually loved her. Their love ruined them.
After marriage, Kitty and Levin found their place. I especially love Levin saying the first three months of supposed happiness of marriage was actually bitter and rough. They were real to me, the relationship, them, everything. I connected with Levin considerably through his struggles in faith and God. I do believe, but like him it's hard to not doubt it all. But he found his place.
Two of my favorite quotes from him are:
"The question of other religions and their relations to Divinity I have no right to decide, and no possibility of deciding."
"I shall still be as unable to understand with my reason why I pray, and I shall still go on praying; but my life now, my whole life apart from anything that can happen to me, every minute of this no more meaningless, as it was before, but it has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it."
Tolstoy's inclusion of Levin's journey as well as Anna's was truly brilliance. This classic novel is indeed a classic, which should be read by many.
The worst part for me was watching Anna slowly spiral to nothing. She was everything I admired and then Vronsky came. From the beginning, I loved their relationship. All that forbidden love and undying loyalty really gets to me. And when Karenin was introduced, I despised him like Anna did. But everything took a turn for the worse when she got pregnant with Vronksy's child. I started to pity Karenin. When you saw it from his point of view, you can see how the whole thing strained on him. He can't express himself, his emotions are presented as anger and indifference because that's the only way he knew how. He became the better man when he forgave Anna for everything on her supposed deathbed during delivery. Vronsky became so wretched about it he tried to commit suicide. Suicide is never the answer, whatever the situation. There's always help, even if you don't see it.
Meanwhile, during breaks from Anna's life, you see how Levin is. He had faced rejection from the woman he loved: Kitty. She had chosen Vronksy over Levin, who in turn chose Anna over her. Levin's story became the one I could love and see develop. He was someone who felt awkward in society, never had the right thing to say or do. That I can relate to. He tore himself down when Kitty didn't choose him. I tend to do that a lot, even if i'm not proposing to someone and ultimately get rejected. But he could never forget his love, no mater how hard he tried. She was everywhere. They finally are reconciled by Oblonsky. Their reconciliation was beautiful; the sweetest thing anyone could ever wish for. And I know i'm pretty much saying everything that ever happened but there were so many feels reading this book. Anyway, you can really tell the differences between the two relationships. I was sad, however, as Anna's relationship with Vronsky changed her. She was so perfect, and beautiful. But she was unhappy and wretched, she became jealous and never trusted him. That eventually drove her to commit suicide.
She first met Vronsky at the train station. The same day a man committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. The exact same way she died. FORESHADOWING. Her death was a terrible thing, no matter what Vronsky thought earlier, you could see how much he actually loved her. Their love ruined them.
After marriage, Kitty and Levin found their place. I especially love Levin saying the first three months of supposed happiness of marriage was actually bitter and rough. They were real to me, the relationship, them, everything. I connected with Levin considerably through his struggles in faith and God. I do believe, but like him it's hard to not doubt it all. But he found his place.
Two of my favorite quotes from him are:
"The question of other religions and their relations to Divinity I have no right to decide, and no possibility of deciding."
"I shall still be as unable to understand with my reason why I pray, and I shall still go on praying; but my life now, my whole life apart from anything that can happen to me, every minute of this no more meaningless, as it was before, but it has the positive meaning of goodness, which I have the power to put into it."
Tolstoy's inclusion of Levin's journey as well as Anna's was truly brilliance. This classic novel is indeed a classic, which should be read by many.