Anna Karenina, Vol 3 of 8

Anna Karenina (8 volumes) #3

by Leo Tolstoy

A magnificent story, that amalgamates the classical sensuality and rebelliousness against the prevailing customs, is presented here. This novel is a unique example of social realism that portrays the inevitable tragedy of a wilful woman, Anna Karenina, who transgresses the conventions of society and follows her own lead.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Russian Literature, Classics, Classic Literature

220 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1877

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Zuzia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Początek świetny, potem mi się dosyć dłużyło, miałam zastój czytelniczy, i musiałam się zmuszać do czytania, obawiałam się, że reszta książki jest gorsza niż początek. Ale ostatnie 2 rozdziały mnie mocno poruszyły więc overall 4⭐ i trzymam kciuki, żeby reszta książki trzymała poziom...

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anna throws down the gauntlet and ruins everything, like ya do

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thoughts on Part 3:
- This was the first part that I was tempted to skip pages of. Mainly because of all the farming philosophy and techniques discussed. It reminded me of Victor Hugo's digression on the Parisian sewage system from Les Misérables. My mind, as you can guess, was well and truly boggled. Please, Mr. Tolstoy, no more farming content, I beg you!

- All characters suffer from Tolstoy's scathing pen. No one is free from his damning portrait of their flaws and weaknesses, except perhaps Anna herself. I love LOVE the author's depiction of her inner life and her struggle between personal happiness vs. her duty. It's so vivid, so real, so empathetic. It is a depiction that understands that, for a woman, the stakes are so much higher. I have said this before... I am astounded that a 19th century male author understands women's inner lives more than a contemporary male author.

- Konstantin Levin, on the other hand, suffers the brunt of Tolstoy's unravelling of his characters. Levin likes to believe he is objective, but every aspect of his persona is driven by his personal feelings. He is content sometimes, and sometimes, he is on the verge of breaking down. Sometimes he is confident about his life, then sometimes his self-esteem takes an enormous tumble. What really disappointed me the most is Levin's 'benevolent classism'. The worst! His attitude towards his workers is like a patriarchal father, constantly disappointed and waiting for them to make mistakes. What annoyed me the most, though, is that his entire conception of happiness happens to be ownership of 'a wife and healthy cattle'. This conflation of women with farming really threw me off. Oh Levin, I love you but I really wanted to punch you in this part.

- What really moved me in this part is the relationship between Levin and his older brother, Nikolai. Levin realizes that his brother is dying, and that is left unsaid between the two. Suddenly he knows that it will all inevitably end in death. This realization of his own mortality and his grief at the impending loss of his brother was so humanely done.

[Jedenobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Levin's brothers come to visit in two separate visits and both trigger completely separate emotional and mental breakdowns for our good friend! Love the rethinking of the commercial farming and political space and love how his dying brother's like "Hey, you're just kind of stripping communism of anything that would make it work."

Also! Anna's love affair is revealed and we get the start of some good juicy drama there! Book keeps being a five star banger.

[Cindilouw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could understand how she felt through some of her story.. I was living it while I was married.