From the Bookshelf of 2015 Reading Challenge [Closed]…

Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy

Discussion: . Week 1: More Than 500 Pages

Why we're reading this: I recently traveled to Russia and I thought that was the perfect time to tackle this lengthy classic. I h…more
[close] I recently traveled to Russia and I thought that was the perfect time to tackle this lengthy classic. I highly recommend this one!

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. Week 1: More Than 500 Pages

* Week 1: Introduction
By Jessica · 102 posts · 1093 views

last updated Aug 11, 2015 02:06PM

* Week 1: Progress Post
By Jessica · 100 posts · 421 views

last updated Nov 06, 2015 06:29AM

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What Members Thought

Nov 05, 2017 Joy Gerbode rated it it was ok

ANNA KARENINA

My impressions of this book were mostly not good. It seemed to me to be a very, very, long soap opera, mostly about infidelity of one kind or another. Infidelity in marriage, in friendships, in social dignities, and even in one’s own dreams. There were no particularly wonderful word feasts or metaphors; the closest we have here is comparing the relationship to a horse with a romantic love affair, and the horse’s obstacle race to an illicit love affair. There was WAY too much detaile ANNA KARENINA

My impressions of this book were mostly not good. It seemed to me to be a very, very, long soap opera, mostly about infidelity of one kind or another. Infidelity in marriage, in friendships, in social dignities, and even in one’s own dreams. There were no particularly wonderful word feasts or metaphors; the closest we have here is comparing the relationship to a horse with a romantic love affair, and the horse’s obstacle race to an illicit love affair. There was WAY too much detailed description of totally irrelevant things. And the worst was there were WAY too many characters to keep track of. I had to resort to a Sparknotes list of characters just to remember who was who. Making this even more difficult was the fact that Tolstoy didn’t always call the characters by the same name; sometimes they were called by first names, sometimes last names, maiden names, or titles, and sometimes by a descriptive name, such as Kitty's husband.

In fairness to the book, I have to comment on a few things I enjoyed. I did appreciate the descriptions of Russian farm life, and especially the joy that Levin got from doing the hard work of a farmer. I appreciated the glimpse into Russian social life, although that glimpse made me very glad I didn’t live in it. There were a few lovely moments, but way too few for a book of such length. In fact, I appreciated the character, Levin, in many ways throughout the book, particularly his new-found belief near the end that life is basically as good as you make it. This idea, along with a new-found faith in God, allowed him, not to become something he had not been, but to overcome the human moral faults he had previously had.

One thing that did stand out to me was Tolstoy’s inference that “you need to be careful what you wish for”. It seemed that everyone in the book who got what they desired, ended being unhappy with it. The exception was Levin, who got much of what he desired, but in the end, decided that his happiness was related to his attitude and not to getting his every desire.

For a book I really didn’t like, I’ve sure written a lot about it; but if you think my review is long, you should read the book!!!
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Aug 12, 2011 Tiffany Anderson rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished

While many of the book's passages have too much detail and drag on a bit, the challenge lies in getting through it. Tolstoy wasn't off the mark in his assessment of "society", many instances in the novel still ring true today. I was not impressed with his depiction of intimate relations - they seem devoid of sexuality and I can't agree with the term "sexy" as a description of the work. What he did do very well was tell the story of a relationship based in authentic love. The wholesome growth and ...more

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