Anna Karenina in Around the World

Jul 28, 2012 Rusalka rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: original-52-books-around-the-world, translation, around-the-world, own, europe, ylto-rainbow, overhyped, first-tuesday, classics, doorstops

I don't know what to think of this book. It's a conundrum.

It is brilliantly written. Hands down, no arguments at all. It is immersive and, just, well... beautiful. I was sitting on my back steps the other day in the blazing Canberra spring (spring can be blazing here, trust me). I was leaning up against the brick wall, sitting on the concrete, with a view of the Brindabella mountains and a gin and tonic as it was so warm, with magpies singing and cockatoos squarking around me. But for the first I don't know what to think of this book. It's a conundrum.

It is brilliantly written. Hands down, no arguments at all. It is immersive and, just, well... beautiful. I was sitting on my back steps the other day in the blazing Canberra spring (spring can be blazing here, trust me). I was leaning up against the brick wall, sitting on the concrete, with a view of the Brindabella mountains and a gin and tonic as it was so warm, with magpies singing and cockatoos squarking around me. But for the first time I could remember in a very long time, I was so sucked into the writing I felt like I was in a dingy Muscovite hotel, in winter in 1870 or so. The only thing that brought me back was a chicken jumping into my lap. I was astounded, once I had recovered from my confusion and slight shock from a big black chook snuggling into me.

Because of this, I wanted to keep on reading. But I wanted to keep on reading something worth reading. Tolstoy reminds me of a brilliant painter, who only paints still life. While the technique and result is breathtaking, you can't help get over the fact they have only painted a bowl of fruit. Over and over again.

Now don't get me wrong, some of the characters Tolstoy creates are fantastic. I shouldn't of loved Oblonsky but I did. I thought he was wonderful. I liked Anna right until the end. Then she went all weird. Even Vronsky I grew to like, although I didn't find him attractive (too many moustaches and bald spots for me).

But the story... You do want to know what happens to Anna and whether she gets everything to work or not (although Russian novel should indicate that to you at the start). But if I hear one more thing about hunting or farming I think I will scream. I know that Tolstoy had all these great ideas and that this was how gentleman passed them on to the masses if they couldn't write an interesting essay. Whack a story around your philosophy! But sometimes I think he was trying to be too clever (like the 3 pages inside the mind of the dog. Slightly left field...) or too preachy (the entire last part with Levin).

However, his ability to completely convey what is happening inside peoples' minds is pretty remarkable. Anna's ... how to say this non-spoilery... "journey" at the end of the book while perfectly conveys that way of thinking, however a little too well as I just wanted to shake her and yell "Pull yourself together woman!!" I didn't like her at the end of the book. But I think because she was so real and believable and there is a reason I am not a practising psych.

There was much that I missed with this book, which is fair enough really at over 800pp. Watching e this episode of the First Tuesday Book Club again after finishing the book highlighted this (sorry I can't find a youtube link to this one). Thank you Richard Flanagan for explaining the doctor in Kitty's bedroom scene in a way my mind never went to. Makes complete sense, that the doctor may have been, umhum... "servicing" her, in 1870 or there abouts, I just never made the leap (the man has read the book too many times, or enough times I guess).

Back to my conundrum. I didn't love the story, so I want to give it a 3. But I loved the writing, so I want to give it a 4. But 3.5, doesn't sit well with me. But it is the diplomatic thing to do. Also, it looks like the movie has cut out Levin and Kitty completely. I was wondering how they were going to make it 2.5 hours long. Anyway, compromising with 3.5 horrible Jude Law moustaches.

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Oct 23, 2011 Katya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: russian

I am so proud that I have finally read it till the end! It was really worth it! The book is not just about a love story - it covers lots of topics - from marriage and relationships in the family to social and even political issues. And I`d say that this is what I didn`t like about it. All the time Tolstoy digresses from the main story line and starts writing about working in the field or nature or someone writing a scientific book... I felt that there are some irrelevant thoughts in the book whi ...more

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Oct 30, 2011 Tasha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, should-read, russian, to-read-in-2012, around-the-world, proud-i-got-through, read_in_2012

"Anna Karenina" was one of the books I've been wanting to read for a long time and as it is often the case with those books, I<#ve thought quite a lot about what it might be like. I knew the main story of course but still it was completely different from what I had expected.
Firstly I was surprised it was so enjoyable to read. I thought it would be much more difficult and straining, but Tolstoi seems to be one of the authors who doesn't feel the need to show off and thus uses a clear style of wri "Anna Karenina" was one of the books I've been wanting to read for a long time and as it is often the case with those books, I<#ve thought quite a lot about what it might be like. I knew the main story of course but still it was completely different from what I had expected.
Firstly I was surprised it was so enjoyable to read. I thought it would be much more difficult and straining, but Tolstoi seems to be one of the authors who doesn't feel the need to show off and thus uses a clear style of writing and no overblown vocabulary.
The humor in the first chapters also surprised me. I expected the novel to get darker but glimpses of humor tended to show through all the time.
There is fiction that strikes you as uterly real and for me "Anna Karenina" belongs into that category. The characters seem to be taken directly out of real life with all their faults and also their loveable cahracter trades. In some novels you always know what will happen next. If a man and a woman seem to fall in love with each other, they will surely be married. In "Anna Karenina" you can never be sure, just as in real life. I found that somehow relieving.
I also didn't expect that I would like Anna so little. I'm an admirer of headstrong and defiant female characters in literature, but throughout the book I never really liked her. Not even in the end when I felt deeply sympathetic towards her. Maybe because I know that she would have grudged me my sympathy.
Even though she made the drastic decision of leaving her husband I felt that she could never really go through to the end with it. Her happiness depended completey on Wronskij and even though that wasn't really her fault but due to her circumstances, this kept annoying me.
I must say that all in all I liked Ljewins and Kitty's story better, because they were the more likeable characters. Ljewin was my favourite character in the book.
Strangely enough I liked Alexej Karenin almost from the first time he was mentioned. Maybe because his own wife despised him so much. I never expected that he would actually turn out to be a noble character and was extremely surprised. He stopped being interesting for me however when Duchess Iwanowna started influencing him.
Alltogehter "Anna Karenina" was a rewarding read for me and I feel that I learned a lot about people from Tolstos gift to observe and describe them. ...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Snoozie Suzie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, reviewed, read-2012

I am tempted to give this 5 stars. Maybe I will, but I think I may ramble on a bit here with my thoughts.
I liked the intertwining stories and the characters (even the ones I didn't like I liked their stories too). Although there were quite a few characters they did not get confusing, and the writing wasn't in your face thrusting everything at you all at once - which I hate.
The two main characters (as in Levin and Anna) and in fact all the characters I could relate to and feel for due to the st ...more

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