Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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Book Reviews of Anna Karenina
Book Review: Masterpiece of the Highest Order
Summary: 5 Stars
Anna Karenina is one of those works that is not merely superfluous but near-blasphemous to review, as nothing could ever come close to conveying its greatness. War and Peace has historically been called Leo Tolstoy's greatest novel - nay, the greatest of all-time -, but this is coming to be seen as his true masterpiece, and I agree; for example, a recent poll of over one hundred current writers ranked it number one. It is certainly very different from War; one might almost be surprised that one person could write such varying works, though both have Tolstoy's undeniable genius. Aside from being a little over half the length, Anna also has a considerably more conventional structure; Tolstoy indeed considered it his first novel by the European definition, considering War more of a prose epic. This still means it is eight hundred pages, but Tolstoy's fearsome reputation as unreadably intimidating is distinctly unfair. Incredible as it may seem, Anna is nothing less than concise; the event that most will assume is reserved for the conclusion comes about three hundred pages in and is described with a spareness almost unheard of before the last few decades. Tolstoy is in fact very precise, saying exactly what he needs to say straight-forwardly and - in the best sense - simply. His works are not lengthy because of excessive detail, overlong dialogue, or florid description but simply because they tackle so many issues and have so much depth. Nor is he hard to read in the usual literary way so feared by students; no Modernist, he avoids difficult language, is strikingly non-allusive, and otherwise writes in a way that anyone - or at least anyone willing to deal with length - can understand. I say all this because many are afraid to read him for false reasons and have no idea what they are missing. Also, those intimidated by War or perhaps disappointed by it should also not be scared. Great is War is, I found it somewhat overlong and at times boring, but this cannot be said of Anna; it is ever-interesting, and readers will if anything wish it were longer. Anna is very different subject-wise on top of everything else; war is hardly mentioned, and the focus is almost entirely domestic. I love many books with admittedly narrow appeal, but I find it simply impossible that anyone sensitive to great art could fail to appreciate this pure masterpiece; I unhesitatingly give it the highest recommendation for all.
The book works on several levels. Most obviously, it is a comedy of manners showing how courtship, marriage, domesticity, and related issues worked in upper-class nineteenth century Russia. Tolstoy's realism is as striking here as elsewhere, portraying this world vividly and memorably. The many with strong interest in such fiction can hardly do better, while historians and others will also find the book valuable for this among other reasons. This is indeed a historical novel in the best sense; Tolstoy not only writes with stunning realism but had a very keen eye for what was worth recording about nearly every aspect of life, bringing nineteenth century Russia alive in near-documentary fashion. As for the upper class, we see plenty of the glitz and glamour that makes so many envy this circle, but Tolstoy leaves no doubt that there is plenty of darkness beneath the ostensibly perfect surface. Human nature is no less corrupt here than elsewhere and may even be magnified; there is enough lying, hypocrisy, deceit, manipulation, false pretense, backstabbing, and other vices to sicken even the most optimistic. The novel is especially notable for dramatizing the circle's strict social code, focusing specifically on adultery's ramifications; however much one thinks adultery should be punished, no one can admire the ensuing ostracism's self-righteous hypocrisy or fail to sympathize with those more sinned against than sinning. Morals have of course changed drastically in the near century and a half since the novel, which makes this a fascinating peek into a far stricter, if hardly less hypocritical, time.
Shockingly, Anna initially got mixed reviews because critics failed to see that it had anything more than this. Even this alone would be engrossing, if hardly novel, so deft is the execution. However, there is of course far more. Characterization is probably the main strength and certainly the most famous aspect. Anna Karenina is one of literature's most famous characters, so vibrantly and realistically drawn that we cannot help being fascinated regardless of how we view her, and it would take a hard heart indeed not to be moved by her famously tragic end. The power of her portrayal and its influence have been such that she soon became archetypal not only in Russian fiction but in all of world literature, as have other characters: Levin, the tortured intellectual idealist struggling with practicality; Oblonsky, the happy-go-lucky, pleasure lover who is aloof yet lovable; the beautiful, sensitive, and sympathetically naïve Kitty; the violently conflicted Dolly, torn between domestic loyalty and regret; Karenin, the dour and lifeless yet pitiable hard worker who prefigures Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych, etc. As in War, and most long nineteenth century novels, there are so many characters that it is initially hard to keep track, but all are sketched with artistry that makes them almost unbelievably lifelike. The novel runs us through a gamut of emotions and thoughts through the characters, and we feel them profoundly because they recognizably touch our most deeply and universally human nerves. Only Charles Dickens even rivals Tolstoy in this area, which is enough to make the book great in itself.
One area where he certainly surpasses Dickens, not to mention nearly every other writer, is Russian novelists' acknowledged specialty - psychological insight. As much verisimilitude as the characters' actions have, thoughts are even more important; they are not only broadly representative but so stunningly conveyed that we almost feel as if we thought them ourselves. Long sections concentrate entirely on various characters' thoughts, usually on distinctly human subjects though often on rather abstruse ones, but they are so vivid and otherwise well-done that they never even come close to boring. This goes a long way toward making the characters seem truly alive, and it is no wonder that many of them, especially Anna, have long seemed at least as real to many readers as actual people. Tolstoy uses a wide variety of techniques to get all this across, including many innovations; for example, though rarely credited for it, the book has one of the very first stream-of-consciousness monologues. This is all the more impressive considering the sheer number of characters, including many women; Tolstoy's knowledge of people and life was awe-inspiringly wide, but more than this, he could convey it convincingly and movingly. His reach is such that he even narrates from a dog's perspective without bathos. One would have to look very hard indeed for another writer with such ability.
Nearly as fundamental is the story's sheer epic sweep. Few writers could not only craft such a grand, all-encompassing plot but execute it so well. It is not as sprawling as War but more precisely sculpted; Tolstoy clearly had a plan and pursued it with tightly controlled artistic greatness. The plot at once contains many seemingly disparate elements and focuses strongly on two interrelated stories. This dual plot, which eventually converges, is the chief stylistic feature and innovation. The Levin and Anna sections initially seem to have almost no crossover, and it almost seems as if we are reading two very different books spliced haphazardly together. Some early critics took exception, but Tolstoy knew he was onto something and stuck with it, famously commenting, "I am proud of the architecture - the arches have been constructed in such a way that it is impossible to see where the keystone is. And that is what I am striving for most of all. The structural link is not the plot or the relationships (friendships) between the characters, but an inner link." This is it exactly; the link is subtle yet brilliant, and the plot progresses so naturally and yet in such a precisely controlled way that it has a logic all its own that is both very lifelike and very literary. Words like "episodic" and "epic" have little meaning in the wake of such mastery; it is sufficient to say that Anna is a superb story mesmerizingly told. The tale is beyond compelling in itself and though famous for pathos, has nearly every other element also - including a surprising amount of humor, that true rarity in Tolstoy and all Russian literature - all excellently done.
Yet this does not even begin to convey the extent of Anna's greatness. The most important aspect for many is the sheer number of weighty issues; Anna dramatizes and comments on everything from love to social institutions to issues of religion, class, economics, ethics, and far, far more. Love is certainly the most emotional and immediate subject, and few works have displayed it more convincingly and thoroughly. Anna explores it in nearly every aspect, from the ecstatic uncertainty of adolescence to the cold practicality of matchmaking, from extended courtship to married life. We see how love is affected by everything from children and work to religion and ethics and also get an unflinching look at its dark side: infidelity, boredom, marital strife, and more. Characters' attitudes toward love range from idealistic to apathetic to frivolous; seemingly every view is represented, and everything from bliss to misery is shown. Simply put, anyone who has loved will find much that is not only familiar but so minutely and intriguingly described that it is impossible to be unmoved. Anyone who likes romance of any variety in literature can hardly do better.
Social institutions stemming from love are also explored in great and stunning detail, which is valuable per se in a realist sense, but many will be more interested in Tolstoy's comments and criticisms. Anna depicts courtship and marriage as distinctly imperfect but is far from dismissing them; the contrasting cases of Levin/Kitty and Anna/Karenin/Vronsky seem to suggest that while domestic happiness is unlikely, it is achievable, and the rare successes are worth trying for despite all the strife. Tolstoy later drastically changed his view of this and most related issues, dramatizing accordingly, but this is more level-headed and relatable - a nuanced depiction that most can appreciate and, for fans and critics, a highly interesting contrast.
Perhaps more substantial, and certainly more interesting to those not keen on fictional romance, is how well and fully the novel deals with conventionally weightier issues. The chief one is class along with associated factors like labor and economics. Tolstoy was aristocratic and wealthy but became increasingly radical, gaining great sympathy for the lower class; he came to believe the class system's inherent inequality was brutally unjust and strived to find solutions. This catches him at about midpoint - well beyond youth's idealistic impracticality but significantly before later radicalism. All this is dramatized primarily through Levin, an aristocratic landowner with many peasants who is to a large degree autobiographical. Levin truly feels for his serfs but cannot bring himself to give up the lifestyle they make possible for him and struggles to find a way to simultaneously ease their lot, shore up his conscience, and maintain at least the minimum luxury he feels necessary. He has various plans, none of which have much success; the serfs alternate between awe at his empathy and contempt at his ignorance and inability to fully commit, while he becomes increasingly frustrated and beguiled. These interactions raise many important questions about class relations and the economic system making class division possible. Sensitivity to such issues was - and indeed is - extraordinary rare, especially from someone in Tolstoy's position. His portrayal is moving and thought-provoking, but he knew better than to give easy answers and perhaps was not willing yet willing to give answers of any kind. He was still thinking such issues out, and it shows. The lack of a definite conclusion may bother some, but most will see it as a virtue, primary because it avoids the heavy-handedness that so often weighs down - often fatally - art that tackles serious themes. Later Tolstoy fiction, to say nothing of his non-fiction, was far more didactic, but most will appreciate how he lets readers decide for themselves here, as fellow Russian great Anton Chekhov later famously did.
The novel also broaches many ethical questions, a good number of them theological. Tolstoy was violently wrestling with such questions, and Anna is in many ways his attempt to work them out and find some kind of pattern. The dark side of his thought shows up in the often bitter love depiction but is again given mostly through Levin. Like Tolstoy at the time, he struggles to find meaning and a just yet practical ethical system. These conflicts play out in various ways, and the conclusion hints at Tolstoy's conversion soon afterward to radical - or perhaps "pure" is the best word - Christianity. Endless thought and hard experience lead Levin to go from agnosticism to a sort of uncertain Christianity that, as Tolstoy's later did, focuses not on miracles and the afterlife but on the essential goodness exemplified in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He comes to believe that, properly applied, this is the most just and true ethical system and that goodness and virtue, as personified by Jesus, is the apex to which all should aspire. This gives meaning and, though difficult to apply, is the only way to happiness. All this is summed up in the book's unforgettable final paragraph, which is not only in itself one of the most immaculately written, thought-inducing, and simply memorable pieces of writing I have ever seen but also one of literature's most effective and satisfying conclusions. Many will disagree, and the enthusiastic optimism even seems positively naïve in light of the later existentialist revolution, not to mention multiple world wars, genocides, weapons of mass destruction, and numerous other things that seem to prove human nature is far too lowly for such high-mindedness. However, no one can deny the profound power and emotion behind the paragraph - indeed, the whole book, especially this aspect. This is again a nice contrast to War, which many believe has a very disappointing end - further proof that Anna is almost beyond improvement in every respect.
The novel is often thought of as ending with Anna's suicide, as was indeed the case in the original serial, but there is in fact another fifty-page section. Some have wished it were not included, but that would leave many plot threads dangling, exclude some of Tolstoy's most important points as well as his final conclusions, and hold back some of his greatest prose, including the aforementioned paragraph. Only here do we see the aftermath of Anna's drastic act, including Vronsky's resolve. More importantly, Levin's resolutions in regard to his peasants, his wife, and life generally come together, which is what Tolstoy really wanted us to see. Some have called Levin's portrayal here autobiographical to a fault, and those who know the intimate connection will indeed have a hard time reading it as fiction. It truly seems as if we are getting a peek into Tolstoy's innermost thoughts, feelings, and insecurities, which is in itself invaluable for the many interested in his life and thought. Many elements prefigure his later stances, not least the anti-war, anti-nationalist sentiment that led the publisher to refuse printing the final section on patriotic grounds; in an early instance of his famous later resolve, Tolstoy boldly had it printed at his own expense. In terms of the novel, though, the section brings the story to a truly effective conclusion, summing everything up not only plotwise but also thematically, philosophically, and otherwise. Tolstoy later took his conclusions further, but this is more than enough for most - is indeed arguably a more balanced, nuanced, and practical resolution than nearly any other thinker has conceived in thousands of years of thought. When we consider that it is conveyed in a work of fiction that is beyond great in itself we see the true magnitude of Tolstoy's achievement. There is no higher praise that a novel - or any other work - can earn or even aspire to, which is the main reason among many that Anna is not only one of the greatest works of art but one of the foremost and most admirable achievements of the human mind and heart.
Book Review: All good books are alike
Summary: 5 Stars
What I call a good book is one that when you read it again later, you find things in it you didn't see the first time.
And so I'm re-reading my ancient copy of Anna Karenina in Russian and suddenly got hit in the face by what I think is the real core of the tragedy.
Aleksey Aleksandrovich Karenin was raised properly but without emotion and without the wanderyahr or social season that many of his contemporaries got. He had to plunge directly into work. As a result, he had no education at all in how to behave in women's society and he had no concept of emotional relationships. So after spending some time with Anna Arkadievna Oblonskaya in social situations, he wasn't in love with her and didn't know the meaning of love, but he got maneuvered into marrying her by her aunt without being able to laugh off the claim that he had compromised Anna.
The irony is that when Vronskij did compromise her, Aleksey finds all kinds of reasons not to let her go. First it's because she's his wife and even though she breaks her promise to observe the proprieties, he refuses to consider divorce. Then after Vronskij and Anna go the whole way, after she gives birth to an illegitimate child, after Karenin offers to let Anna continue living in his home and even takes a liking to the baby, after she leaves, after she lives with Vronskij for years, Karenin lets the weeny clairvoyant Landau/Bezzubov tell him to refuse a divorce.
This book at least in part is about three men who think the whole world revolves around them: Karenin the government official; Vronskij the wealthy playboy; and Oblonskij the dissipated wastrel. The women caught in their toils all suffer, even Countess Lidiya Ivanovna who takes physical, mental and moral possession of Karenin, who will never love her no matter how often he takes her advice.
Although the theme of female emancipation is touched on in the novel, it is Kitty Levin who speaks for Tolstoy in rejecting the concept. Konstantin Levin is essentially Tolstoy himself, and Kitty is to some extent Tolstoy's wife, Sofiya, nee Behrs, who wrote in her journals how much she hated Tolstoy's punishment of unfaithful wives in his literature, including the Kreutzer Sonata. She felt it hypocritical given his physical appetites after marriage as well as before, appetites he failed to arouse in her. But the good wife forgives the man's past since he is faithful to her in the present, and the man has a right to all the wife's attentions.
Even the children have no claim on her, as is clear from Kreutzer Sonata. Because of his own jealousy, Tolstoy made Sofiya end her childhood friendship with a very musical man who was a friend of her family, because it took her attention away from him. Then later in his life he abandoned his family, forcing all the financial responsibilities onto Sofiya, and finally actually leaving home, to die at "the last station."
But at least Anna has a name, unlike the wife in Kreutzer Sonata. It's just that none of the men in her life expect her to actually have a life. Karenin can't love her but expects her to be a pattern of wives in high society -- where she meets a number of women who have affairs but at least don't break up the family. Oblonskij sends her to his wife to heal the wounds caused by her _discovery_ of his infidelity -- not by the infidelity, but because Dolly, the pattern wife, never conceived of her husband having an affair or even kissing anybody else. Vronskij says he loves her but he can't understand her love for her son and disses her affection for his horse trainer's family after the father drinks himself into the DTs.
It's all wrapped up in the tragedy of society's expectation that if you have a nice house and clothes and go to parties and do what everybody lays down as the rules, you've achieved the summit of how people should live, regardless of the signs that something is broken. Nobody in Anna's life pays attention to her continuing use of morphine, which I think has to be at the bottom of her increasingly erratic behavior and ultimately her suicide.
Yes, they're all sorry when it's too late, as Anna says to herself at one point. And not one of them is capable of doing anything to avert the tragedy, I think because they believe that in their social circle, _and because Anna is part of their lives_, nothing like that would ever happen to disturb them.
And isn't that what we hear in the news every day? "She was such a nice person!" "We lived next door for years..." Because the person in the news was part of our lives, it's impossible they could be living their own life, and that it could turn out so tragically.
That's what a great novel does. If you pay attention, you'll hear echoes of it in the news involving people who never heard of the book or even the author. That's reality in writing.
Book Review: Sense of Self
Summary: 5 Stars
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"
- Leo Tolstoy from Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a beautifully written novel about three families: the Oblonskys, the Levins, and the Karenins. The first line hints at Tolstoy's own views about happy and unhappy marriages having these same three families also represent three very different societal and physical locations in Russia in addition to distinctly different views on love, loyalty, fidelity, happiness and marital bliss.
Tolstoy seems to stress that `trusting companionships" are more durable and filled with happiness versus "romantic passion" that bursts with flames and then slowly; leaves ashes rather than a firm, solid foundation to build upon.
It is like reading a soap opera with all of its twists and turns where the observer is allowed to enter into the homes, the minds and the spirits of its main characters. The moral compass in the book belongs to Levin whose life and courtship of Kitty mirrors much of Leo Tolstoy's own courtship of his wife Sophia. Levin's personality and spiritual quest is Tolstoy's veiled attempt at bringing to life his own spiritual peaks and valleys and the self doubts that plagued him his entire life despite his happy family life and the fact that he too found love in his life and a committed durable marriage. At the other end of the spectrum is Anna, who also because of her individual choices and circumstances, falls into despair.
It is clear that Tolstoy wants the reader to come away with many messages about the sanctity of marriage, love and family life. He also wants us to be mindful of the choices that we make in life and the affect that these choices have upon ourselves, our station and path in life as well as the affect upon those that we profess to love. Tolstoy also wants us to examine what makes our lives happy or not; and what is at the root of either end result. Levin and Kitty are the happiest married couple; yet Levin faces his own double bind when struggling against domestic bliss and his need for independence on the other hand and how to achieve both (if that is possible) without relinquishing that which made him who he was born to be.
Anna Karenina and Konstantin Levin are the primary protagonists in the novel and both are rich and fine characters in their own right. Both of them focus on self; one however finds the self to be a nurturer which puts value into life very much as a farmer; while the other views self with despair and as a punisher or destroyer. Both views, diametrically opposed, force the characters on very different paths and lives for themselves. Then there is the dilemma of forgiveness versus vengeance. The very epigram for the novel from Romans states: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." Yet vengeance upon oneself or others is not up to individuals but God; and yet the characters are haunted about what forgiveness is or isn't and by the hollowness of words versus heartfelt and soulfully reflective actions. The themes of social change in Russia, family life's blessings and virtues and farming (even if it is simply the goodness one puts into life and how one cultivates it and others) dominate the novel's landscape. Trains also play a symbolic importance in the novel and it is odd that Tolstoy himself years after writing Anna Karenina dies himself in a train station after setting off from his home in an emotional cloud.
Sometimes the names of the characters themselves can be confusing: so a hint to the reader might be to think of each Russian character's name as having three parts: the first name (examples here are for Levin and Kitty) like Konstantin or Ekaterina, a patronymic which is the father's first name accompanied by a suffix which means son of or daughter of like Dmitrich (son of Dmitri) or Alexandrovna (daughter of Alexander) and then the surname like Levin or Shcherbatskaya. Thus the explanations for the Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya (nicknamed Kitty) and Konstantin Dmitrich Levin (Levin).
I loved the book and its details and the richness of the characterizations as well as the storytelling technique of the great Tolstoy and I have to agree with Tolstoy when he stated, "I am very proud of its architecture-its vaults are joined so that one cannot even notice where the keystone is. " The vaults: "Anna and Levin" are joined with the very first line of the novel and with their focus on themselves.
Rating: A
Bentley/2007
Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club)
Book Review: Anna Karenina
Summary: 5 Stars
Anna Karenina is a rich, young, beautiful socialite. She has a successful, respected husband, a large group of wealthy and influential friends, and an intelligent young son. Yet she is bored, and feels as though her life is empty because she has never known love. While visiting her brother, she meets the dashing Count Vronsky, and an affair begins that deeply affects her family and the people around her.
The novel, Anna Karenina, is founded on a problem that by today's standards would not be as destructive as it was in 1880s Russian society. When the Vronsky-Anna affair deepens from a merely physical attraction to love and eventual pregnancy, the main problem for the principal characters lies in the difficulty of divorce in Russia, a problem which has no equivalent in today's looser society. As such, Anna's plight unfortunately loses a lot of its weight, and we are forced instead to treat the novel as a social statement, a cross section of Russian morality and thought, a glimpse at a way of life long since gone.
Because of Tolstoy's impressive range and ability to portray each character in an almost totally unbiased manner, this is not so much of a problem. Levin, the somber land owning aristocrat, given to farming and pining for the woman Vronsky spurned to be with Anna, is arguably the novel's other primary focus. His storyline deals with the difficulties the landed aristocracy faced as wealthy commoners began to prove themselves capable of making a profit using American capitalism as a tool, something the nobility had rejected as vulgar. It is through Levin that most of the ideas of the novel are explored: That of religion, serfdom and nobility, elections, the 'new' morality of the younger aristocrats, and so on.
A flaw of the novel - although I will put it down to social differences rather than technical mistakes, as Tolstoy shows no lack of talent in most areas - is that Anna is not very sympathetic. I did not care for her problems, and found her a vapid, irritating character. She complains, she whines, she pouts. She is horribly jealous. She did not care at all for her second child, nor was she interesting in anyone else's interests, problem or desires. Yes, we the reader are made aware that she is beautiful and interesting and intelligent, but in all of her dealings with the other characters, she comes across as either selfishly manipulative or airily vacuous.
However. The 'Levin' sections of the novel are wonderful. Levin, the helpful introduction informs me, is Tolstoy's greatest self portrait. They shared the same occupation, the same wife, the same ideas. On Tolstoy's wedding day, he forgot his shirt, so too does Levin. Perhaps this is why the character of Levin is so realised, so sympathetic, so endearing. Of course, he has his unpleasant moments, but these serve to round out his character, rather than annoy. There was a scene, about five hundred pages into the novel, when a gun was accidentally fired by one of the characters. At the time, I stopped reading, put the book down for a moment, and felt a sense of dread that one of my favourite characters might have died. They hadn't, but I think this is one of the greatest recommendations for the novel that I have to offer. I genuinely cared about this man - Levin - and I did not want to see him come to harm. The same could not be said of Anna.
As a social statement, Anna Karenina is amazing. While I found the 'problem' of divorce a difficulty to reconcile with my own social upbringing, the way it was discussed, argued, condemned and praised within the wealthy circles of Russia was extremely interesting. All of Tolstoy's characters were intelligent and articulate, able to give reasoned, attractive arguments to either the positive or negative side of Anna's actions.
Is Anna Karenina to be recommended? Yes, a thousand times yes. There is a richness, a full, created identity of the world in which the characters live that is difficult to find in another piece of art. Tolstoy's world is fully realised, because it is the world - or was. A problem in many works of fiction is that it is hard - if not impossible - to believe that the characters and situations could exist once the pages have finished turning and the story is over. Not so with Anna Karenina. The characters, and most importantly, the settings, are allowed to breathe and live. It is as though we are seeing a slice of a full, coherent reality, and while it is not necessarily the most important slice of life for everyone, it is a significant piece. Before and after this slice, the characters live, even though we do not see it, and this is felt within the pages.
Book Review: An affair to remember! (...and much more)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is world-class literature and a story, albeit an older one, which teaches us much about life. I would HIGHLY recommend this book as a gift to any young adult. Yes, it is lengthy but here Tolstoy has yielded us one of the finest tales ever written.
Anna Karenina is pure female Homo sapiens. She is both good and bad (it's not really a spoiler to note that she falls prey to drugs -- morphine), but most of all, human. When I first began reading this terrific story I anticipated that I would eventually be disappointed by having guessed at what was about to happen -- I BELIEVED that Tolstoy was going to tell me about a sweet girl whom was about to have bad things happen to her and, thus, the great author was going to barter for my sympathies for her. Well no such thing! Instead, Anna Karenina could well be living in the 21st Century given her impulsive proclivities and leading a lifestyle which attends little on injurious consequences, (which we seem to see a lot of these days!). Sometimes I admired her and sometimes I wanted to strangle her, but as I read on I could not see where Tolstoy was really heading with her until the very end.
THE STORY: Anna Karenina falls in love with a dashing, handsome, young Russian military officer -- the problem is that she's married to a stogy (rich and influential) old nobleman and the two have a young son. This old curmudgeon (sometimes a wimpy fool and sometimes an aggressive scoundrel) clings to very religious and moralistic ethics and as Anna's affair evolves, the old man is launched into a distasteful and unpleasant roller coaster ride of emotion.
There are a number of great sub-plots but the chief one concerns a young landowner, the reformist Levin, who is passionate about two things: 1. changing the archaic Russian agricultural system (a very important issue in that period of Russian culture!), and, 2. marrying an early sweetheart. The difficulty with his second agenda is that this gal is in love with Anna's young lover, and not with Levin!
Maybe some folks will get to like Levin as they read on but by the end of the book I really despised him -- other readers might see Levin in a more positive light which is much of the beauty of this book. This work can inspire varying character alliances (as well as the reverse) for readers, the latter of whom have all experienced a diversity of real-life episodes (either directly or vicariously) which they will no doubt relate and append to the happenings within this fascinating book. Tolstoy's ability to create a mental symbiosis between particular characters in his stories and his readers was astounding.
One of the principal characters (I won't name him) will ultimately surprise the reader with both his perseverance as well as with his positive morality. Religion, and perhaps some hipocrisy, is a large feature of "Anna Karenina" and it is rendered in a fashion which clearly manifests some present-day circumstances and applications.
But, most of all, beyond the moral lessons, "Anna Karenina" is just a great and readable story. It's a lot like reading A Mummer's Tale (Anatole France) or "The Great Gatsby" (F. Scott Fitzgerald) -- the moral lessons are present but do not in any way interfere with the story's development.
It's difficult to say enough good about this book. Larissa Volokhonsky is a wonderful and competent translator. She and her husband, Richard Pevear, only recently published their terrific translation of Tolstoy's "War and Peace," the Mother of all Russian literature. As to "Anna Karenina," buy it and read it -- you will savor it. It's a poster example of classic Russian literature at its best.