Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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Book Reviews of Anna Karenina
Book Review: One of the best.
Summary: 5 Stars
Blah blah, what do you say about the greatest book ever written, blah blah. This is how I'm sure I should start this review off, but you've heard that before. So I'll just try to connect it to my experience and hope it rings true to something you, as a reader, are looking for in a book. Well, first off, this is NOT a book about adultery (oh my gawd!). That's just one part of the larger picture, and you need not apply if you're looking to hate the adulteress.
More than anything, for me, this book was life-affirming. It gives you a view of life and love that you cannot help but think no one else has come up with or ever will again. It will probably change your views on something, or at least seriously challenge them. It is so delicately balanced a story that if one chapter were taken out, the whole experience would be lessened. Levin's agnostic indecision and romanticism about damn near everything is painfully understandable, as is Anna and the way she deals with everything that comes at her. I found Kitty's development touching and hopeful as I did Levin's, and Vronsky's unstoppable passion is quite believable. Tolstoy worked ingeniously with the small cast to make such a forcefully tragic, romantic, yet true to life story as would make every author afterwards jealous. I am sure many have tried to recreate Tolstoy's observational powers of reproducing human nature in clear, lucid prose, but none have come quite to this point, and it's the most accessible of all 19th century Russian literature that I've read simply because Tolstoy treats his characters with neither disdain nor exultation. He recognizes that they're all human, and anyone can appreciate that because human nature doesn't really change. Which is both beautiful and tragic.
Also, Tolstoy was quite a conflicted man and deals quite a bit with the nature of God in this book through Levin. If you're uncomfortable with extensive exploration of religious themes or adultery, don't bother. Or if you do, be prepared to have a changed perspective.
So, without giving away any of the plot, read this book if you want a dense, forcefully and lovingly realistic romance with equal parts beauty and tragedy (sorry to beat this contrast to death, but it's true). And for God's sake, take your time with it to digest the characters and all the different subtleties and subplots. They're all significant!
There, I hope I didn't descend into worthless superlatives too much. Just read the book. It's bloody brilliant. And I'm an 18 year old guy if you're wondering whether or not a young person can appreciate it.
Book Review: The Genius of Tolstoy
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read "Anna Karenina" in the eighth grade. I say that not to show off my precocity as a child, but simply to say how accessible this classic is for the noviate, especially of Russian literature.
The doomed romance of Count Vronsky, a handsome, spoiled and immoral member of Russia's vast aristocracy, and Anna, a beautiful, sensual woman trapped in a loveless marriage, is one that any young romantic (esp. female) can easily become enthralled with. The translation I read is one that was out of print long ago, and this new version makes readability a little easier. I myself was intrigued with the differences in idioms, and the somewhat stilted phrasing charmed me. Parts of the dialogue were as effortless as reading an English novel. What mattered was whether the story moved along, whether the characters were interesting, and whether Tolstoy portrayed Russian society as it was in the 1800's. The answer to all of these is a resounding "yes".
The place I bogged down in is probably the place all first-time readers bog down -- the story of Levin, a young nobleman who undoubtedly was created to speak for the mind and heart of Leo Tolstoy. We can see the transformation of Levin, a sensitive, sort of blundering fellow who is pure of heart, into the person that Tolstoy became. If you know the story of Tolstoy's personal life, you can see that Levin, like Tolstoy, married the woman of his dreams. Sadly, you also know (although the novel ends before this happens to Levin) how bitterly unhappy that marriage was to become.
Tolstoy's love for "Mother Russia" is the real love story here, and he does not attempt to sugar-coat the truth. Knowing what we know now about the Russian revolution and the stranglehold Communism had on that country for so long, it is fascinating to see the seeds being sown in Tolstoy's time.
As for Anna and Vronsky, again there is no attempt to prettify the picture. The genius of Tolstoy is that he speaks the plain, unvarnished truth. He has great compassion for his characters and they are multi-faceted and deeply intriguing.
Nowadays there is a great deal of admiration for "literary fiction" and the incredibly long and obtuse sentences, the obscure words, that adorn this fiction. You will find none of that in Tolstoy. His genius lies in a great story, told simply and with strength and honesty. I suggest several readings of "Anna Karenina", and it will have an honored place on your bookshelf.
Book Review: Anna Karenina is not about Anna Karenina
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though she is one of the main characters and was given the title by the author, Leo Tolstoy, Anna is not the focus of this novel. The epic is really about Konstantin Levin, a character whose story is told interspersed with that of Anna's, and who represents the author during his trials of spiritual disbelief and eventual reconciliation.
It is no wonder why so many prefer to see the book as Anna's. She is much more interesting than Levin: She is rebellious, passionate, and has an affair, whereas Levin is generally straight-laced, ambivalent, and is willing to struggle through any troubles he has with his only love and wife, Kitty. Levin is a Victorian Russian; Anna seems Post-Modern American.
People love her story because it is so modern, because they can relate. But for folks like me, hearing all the Anna-saturated descriptions of the book presented it in a negative light. I don't want to read about a promiscuous, self-destructive person, and how the evil society looks down on the poor creature. I wouldn't have pity on her if I were in the Moscow society in the 1870s either. For this reason I was skeptical of reading the masterpiece.
As I began to delve into it, however, I realized that Anna was just used as a contrast to the real storyline of Levin's. He might be considered bland for his proper behavior, but he is principled (evidenced by his respect for Kitty and care of his farm), and despite some serious doubt and disbelief, he is a character that the reader can get behind and support, quite unlike Anna, who we all know is hopeless.
To reference a more modern explanation of Tolstoy's juxtaposition, Anna represents false justification as compared to Levin's true justification; Anna's love is a fleeting and dishonest, while Levin's is lasting and honest; and that is why one can cheer for Levin. His is true love; hers is artificial.
Everyone knows what happens at the end of the book. As such, it would seem that Anna Karenina is a tragedy. And I cannot deny that Anna's death is as cathartic as I imagined it could be. But the book does not end there. There is one more part to the epic, and it is as searching and finally rewarding as any literature in all of history. It truly is the greatest novel ever written, but it is Levin's not Anna's story that makes this work so amazing.
Book Review: Long But a Great Reading Experience
Summary: 5 Stars
Like many others I was scared off from reading this 800 page monster Russian novel.
Prior to reading the present book I became interested in Russian literature and read some of Dostoevsky's books such as "The Gambler" which is just over 100 pages and then "Crime and Punishment" which is about 500 pages; both were delightful and not difficult reads. So next I read the present book. Yes, it is one of the best novels ever written, perhaps second only to Tolstoy's other great novel "War and Peace" which I am reading now.
The book has two protagonists or lead characters and at least two mostly separate stories about these two people: Anna Karenina who is the wife a government official and Levin who is a farmer. The book follows their lives, and of course the parts with Anna seem much more glamorous and interesting.
The book was written after Tolstoy had written "War and Peace" and had taken a break by doing manual labour on a farm. Then he read Goethe, Shakespeare, and a number of stories written by Pushkin - a famous and gifted Russian writer who was killed in a duel 30 years earlier. Inspired by Pushkin's writings he wrote Anna Karenina, and according to historical notes, he wrote five drafts before the final version of this long novel. The novel has eight chapters, each about 100 pages long, each like a short book, so Tolstoy could write and re-write each section, then go onto the next.
One theme is the conflict and inner emotional turmoil of Anna.
The other theme is based on Tolstoy's own life in the character Levin, and Levin's conversion from being an atheist to accepting God.
The only negative aspect of the book are the passages on Russian politics and land reform. The book was written during the 19th century when Russia was in the midst of land and agricultural reform, and some will find these parts a bit slow. They account for perhaps 100 pages.
This is a novel that everyone should read.
In case you are interested there are numerous versions of the same book all with slightly different translations, hard cover and soft cover, ranging in price from about $8 to $40. Also it is free on the internet. Most translations are very similar, regardless of the price. The present book is a good value.
Book Review: Human emotions and relationships -- a literary masterpiece!
Summary: 5 Stars
It took me several months to read all 817 pages of this amazing novel which was published in segments between 1873 and 1877 in a Russian periodical. Every time I picked it up it transported me to a time and a place and a way of life that is long since gone. That it not what makes this novel great, however. What makes it great is the human relationships and emotions which are just as real today as they were in that long ago time. Here we see life and death and love and jealousy and ambition. Here we meet people who were developed so deeply and thoroughly that I did more than just understand them - I felt I was really inside of them, sharing their lives and their feelings.
I reacted with horror to the social conditions of the time that forced one of the characters into a tragic decision. I was moved my emotion by a death scene which brought all the nuances of a fading life for the person dying as well as his loved ones. I was filled with joy at a happy marriage between two people who were kept apart for a while because of pride. I learned about life in the Russian countryside and the details a landowner must deal with in dealing with the newly freed serfs and the land - and in one scene even felt that I was present during the seasonal mowing. I learned about the social restrictions on even the most aristocratic women and emerging discussions about womens' education. And, even though I would have personally liked a few more details of what went on behind bedroom doors, I bow to the conventions of the times, and used my imagination.
Anna Karenina is a married woman who dares to have a romance outside her marriage with Count Vronsky leading to tragedy. Levin is a rich countryside landowner who is at first rejected by the love of his life, Kitty. These are the main characters but they intersect with dozens of others. They are all aristocrats and all have privileged lives. And they are all very real people who are easy to identify with. This novel is a masterpiece and well worth the time and effort to read. It touches nerves in the way that only great writing can do.