Anna Karenina

... of this immense mistakenly titled novel, is patently Lev Tolstoy masquerading as an artless thinker, that is, a Thinker without an Art, neither a painter nor a writer, simply a man trying to find find meaning in life by thinking about himself. Does he think too much? Eventually he thinks so. He's happiest when he wields his own scythe, an aristocrat embarrassing his serfs both by his energy and by his inappropriate humility. More pages of the novel are devoted to Levin's erratic musings and violent mood swings than to any other character, male or female. Levin is the protagonist as well as his own antagonist. Levin is the intellectual leavening of this tear-sodden melodrama. It's Levin's epiphany, his realization of a plausible happiness amid the falsehood and grief of life, that concludes the book, long pages after the death of the title-character. Levin's abjuration of Reason and embrace of instinctive mysticism do not amount to an Answer to Life's Big Questions for this reader, but Levin is a fully realized human being, one of the most believable in all literature, just as this novel is one of the most perfectly realized works of fiction ever written.

"Anna Karenina" is an earnest philosophical novel upon which a fiery opera is grafted. The graft is surgically perfect. It takes. The stories of Anna and Vronsky, Levin and Kitty, Levin and his Doubts are all melded together seamlessly. There have been at least half a dozen grand operas based on "Anna Karenina", none of which have held the stage either artistically or commercially, not merely because the novel is too large for a libretto but because the deepest parts are invariably excluded. No Levin interior monologues, no leavening of the plot! Grand opera, in the tradition of 19th C Romanticism, isn't amenable to Tolstoy's quasi-Jungian Weltanschauung. It seems that Leos Janacek attempted to compose an "Anna Karenina" opera, but abandoned the project. And if Janacek couldn't do it, no one else had a chance!

I'm not a scholar of Russian literature. I haven't read the preface to this translation, or any biography of Tolstoy, or a single essay about "Anna Karenina", but I'm convinced that Levin is Tolstoy's spiritual self-portrait, and his prefiguration of the course his own life would take. I also have to confess, sadly, that I can't read a word of Russian. This great novel exists for me only via translation. Whether the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation captures any or none of Tolstoy's literary flair is completely opaque to me. I had read the 100-year-old translation that remains the most widely known, and assumed that the novel had to be better in the orginal, since the translation amounted to wretched English prose. Now I can at least confidently declare that Pevear's translation is good English prose. In fact, if I were given a paragraph of it without a title and with all the place names replaced by sites in North Dakota, I think I would be fooled. I wouldn't suspect a translation.

"Anna Karenina" is a sublime creation, unquestionably a "world classic." Don't be afraid of its length, or of its depth.

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

If I could summarize this book in a quote in regards to Anna and Vronsky it would be this one:

"I know no peace and cannot give you any...And I do not see any possibility of peace ahead either for me or for you. I see the possibility of despair, of unhappiness...or I see the possibility of happiness."

That pretty much sums up their love affair and even though these words were spoken by Vronsky in the beginning of the novel, it served as a foreshadow of what was to come between him and Anna. I want to star by saying Im more of an emotional reader, although I do love analyzing classic books for meaning and being scholarly, I mostly go by my heart and the type of emotional response I get by learning about these characters and how their story unfolds. So my emotional side wants to give this story a solid 3 stars. I DO NOT LIKE READING BOOKS ABOUT CHEATING but made one of the rare exceptions with this book as my dear friend recommended it to me. I felt Anna and Vronsky were being selfish and I just couldn't sympathize with them. I know Karenin, Annas husband, was not exactly a cinnamon roll or the most passionate person on earth but at least he took care of her and their son. I do agree he wasn't emotionally available to Anna and she longed to be and feel loved and in a passionate relationship, but that passionate relationship is what ultimately unraveled her and sent her down a dark path. I do believe Anna suffered from a mental illness and I did feel pity for her in that sense. She was the product and consequence of the society she lived in who sadly was not kind to women in Annas position. This is why I gave the book a 5 star, Tolstoy had a way of making me hate her but pity her at the same time and even understand her. The raw human emotions expressed in this novel were truly wonderful. I felt what they felt and as I was reading it and I found myself thinking of the story even when I wasn’t reading it. When a book can do that to me thats how I know I will remember it always and will have a lasting impact on me.

I personally hated Vronsky, I guess what he felt for Anna was "love" but I honestly didn't see it. Anna loved him way more than he did and towards the end he only thought of himself.

However, Kitty and Levins story served as a contrast to Anna and Vronskys story and I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!! Levin, faults and all, was a wonderful character to read and Kitty was a delight. There is a scene/part of the book where Levin dosnt want to take Kitty with him to see his dying brother but she's like Im going anyway (go Kitty!) and we get to see how amazing Kitty is. She took charge of the situation that Levin realized how valuable Kitty is. Another great part was when they confess their feeling for each other!!! That was super cute and romantic.

There are a lot of more characters that I didn't mention but added substance to the story but those two couples were the standouts.

Would I recommend it? Yes, although its a long book and deals with cheating/adultery everyone should read it once and if you can get the audio version with Maggie Gyllenhaal that would make your reading/listening experience even better.

There is a lot of themes and lessons we learn from this book but other reviewers, I feel, can cover this much better than I, but still wanted to share my thoughts. If you decide to embark on this journey that is Anna Karenina I wish you the best. I will definitely read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy now that I have a taste for his writing :)

I was new last Fall to this Tolstoy masterpiece when I read it. I came to it skeptical, under the mistaken impression that it was simply about Anna Karenina, her terminal love affair and her despicable selfishness toward her son and everyone else in the end. I thought "Anna K" was simply a story of this lady showing the tragic consequences of self-centeredness and the lack of any moral compass.

I was mistaken; the foregoing is only part of the story and should only be viewed in the context of the novel's three (or four) other relationships to appreciate the beauty of this Tolstoy masterwork.

Both the Russian Giants (Leo and Dostoevsky) play consistently the themes of man/woman's relationship to and with God and with spouse, the internal struggles of faith versus doubt and monogamy and morality versus free will, as well as the ongoing, infinite war between good and evil with all the skirmishes on the fringe.

These themes are arguably no where more dramatically displayed for study, contemplation and interpretation for all time by scholars, thinkers and, most importantly, lovers of literature in a quite timeless story of tragedy and relationships among and between:

Anna K in her tragic affair with the younger Count Vronsky

Her relationship with the controlling, but cuckolded husband Karenin and his capacity (or not) to move on and be a father to their son;

the steady, thinking farmer Levin and his courtship of and marriage to young, gorgeous and shallow Kitty who was once infatuated with Vronsky; and,

the unsteady, unfaithful social-hound Stiva Oblonsky (Anna's brother) and his loyal wife Dolly (Kitty's sister), the exemplary and unappreciated mother of his children, who catches herself daydreaming and fantasizing of what it may be like to have a torrid, short-term affair of body and soul.

Over this rocky terrain, Tolstoy fashioned an extraordinary and unforgettable mindtrip through the passions of humanity. YOUR destination should be some measure of SELF-revelation. Probably, it's varies from mine, maybe even antithetical. That is Tolstoy's point: a narrative to make you think and feel.

PS: This translation is superb and beautiful.

Reading translations has always seemed to lessen my engagement with a book mainly because I am hyper-aware of the fact that unless I learn the original language of the story I will never 100% read the actual story the way it was meant to be read. In rating a book like Anna Karenina I don't think I'm rating Leo Tolstoy as much as I'm rating Richard Peaver and Larissa Volokhonsky. One can make the same claim for any given spiritual text. How can I say things like "this book is too long" when I am ignorant not only of the source material but also in the challenges that were faced in translating the spirit of the work into a completely different language? The answer is that I can't. Although many characters seem to feel things "in the depths of their souls" (an expression I grew tired of in the book) I wondered if that is what Tolstoy actually wrote in Russian or if he used expressions that have no equivalent in English. This is one example of what I mean. Did Tolstoy overuse expressions or did the translators have no other way of putting it? Who am I really critiquing?

I will say that the characters, in one way or another, were relatable and touched my mind and heart in ways I was not expecting. All the characters reflected something in me that I had experienced in one way or another in myself. Levin was perhaps the most relatable and, speaking for myself, is what makes this story work.

Translation or not, the length still felt excessively long and given that War and Peace is regarded as an extremely long book and in need of a trim, I suspect the length is more of a Tolstoy thing. Much like I've heard of Dickens, this book has long sentences that seem to take you on an odyssey to arrive at an idea or expression that didn't seem to be worth the trip. It doesn't hurt the overall work but sometimes one can almost lose the rhythm and pacing of the narrative. Also, not knowing much about Russian politics some aspects can seem boring. I dont know if it is due to my ignorance as a reader or the age of the work and the challenges at translating ideas.

Overall I can say that I loved the overall work and look forward to reading more translations of Russian literature. I can't say if this is the best translation, but for me it was quite enjoyable. I would highly recommend it with a heads-up on certain aspects of the book that could feel a bit overdone ("in the depths of his soul") or certain sentences that seem to lose narrative flow.

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.

First and foremost, the novel is beautiful in it's appearance. I purchased the paperback Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition by Pevear and Volokhonsky. The book has a stunning cover with a dust jacket and deckle edge, all of which make the book that much more expensive and beautiful. My pictures definitely don't do it justice, but I've included a few for reference.

WARNING: save the introduction until after you complete the novel to avoid spoilers. It contains a few important plot details concerning the fates of several characters. That being said, the introduction is a beautifully written insight into Tolstoy's journey to write Anna Karenina, including the influences from his real life that inspired many of the novel's characters and events.

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." WOW! The first sentence alone is so masterfully written that you know you're in for an incredible journey.

This translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky is beautifully written in such a way that the text is readable (and doesn't come across as being outdated) but maintains the author's authentic voice without any commentary on the part of the translators. Additionally, the translators included an especially helpful character list detailing the names and familial relations of the main characters as well as a section of notes that explain specific plot details regarding Russian society and history.

I tried to pace myself through the book, originally committing to only about 50 pages per night before bed. But when I started reading I couldn't stop, I was so enraptured by the novel that I couldn't put it down, and read all 800+ pages in less than a week. This story is truly timeless. My only complaint (if you can even call it that) is that I expected more closure...maybe a more complete picture regarding the characters' lives (particularly Vronsky and Karenin) outside of their relationships with Anna. However, those uncertainties amplify the tragic elements and provide a sense of realism. An incredible addition to my bookcase.

Spoiler Alerts

This translation is excellent. I started reading another version of this and the clunky wording made the story much harder to get into. This translation is so understandable.

It's a long book. I often got sidetracked and it took me months to read it. The ending with Levin's struggle with religion is good, but you could get there in half the time.

The characters were likeable enough. Spoiled, rich. Oblivious to their privilege. I didn't admire Anna nor Vronsky. I hated how Anna treated her children. I loved Levin and Kitty. Levin actually cared for workers. Kitty was loving and decent.

What I loved most about this book was how Tolstoy described certain moments and exchanges from the 1800's - they could be written yesterday! The opening sentence speaks for itself. Halfway through, there's a scene where Anna and Vronsky go to buy a painting and it's told from their point of view, and the painters. It's perfect. The posturing, the exchanges. The painter needs their money and resents them; they know nothing about art and are struggling not to sound stupid. Later in the book: Anna's line about the English girl she takes under her wing: "Energy is based on love. And love can't be drawn from just anywhere, it can't be ordered. I love this English girl, I myself don't know why." So true. Why do we love some people and not others? The last paragraph in part seven is really incredible. I don't want to give it away, but there's a reference to swimming that's so apt. The last sentence of this part is perfect.

Much admiration of Tolstoy and his timeless writing.

"Anna Karerina" has been a novel I’ve been wanting to read since last year, but I’ve always felt intimated by its length. It is long and slow paced since the focus of the descriptions is directed towards the inconsistency tendency of feelings, and behavior.

The novel is composed of 8 parts in total and each part has an average of 30 small chapters which makes it easy to read it in lapses of time. It took me the first part to get used to Tolstoy distinctive style. "Anna Karerina" is complex, extensive in depicting the Russian aristocracy, the problems of the Russian peasantry and farming, at the end of the 19th Century.

Tolstoy’s writing style is marked by the subtleties of the plot and the constant interior rumination of the main characters. There is a great emphasis on the feelings, les sentiments. The plot is developed slowly, in increments and delicately, which renders unexpected events hunting and surprising.

The manner in which Tolstoy described the complexities of their thoughts was mind blowing for me. To be honest, I could not stand Anna Karerina. For the first time, I questioned the title of the novel. I wished it was given a different name. All along, I kept wondering why was I waisting my time reading this novel, her journey to self-destruction. I felt it was depressing and nothing to learn from. For a moment, it reminded me of “Mary Anne” by Daphne Du Maurier (which I recommend after all). I decided to rather appreciate and focus on the talent this author has in capturing complicated emotions and feelings.

Levin, the second primary character, lives in the country and made it all worth the reading. One felt the intimacy of levin’s thoughts and struggles. It did create a significant impact, so much so, that sometimes some descriptions would come to mind during my walks. Here is one of my top favorite description that kept coming in my mind:

"He was happy, but, having entered upon family life, he saw at every step that it was not what he had imagined. At every step he felt like a man who, after having admired a little boat going smoothly and happily on a lake, then got into this boat. He saw that it was not enough to sit straight without rocking; he also had to keep in mind, not forgetting for a minute, where he was going, that there was water underneath, that he had to row and his unaccustomed hands hurt, that it was easy only to look at, but doing it, while very joyful, was also very difficult." (p. 479 - 480)

Levin’s constant search for happiness, for the meaning of life is a portrayal of le mal des hommes. We are never satisfied. Always looking for truths in people and events; always trying to find ways to implement new ideals in our personal lives. Through Levin’s ongoing journey, Tolstoy reminds us that even though we may know the way to happiness, it’s still not enough. Even if we are happy, it’s still not enough. Some of us remain restless as Levin, still looking. In the introduction of this Penguin Deluxe Edition, it is noted that Tolstoy depicted Levin from his personal struggles and ideals.

There are a plethora of themes: marriage, love, vengeance, happiness, the issues of farming and of the Russian aristocracy which render this novel rich.

Even though I had many apprehensions with Anna Karerina’s character, I can understand how it is a must read classic after all. Despite my slowness at the beginning, I don’t regret it. Levin’s journey made it all worth it. I enjoyed this edition very much, specially the annotations provided. The novel ends with a central message on our universal duty to do good.

I have not watched any movie adaptations yet. If you have, which one do you recommend?