Anna Karenina [Hardcover]

 

 

Create your own review

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." That line opens and sets the tone of "Anna Karenina," a tangled and tragic tale of nineteenth century Russia. Tolstoy's story of lovers and family is interlaced with razor-sharp social commentary and odd moments that are almost transcendent. In other words, this is a masterpiece.

When Stepan Oblonsky has an affair with the governess, his wife says that she's leaving him, and now the family is about to disintegrate. Stepan's sister Anna arrives to smooth over their marital problems, and consoles his wife Dolly until she agrees to stay. But on the train there, she met the outspoken Countess Vronsky, and the countess's dashing son, who is semi-engaged to Dolly's sister Kitty.

Anna and Vronsky start to fall in love -- despite the fact that Anna has been married for ten years, to a wealthy husband she doesn't care about, and has a young son. Even so, Anna rejects her loveless marriage and becomes the center of scandal and public hypocrisy, and even becomes pregnany by Vronsky. As she prepares to jump ship and get a divorce, Anna becomes a victim of her own passions...

That isn't the entire story, actually -- Tolstoy weaves in other plots, about disintegrating families, new marriages, and the melancholy Levin's constant search for God, truth, and goodness. Despite the grim storyline about adultery, and the social commentary, there's an almost transcendent quality to some of Tolstoy's writing. It's the most optimistic tragic book I've ever read.

For some reason, Tolstoy called this his "first novel," even though he had already written some before that. Perhaps it's because "Anna Karenina" tackles so many questions and themes, and does so without ever dropping the ball. No wonder it's so long and imposing -- Tolstoy covered a lot of ground in here.

And while "Anna Karenina" was not the first book he wrote, it is probably the deepest and most moving. Tolstoy steeps the book in social commentary, and his personal philosophies. It's also one of those books that takes a very long time to move itself forward -- Tolstoy's writing is slow and ponderous, with a lot of serious discussion about religion and relationships. But his intense, slightly rough writing is worth it.

In some tragic books, you get the feeling that the author really despises his characters, and doesn't really care what happens to them. Tolstoy never gives you that feeling -- no matter how annoying his characters are, they always have something interesting or endearing. No caricatures at all -- even Anna's irritating, arrogant brother is given some quirks to make him seem real.

Oddly enough, the most moving character here is not Anna, but Konstantin Levin -- the tortured, passionate landowner is so earnest that it's difficult not to care about him. Apparently he was Tolstoy's alter ego, which explains his depth. But Anna and Vronsky are strong leads, a passionate pair who are both selfish and seductive, but never boring.

A beautiful look at living right vs. living wrong, "Anna Karenina" is a truly magnificent book. This book is undoubtedly Tolstoy's opus, and a stunning look at human nature.

Didactic, comprehensive, tragic, and challenging, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is immutably powerful 150 years after it's original telling. A searing juxtaposition of Constantine Levin, a confused, cautious, and questioning man and the impulsive, emotive Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's masterpiece gives reason to long reflect on the net results of adultery. Levin, a man of simple tastes and patient plodding, ultimately achieves love, family, and inner-peace while the cosmopolitan Anna, in her haste for self-gratification, throws it all away.

Amidst the often supercilious affectations of Russian nobility in Petersburg and Moscow, Tolstoy's refutation of the timeless notion of "greener pastures" plays out with striking effect. Of course, the impact of any 19th-century literature is directly proportional to one's predilections. However, Anna Karenina will engross, may even occasionally bore, but will never be less than a lesson well taught for those of the mind for reflection.

This is one of my favorite books of all time! Though Anna Karenina is not necessarily an easy or quick read, you will thank yourself for persevering and reading this book. Tolstoi has an amazing way with characterization and descriptive narrative. He managed to find just the right words or phrase something in just such a way as to evoke real feeling from the reader; you can truly identify with the character/situation at those moments and appreciate the literary beauty of this novel throughout. Happy reading!

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 43 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Anna Karenina
I loved how the writer tells the story in different perspectives through each charater. It is written as if you can feel what each of the characters feel and you know them inside... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Victoria

5.0 out of 5 stars Great novel!!
The central love story between Anna Karenina and Count Vronsky is compelling and tragic. Anna and the Count have an affair, causing much talk in society. Read more

Published on Dec 31 2006 by Sona Ujcikova

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, bad translation
Despite some boring points during the book, like Vronskiy's horse race, Levin going hunting with his friends or threshing with his estate's peasants, the chapters where the male... Read more

Published on July 13 2004 by Anyechka

4.0 out of 5 stars If you want to think about what love is
The novel is about forbidden love. For a women this love becomes a "need to be loved" while for a man "searching for one worth it". Read more

Published on Oct 27 2003 by N. Delen

5.0 out of 5 stars Tolstoy's vision of utopia
Leo Tolstoy truly was one of the greatest social critics of his time and his influence easily rivalled that of Tsar Nicholas II and the Russian Orthodox Church. Read more

Published on May 7 2003 by Ray Farmer

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Classic
The story takes place in a time and place far away, but neither the style, nor the history are hard to follow. That's what makes this Tolstoy marterpiece timeless. Read more

Published on Jun 20 2002 by Huszar

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Novel Ever Written
There are many different kinds of writers but few (if any) possess the wide range of skills of Leo Tolstoy. Read more

Published on Mar 10 2002 by Bruddy Dahl

5.0 out of 5 stars Is the phrase "Tolstoy epic" redundant?
The reader educated enough to be interested in anything by Tolstoy probably needs no introduction to the plot and a suggestion for which translation to choose would almost... Read more

Published on Dec 11 2001 by Larry M. Coleman

4.0 out of 5 stars A flawed major masterpiece
All literary masterpieces are alike in their perfection. Each imperfect novel is flawed in its own way. Read more

Published on Oct 9 2001 by PETER FREUND

5.0 out of 5 stars My opinion
What can I say?! It's a great book.. I love it!!

Published on April 11 2001

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 43 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Search Listmania!