Anna Karenina: Leo Tolstoy

As a graduate of Russian, I've often felt a bit embarrassed by the fact I have never read Tolstoy, and Anna Karenina is definitely one of those books that you intend to read but never quite pluck up the courage to tackle. Well dear readers, I have finally been brave enough to plough though it (and please pardon the pun, those of you who have already endured the endless farming philosophy within this book!) and I can safely say I am very glad I got there in the end.

Anna Karenina is a sweeping novel that follows the lives of several characters - the beautiful, fascinating Anna, her dull husband Karenin, her rogue but lovable brother Oblonsky and his long-suffering wife Dolly, Dolly's sweet sister Kitty, Oblonsky's thoughtful friend Levin, and of course the irresistible Count Alexei Vronsky... We follow them all as their lives weave in and out of each other, understanding their loves, daily business and fears. The main draw of the novel is naturally the passionate affair between Anna and Vronsky, but the novel is wider than this in its exploration, taking the reader on a journey through 19th century Russian society where we learn the strict social decorum of the time and what happens when you go against it. In parallel to the tragedy that unfolds for Anna, we follow in depth Levin's voyage to reform farming techniques on his estates and improve the lives of his peasant workers (be warned - there is a LOT on this, and some of it is pretty dry if farming isn't really your thing) as well as his heartwarming courtship of Kitty.

I have to admit to skim reading some bits of the book (the sections where Levin was debating farming and countryside politics with himself or others) but all in all they don't detract from the real beauty of the novel. This is hailed as one of the earliest instances of literary realism, and now I know why - I felt like I was living alongside these characters, and every little detail got under my skin. I agree with some other reviewers that Anna is an annoying character, and I was not that surprised that Tolstoy finally abandoned her rather viciously a section before the end, but at the same time I pitied her despair and how stifling the society of that time must have been to live in with all its rules and etiquette. It's a shame really that Tolstoy uses the novel as a vehicle for a lot of his own ideas and philosophies, and that the novel kind of trails to an end without tying up all the loose ends. However it still remains a remarkable novel and well worth the effort to read.

A note on the translation - I started reading the free Kindle download (that had been typed by teams of volunteers, apparently) because I was daunted by the size of the novel, but the translation and edition were awful (no disrespect to those volunteers, but I can't stand spelling mistakes and typos when I am reading a book.) After digging around I heard the Pevear and Volokhonsky version was the best so I gave in and bought the paperback. I am really glad I did. Their translation was impeccable and a joy to read.

This novel is well known, reviewed and analysed many times, so these are just a few observations in no particular order and on the assumption that is a fine book.

The actress who plays Anna in the most recent film version thought that Tolstoy hated Anna. I don't think he did, but she does become increasingly irritating as the novel goes on. She fears that Vronsky will stop loving her and, in the process, turn his attention elsewhere. She fears this so much that she makes this outcome more likely, driving herself towards insanity. Her suicide is the method by which she punishes him for his perceived lack of love and attention, and it works. But her self-absorption is increasingly tedious, as it would be in anyone else.

It is clear that in that time, in Russia, living in sin was relatively easy for the man and very difficult for the woman, who could not appear at social gatherings and, if she did, was likely to be snubbed. The hypocrisy here is obvious, and well brought out by Tolstoy. It means that Vronsky can get out and about as he always has, enjoying life outside the home, while Anna is trapped.

In this novel, though, the situation is complicated by the fact that Vronsky isn't married while Anna is. So when it comes to the arithmetic of sin, Anna comes out worse. It is also complicated by the fact that while Vronsky wants to marry Anna, she is no hurry to get divorced, the problem for her being access to her son. So Vronsky wants to do `the right thing' and Anna makes it difficult.

Of the many other characters, the one who stands out most is Levin. A few chapters in, I began to suspect that Levin was Tolstoy in disguise. Knowing little of Tolstoy's life, I checked online. It seems that Levin does articulate much of Tolstoy's thinking, for example, when it comes to the Russian peasantry. But the development of Levin as a character is strange. He marries a woman he loves, they have a child and what does he do? - he becomes increasingly depressed (though not in the clinical sense) because he cannot answer the question, what's it all about? And this troubles him so much he contemplates suicide.

As this character has been portrayed throughout most of the book, anyone less likely to commit suicide - even as the logical solution to an intellectual problem - would be hard to imagine. But it may be that Tolstoy himself had this experience. In the end, Levin believes he has solved his problem, though it seems a bit woolly to me. I read that the editor of the magazine in which the book first appeared in instalments refused to accept this ending, something which Tolstoy remedied in the first edition of the book as a single volume with the conclusion we have today.

I have never encountered so many princes and princesses. They are much given to speaking in foreign languages, particularly French and English. They use French most, as a way of discussing their affairs in the presence of the servants yet keeping them private. They also use German on occasion, most often in connection with mechanical matters such as farm equipment, though German philosophers are mentioned too.

And then there is hunting, which is described because it takes place. One hunt in particular is described at great length. It wasn't a good move to be a snipe, a grouse or a bear in these parts. There is no attempt to analyse hunting, so the impression given is that it's fine for these ostensibly God-fearing folk to bump off large numbers of God's creatures.

Lastly, the book appeared in instalments over four years. This is one reason why it so long. It didn't have to be. States of mind are often described at great length, the author giving us access to the characters' thoughts in direct speech. I felt this was overdone. How do we know a person? By his actions and his words. Tolstoy gives us this, of course, but there are too many pages devoted to creating the character by analysis and giving it to us on a plate.

This book was my first foray into Russian literature, and I could not have had a better introduction. Tolstoy has a way of phrasing the thoughts and feelings of the characters that is so insightful, precise and identifiable that it easily transcends the innumerable differences between a modern reader and the selection of people he focuses on living in nineteenth century Russia. They are all incredibly psychologically developed and I felt as if I knew them all personally and could predict how they might react in any given situation. Tolstoy also colours his narrative so that it is seen through the eyes of the different characters, giving the reader many different viewpoints from which to perceive events and settings and so making the novel very rich. A scene from the perspective of Oblonsky, for example, is light, frivolous and faintly cynical, whereas the same situation seen through Levin's eyes is thoughtful and earnest.

Unfortunately, while the human drama of the novel has stood the test of time admirably, much of Tolstoy's social commentary has not fared so well. The sections on social economy, agriculture and political systems may have ben fascinating to a contemporary Russian reader but I found them lengthy, tedious, unnecessary and, dare I say it, dull. However, I'm more than willing to ignore the effect of these passages in light of the sheer brilliance of the rest of the book.

This particular translation (Penguin, 1954, this edition 2000) by Rosemary Edmonds is fantastic. Her prose is readable and appropriate, so that the book does not read like translated literature at all, but like any other nineteenth century novel. The illusion was so well-executed that the only time I was made aware that I wasn't reading original language literature was when characters discussed which pronouns to use to refer to one another, an aspect of language which is absent from modern English. Both the translation and the original writing make this a thoroughly excellent book.

Upon learning that Anna Karenina had won a place in the BBC's Top One-Hundred Books list, I thought it was about time I gave it a read. Being approximately eight hundred pages in length and having been translated from its original Russian, it was no mean feat, I assure you. I enjoyed the opening immensely; Tolstoy begins the book with news of a household in chaos, with the wife of the rather cheeky character Stepan Arkadyich having recently found out of her husband's affair with the French governess. The opening line, 'All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,' had me believing that if the novel was full of little gems like this, perhaps it wouldn't be such a slog after all. I was to be disappointed however, as several reviewers have previously mentioned, there is a great deal of unnecessary detail often covering many pages at a time (any reader with a passion for Russian history and/or culture may find such detail rewarding to read, however).

Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina in eighteen seventy-three, and it is all too easy to take such themes involved in the novel as commonplace in the times we live in, but at the date of its original publication such subject matter would have been nothing short of scandalous. Our heroine Anna for example, embarks upon an affair with the Casanova figure Vronsky, whilst she is married to someone else. The reader is able to journey with Anna as she makes heartbreaking decisions, such as whether she should abandon her child and escape her loveless marriage in order to pursue her new relationship. While these events are taking place, a story running parallel portrays an introvert young gentleman named Levin - a character based on Tolstoy himself - attempting to win the heart of a youthful princess.

As you may well imagine, this is no light-heated read and some of the imagery used by the author goes some way in conveying the content of the story: "And he felt how a murderer must feel when he looks at the body he has deprived of life. This body deprived of life was their love... But despite the murder's horror before the murdered body, he had to cut it into pieces and hide it, he had to make use of what the murderer has gained by his murder."

One of the main proposals Tolstoy puts to the reader is that of the complex nature of relationships between humans, and how often one longs for something out of one's reach, but as soon as possession is assumed, it is no longer desired. I chose to award Anna Karenina three stars for the story alone, Tolstoy's narration is incredibly poetic and full of drama, and deserves five. If I had even the slightest knowledge of Russian, I would not hesitate to read the novel in its purest form, as I believe the translation into English is much to blame for some of the iffy prose (not the fault of the translators, but merely the difficulty in bringing the story into a language other than that which was intended). Anna Karenina is certainly not short of fans, and for that reason alone I urge you to set aside some time in order to read it, then you can make up your own mind.

One cannot approach a novel of such status of Anna Karenina without preconceptions, expectations, and the tendency to mould ones mindset to conform to the traditional views of this exalted work.

For one, this reviewer does not intend to comment on the notion that Anna Karenina is the greatest novel ever. To do so would ignore the truth that one man's meat is another's poison. However, for those who want an insightful, panoramic, and realistic novel, Anna Karenina surely delivers.

It must be noted that the novel Anna Karenina has something of a deceptive title. The full title is Anna Karenina: A novel in 8 parts. The 8th part entirely concerns the character of Konstantin Levin, Tolstoy's self portrait, and to this reader at least, that was the more rewarding part of the novel.

The novels strengths is it's psychological insight, and the author's clear understanding of human emotions, wants, instincts, and social conformity. It's main flaw is it's title, which simply does not do justice to the wider novel, which is more of a panorama rather than a novel focused on a star crossed affair.

For this reader at least, the strength of the novel lay in the storyline with Levin, rather than the storyline of the title character.

This particular Kindle edition is a decent piece, and cannot be faulted in it's format, just a bit more spacing in between chapters and parts would have made it better.

When choosing one's preferred novel out of Tolstoy's two best known works, Anna Karenina and War & Peace, this reader opts for the latter, as it is longer, happier, and far more rewarding. However, Anna Karenina is still a worthy read, and perhaps a better option for those with less time on their hands.

This famous novel is very interesting regarding the triangle relationship of the three characters in the main plot - Anna, her husband and her lover. But, the descriptions of activities and thought of Levin, a land-owing aristocratic farmer, in the sub-plot is detailed and long since it is Tolstoy himself in real life.

The translation was done by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, a prize-winning multi-lingual husband and wife team. The texts are excellent. Also, another major advantage of this version is that, on top of a good introduction by one of the translators, there are extensive notes on Russia's historical and political background, proverbs (Russian, French and Classical Roman), Orthodox religious rituals, people's customs, literary allusions, etc. I feel that, without these detailed notes, this novel may well partially remain a "closed book" to the reader who (like me) has no Russian cultural background.

The earlier Penguin Books version - called `Anna Karenin' - was issued in the 1950s. It contains the translator's introduction running to only three pages, and has no notes at all. The current, newer version (published in 2000) is highly recommendable.

I read War and Peace because I wanted to read it before watching the recent adaptation. I loved it so much that I wanted to keep reading Tolstoy and so, logically, turned to Anna Karenina. For me, Tolstoy's strength is in his immediately engaging and flawed characters, and their vulnerability forces me to take them under my wing. Because it's such a famous book, I knew how it ended before I picked it up. Nevertheless I was intrigued to see how that ending came about, and the story did not disappoint. He is still very relevant in terms of the secret to a happy and fulfilling life and focusing on what is important.

I skipped the parts about agriculture in nineteenth century Russia as this did not interest me and I didn't see what bearing it had on the fates of the characters.

I had a real love/hate relationship with this book initially. My ultimate conclusion? I loved it.. Obviously it's a classic, and the story is both epic and tragic, but there were large portions of the book that I found dry as a bone and that only my own determination to finish prevented me from giving up altogether. However, if your interest is in the politics of the time you'll be more than happy with these sections as they go into great detail.

That said, please do push though because the main storyline is overwhelmingly compelling and the characters are without exception beautifully crafted and still entirely relevant. I found myself identifying with each character for separate and distinct reasons and I think you will find yourself in at least one of them.

This book is an incredible observation into human psychology and sociology and, though it took me the best part of a year to complete, I now actually miss the characters and their stories. Please read before watching the film!!!

What an amazingly well written book. It is a painting in words. Lots of passages to think about. Everybody should read it.

kitap sadece kartonun içine koyulmuş, bir jelatine vb sarılabilirdi 😕

Book arrived slightly damaged (corner damage, wrinkles) but it’s fine

Jeszcze nie czytałam ale przyszła w niektórych miejscach uszkodzona

الغلاف الخلفي متضرر من الطرف و صراحه كنت متوقعه هالشيء لأنه اغلفة بينقوين بلاك سباين ضعيفه بشكل عام ، ما عدا كذا الكتاب تمام و بصراحه تفاجأت انه الخط نوعاً ما صغير