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Summary: Tolstoy is a genius.
Review: Most authors would introduce to you twelve characters and not be able to fully develop them or keep them straight. Tolstoy was flawlessly able to draw you into the lives of more than 50 characters. Every once in a while you might get confused, but the characters are still amazing, and the plot is captivating. You know an author has talent when he can actually make you despise an evil character or empathize with a person who never existed. Though this book is insanely long it's well worth the time it takes to read. The amount of actual information you can learn, and the questions the book makes you ask are astounding. I personally was very interested in upper class Russian society after reading this. It makes you wonder if that's how it really was in Tolstoy's time or if it's like that all over the world. The characters are just so real. The emotion is real. I was amazed more than once that a love story such as this was written by a man. I suggest that everyone who has any interest in classic literature of just amazing novels reads this.
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Summary: MY LIFE CHANGED
Review: In my sophomore year of college, I was assigned ANNA KARENINA to be read in one week. ONE WEEK! Somehow I did it and it changed my life. I came back to the Tolstoy novel in the summer between my sophomore and junior years and then again in grad school. I just finished reading it for the fourth time.Everything you've heard and read about ANNA KARENINA is true. It is one of the finest, subtlest, most exciting, most romantic, truest, most daring, charming, witty and altogether moving experiences anyone can have. And you don't have to slog through pages and chapters to find the truth and beauty. It's right there from the first, famous sentence: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This new translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is wonderful and deserves your attention even if you already have a favorite version of the book. Pevear and Volokhonsky are considered "the premiere translators of Russian literature into English of our day." Working, as I do, in the Theatre, I hope they take on some of Turgenev's plays. Anyone who believes in the power of Art, especially Literature, must buy and read this book. I promise it can change your life. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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Summary: The Ultimate Family Novel
Review: When most people think of Tolstoy, they no doubt think of "Anna Karenina." So do I, and even though "Anna Karenina" isn't my favorite Tolstoy book (I preferred the exquisite and perfect novella, "The Death of Ivan Illych" instead), I will admit that "Anna Karenina" is definitely Tolstoy's most psychologically revealing and most complex work. Set against the Russia of the 1870s, this book, like so many great Russian novels, could almost be read as a history lesson as well as a novel. There are passages on war, passages on peace and passages on the meaning of the "true Russian soul." And, perhaps in this book more than in any other ("Resuurection" may be the one exception), does Tolstoy share his own feelings with his readers by incorporating them into the feelings of his characters. The character of Levin, more than any other, mirrors the character of Tolstoy, himself. By the book's end, Levin, like Tolstoy, is a man who lives for God. And, for Levin, as for Tolstoy, this discovery of God, and the evocation of the spiritual side of his nature over the rational and intellectual side, gives a new serenity to life. At its heart, of course, "Anna Karenina" is a novel of love and especially, of the love that exists within families. It is about love that works (Levin and Kitty) and it is also about love that fails to work (Vronsky and Anna). Whether conventional (Levin and Kitty) or unconventional (Vronsky and Anna), functional or dysfunctional, Tolstoy's families are families in flux. The characters change and the relationships involved must change their dynamics as well if they are to survive. Love, something that is never easy, is severely tested and tried in "Anna Karenina." Some loves pass the tests, others do not. I have often thought that Tolstoy would have made a great film director as well as a great novelist. He excels at subtle gestures: a squeeze of the hand, a glance of the eye, a failure to turn around and face one's accuser. These details and so many more are brilliantly portrayed in "Anna Karenina" and form much of the book's greatness. This is a book with everything: riches, poverty, sickness, death, weddings, urban society and the peace of the country, togetherness and separation, joy and loss, love, betrayal and forgiveness. This translation by husband and wife team, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is, in my opinion, far superior to the "old" translations of Louise and Aylmer Maude or Constance Garnett. The Maudes, to be sure, were friends and devotees of Tolstoy, but their Victorian prose can often sound "stilted" and forced. True, the Maudes present a more literal translation than do Pevear and Volokhonsky and they remain true to Russian grammar and sentence construction. Pevear and Volokhonsky have sacrificed the Russian grammar of Tolstoy in favor of English grammar and clarity of thought. I think, in this case, at least, it was a wonderful choice. They have also chosen to keep the Russian names of the characters, rather than Anglicizing them, something else I very much prefer. In this translation, "Matvei" remains "Matvei." In older translations, he became, maddeningly, "Matthew." In today's cosmopolitan world, I think most of us, and certainly those who are going to choose to read a book as sophisticated as "Anna Karenina" are familiar enough with Russian names to stick to the original. Substituting the English equivalent simply sounds silly. The notes that accompany this translation are far, far superior to the notes in the older translations, but here I do have a complaint. Why on earth did the publisher choose to put them at the end of the book rather than as footnotes? I found myself flipping to the back of the book time and again, when it would have been so much more convenient and helpful to simply look at the bottom of the page. The publisher did choose to place the translations of the French and German phrases at the bottom of the page, so why not the explanatory notes as well? Overall, however, I love this translation and find it far superior to any other I have read. "Anna Karenina" is a complex novel encompassing all the mysteries of relationships. One requires enough concentration just reading the book without stumbling through an awkward translation as well. "Anna Karenina" is a wonderful book; this new translation has made it far more accessible and enjoyable. I hope it will be enjoyed by many more readers in the years to come.
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Summary: Film!?! Oh Crud...
Review: The book is the best thing I've ever read. The 900 pages and the 5 days I spent reading it was completely worthwhile. The story of Anna and Vronsky is an incredibly sad one, doomed from the very beginning. Tolstoy was a brilliant writer, and his brilliance is reflected in the book. The story starts out with Oblonsky and then slowly eases into Levin and Anna. This is one of those books you read once and you never forget. Thats why I hate the fact that they're going to make yet another film on this. Theres 3 versions, 1 with Garbo and 1 with Vivien Leigh and one lesser known Hollywood one. I strongly recommend getting the Leigh or Garbo version but don't see this new one. You might enjoy it a bit but Anna Karenina will lose its essence. All these "remade" classics have already spoiled many of my favorite dumas novels for me by twisting the storylines and characters. Don't Watch the Movie. Read the BOok. My guess is that this cruddy movie will take away Oblonsky, and Levin and just focus on Anna. Don't watch the movie. Its a wonderful book that deserves to just stay that way.
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Summary: The Greatest Novel Ever Written
Review: There are many different kinds of writers but few (if any) possess the wide range of skills of Leo Tolstoy. Tolstoy attempts nothing less than to discover the meaning of life through his writing, hence he is always concerned with the ideas of God, love and morality, all of which come into play in Anna Karenina. Readers of this long novel and the even longer War and Peace can join in a special bond as kindred spirits with those who have also spent the couple thousand pages of the two books wining and dining with the Russian Aristocracy, working the fields with serfs and falling in and out of the intricacies of love.
Anna Karenina is one of the great pillars of Russian literature and anyone who hopes to understand that country can do no better than this novel. Because Tolstoy himself was from one of the wealthiest families in Russia he had access to all levels of society and when he began this book was struggling not to place just himself in the context of the world but also where to place his country. The story begins with the famous epigraph "All happy families are the same, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." What comprises a happy family or an unhappy one? And drawing a parallel, what comprises a happy nation? These are the questions that Tolstoy attempts to answer in this book. Some of the greatest accomplishments of Anna Karenina can be seen in not only how Tolstoy so vividly portrays his characters and their nuances but also how breathlessly he paints the Russian landscape. To me this is what separates him the most from other writers. Not only is he able to establish characters and scenes that appear lifelike in their philosophical complexity but he's also able to use the vastness of the Russian countryside to somehow convey the vastness of life itself. After reading this novel I was struck by the sheer immensity of it, not just the breath of its ideas, but by the amount of life it contains in its pages. Another aspect of the story is that it is very accessible and easy to read. Those with little interest in writing as art could still get joy from reading this book as long as they have somewhat of an interest beyond John Grisham and Tom Clancy novels. Imagine sitting down and reading the greatest novel ever written. You only live once.
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Summary: years pass by , human feelings don`t
Review: when i had this book in my hands i realised that people share the same worries from many years before, and share also the same feelings.love , romance , jelousy , mystery , relationships that are forbitten .love came when she didnt expected it.what can she do? is it so wrong to love and be loved? is it so wrong to be happy ? do you love yourself more , when you leave everything behind? is she more happy with a new lover? is the purpose of life to satisfy only your personal feelings? those are just a few questions that bothered me when i was reading anna karenina.its a fantastic book that gave me many true messages.
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Summary: A powerful book of its time....
Review: My book group meets in three days to discuss this book. Previously, I had been intimidated by its length and the Russian names to not read it. However, the book was not difficult and I enjoyed it immensely. Anna's mental state troubled me, and I kept hoping against hope that she could get medical treatment for her depression. I will leave my thoughts at that. Scores of reviews have been written, many of them brilliant, and will continue to be. There is so much in the book that I find myself re-reading sections and finding another layer there. I highly recommend the book to serious readers.
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Summary: If you're not a serious reader, don't bother
Review: Some people complain about Tolstoy's work being 'boring' or 'too long.' My advice to that type of 'reader' is to stick with the TV, it takes a lot less effort and is more suitable to people with short attention spans. Meanwhile for those of us who actually bother to finish a book before we pass judgment, I thoroughly recommend this one. As always is the case with Tolstoy he really gets us inside the minds of his characters and every little detail is described in vivid and minute detail. It's just like being there - if Tolstoy's work were a piece of modern technology it would be Virtual Reality. An unfair criticism of this book (to a lesser extent than is made with more justification towards War and Peace) is that there is political commentary which is irrelevant. I would say that the political backdrop of Russian society at the time is very relevant to the social pressures that we find acting upon the characters and influencing their behaviour. It is also educational and will be appreciated by those who know the importance of understanding history. Strangely enough I found that I was more familiar with Constantine Levin than Anna herself and I was left wondering why the story was named after her rather than him. It was through his eyes that I saw the story unfolding and it was his character that I found myself identifying with. But that doesn't take away from the enjoyment of reading this well-sculpted masterpiece.
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Summary: Complex tapestry of human existance
Review: I just read Anna Karenina for the first time and was extraordinarily impressed with the book. I think that what struck me the most was on how many levels the book was written. Tolstoy does not "tell a story" but instead creates characters with real motivations and the events are simply the outcome of this portrait of humanity. One can follow the story just as a story (which is the level that most novels are written at) or look beneath it to the feelings, thoughts, morals, and limitations of the people acting out the story. I was especially impressed with Tolstoy's descriptions of Anna's descent into incredible depression. This is not an aspect that I have seen other reviewers comment on. I think that maybe this is because it does not necessarily look like depression in the way people who have not experienced it think of it. Two years ago, I passed through a period of severe depression every bit as bad as that which Anna went through. The unreasonable complete despair, jealously, frustration, anger, and fear of loss were EXACTLY as I remember it. Fortunately, my husband was more patient, and the illness much better understood today then in Anna's time, and I lived through my episode. Never, in my life of intensive reading, have I ever read a book that so captured the true nature of severe depression. I also greatly enjoyed Tolstoy's forays into philosophy and contemporary Russian politics. Why does a person read a work of great 19th century Russian literature if not to see life as a person of that period, to discover and learn the similarities and differences with humanity then and now? How people thought, the political situation and events, the morals and philosophies of Tolstoy's culture, all help us better understand our culture in particular and humanity in general. Had Tolstoy left out this aspect of the book, it would never have lasted to the modern day, but disappeared into obscurity long ago. I probably average reading a book every two days (this one took me three) and I don't know if I have ever read a book that was distinctly better, more moving, or more thought-provoking, though I would not commit myself to saying that this was "the greatest novel ever written".
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Summary: Greatest novel of all time?
Review: Anna Karenina has been described by many people as the greatest novel of all time. I haven't read nearly enough novels to make a statement like that however it is the greatest novel that I have ever read. What makes Anna Karenina such a compelling novel? The plot of the novel is quite ordinary. There are no twists or surprises. Some would argue that the novel is inordinately long. Certainly there are sections where Tolstoy delves into Russian politics and other such details that are irrelevant to the modern day audience. The list of characters is long and it is often difficult to keep track of the minor characters and to remember where they fit in the plot. However, Tolstoy manages to weave incredibly complex and realistic characters. The most rewarding aspects of the novel are when Tolstoy reveals his piercing insights into human nature and the way in which people behave. Certainly if you have ever been in love you will identify with one or more characters in the novel. A very rich and rewarding experience.
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