Reviews

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

cspiteri's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book is for sure slow but I fly by pages like very few other books I have read. Having the short chapters helps with that a lot. The speed read per word is really high too, it’s not just me reading a lot per day. Sentences flow perfectly and it’s rare I need to re-read something 

My feelings on most characters changed a lot throughout the book changed a lot, which is a good thing. I went through so many emotions with Levin. He was my favourite character but I couldn’t stand him for 70% of the book.  

Part 1 - 9/10

• Very fun and easy to read, it took me 5 days to read it all
• Learning about each character and their dynamics with each other was really fun to read 
• A little bit hard to keep track of everyone’s names 
• Feels like the story barley started but not a bad thing
• Levins becoming close to being an uncle but I hope he pulls through to a better place 
• Favourite character was Levin 
• Least was Vronsky 

Part 2 - 8.5/10

• I’m sure a lot of the book will be like this but this part is focusing a lot on what love is and how you can/should be happy 
• There is very little interaction between the males and females in this part, it is mostly everyone doing their own thing 
• And then  Anna drops the bomb that she is pregnant
• Like the more internal dialogue in this part 
• Finished the first two parts (240 pages) in 7 days 
• Favourite character this chapter was Kitty
• Least favourite was Levin

Part 3 - 6.5/10

• Levin was being a really hoity toity prick in the last part but this section where he is mowing alongside the peasants is nice 
• He had an epiphany that he needed to be more grounded and caring in his life, 2 pages later he saw Kitty and literally said fuck all that I need her 
• I do feel bad for Anna that she is living in a society that severely limits woman’s freedoms but I also don’t like the she is trying to play the victim that she cheated 
• There isn’t a character I was really rooting for this whole part
• All of the stuff about peasants was not that fun to read 
• Levin annoyed me the most but had some decent sections in the part 

Part 4 - 8.75/10

• Intentionally and masterfully done, as soon as Levin made amends with Kitty he was a much more likeable character
• For such a long book Kitty and Levin got engaged pretty fast, it makes sense but it’s funny 
• Vronsky didn’t even wait for Anna to actually die, he tried to kill himself before she did 
• And Anna on the verge of death made Alexey a better person 
• The section with Anna being really sick has been the best part of the book so far, great lines on every page 
• Every character was really good and interesting 
• Wasn’t a single character I didn’t like 

Part 5- 9.5/10

• it’s interesting that the people who don’t really know Kitty at her wedding think she looks sad to be getting married, but it seems she is just lost in what will happen next 
• I like when an author does a scene where characters are critiquing art because with gives us great perspective on the author and what they value, this part had a particularly good one 
• Not surprising but funny that Levin and Kitty’s marriage has not got off to the best start 
• Levin is actually such a bitch, I’ve liked him as a character for maybe 20% of the book up to this point, but he is an extremely well written character 
• Favourite character Kitty 
• Least favourite character Levin 

Part 6 - 6/10

• why is so much of this part about hunting 
• Levin pretty based for saying that there is such  a thing as to much wealth
• I also like that he was called out for hoarding wealth and having the opportunity to do something about it but doesn’t 
• The direct contests between the two couples was nice to read 
• By far least interesting part yet, i hope it picks up for the final part 
• Although the subject matter was boring it was still incredibly well written and easy to get though 
• Best character was Dolly 
• Worst was Levin, he was in a particularly unlikeable mood the whole part   

Part 7 - 8/10

• Levins critical thinking skills are not always very sharp 
• There usually one or two chapters per part where Levin really pisses me off but I still love him as a character 
• Alexey (Anna’s ex husband) is hilarious, he is so petty and it’s very fun to read 
• I’m not really sure how justified this jealousy is from Anna but it’s quite the irony from where she started in this book 
• I think that Anna’s feelings near the end of the book are fairly justified but the actions she takes because of it are a little extreme 
• The reflection Anna has at the end of the part is really good 
• I don’t know if Anna has BPD, she was fairly reasonable through most of the book just made some bad choices by not thinking them out all the way through 
• It would explain her erratic behaviour in this part 
• Best and Worst character this part was Anna 

Part 8 - 9.5/10

• I like that this last part is mostly a reflection on what each character learned/experienced throughout the book 
• Levin really having a crisis of conscious at the end here  
• This last part is really good but I don’t knew if it’s a great last part for this book specifically 

readingabookboyyy's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

bexlrose's review against another edition

4.0

My my, what to say about it? I'm so clearly unequal to the task of rating it, it is, without doubt, a masterpiece.

Having said that, it's not a very INTERESTING masterpiece. Once again, I'd point out how underqualified I am to make that assertion. But I'm making it anyway.

Here is my overly simplified review anyhow:
Good book, bloody long, very little plot (for the size of the thing) but very well written. Pretty much all about love and marriage, but with really well-explored characters that never seem to fall into any sort of stereotypical archetypes which is super refreshing.

4 stars. Can I give Tolstoy 4 stars? No. Will I anyway? Yes.

kaje's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

anita04's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

macbain's review against another edition

3.5

All people who like Anna Karenina are the same, but all people who don't like it, do so for different reasons.

happylilkt's review against another edition

5.0

First read in January 2006. Just finished reading for the second time April 2016. Enjoyed this reading substantially more, which is saying a lot considering I rated it 5 stars last time.

I really think I would recommend this book to everyone. (perhaps carefully with the adolescent crowd although certainly many would be ready for it.) Tolstoy is masterful at presenting his tableau of relationships, faith, and the purpose of life in spite of pain and isolation.

broccoliv's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

libraryofdreaming's review against another edition

4.0

Oh my, this book. What can I even say about it? 90% of the time I wanted to slap and/or shake every single one of the characters, no less Anna and Levin! The book was insanely anti-climatic for most of the time and I was left wondering what the heck the actual point of the story was.

BUT I really enjoyed it. I was charmed even by the driest descriptions of peasants working in the fields. I didn't expect so much philosophy but it gave me a lot of food for thought. And best of all, the characters were absolutely amazing. Yes, I wanted to strangle all of them, but they were so, so real. I couldn't outright hate any one of them (not even Vronsky who I wanted to hate very much). They all had shades of grey, none of them were truly evil or truly good. And that is where the story became enchanting. I could honestly believe that such people existed - and even see certain of their experiences/characteristics in myself and those around me.

I would definitely recommend this book, not as a love story, but an epic, realistic tale of two very different people trying to find meaning in their lives. In the end, one is destroyed, and one embraces the beauty of an imperfect life - as we all should.

cmcrandell's review against another edition

3.0

After a month of trying to read this classic I gave up around page 500 out of 800+. I liked the basic plot but there were too many distracting tangents.