Tolstoy startled the world with this powerful story of adultery and its aftermath, of the human need for love and happiness, and of the unyielding demands of society.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
both timeless and of its era:
Many themes of Anna Karenina are timeless: marriage, infidelity, the roles of men and women, personal fulfillment, honor, spirituality, and naturalism. If that isn't enough, then Tolstoy offers an 18th-century look at Russian society and culture, still well before the run-up to the revolution. Don't look to Tolstoy for enlightened feminism, although one of the characters argues for education and equality for women, and one of the minor threads relates to the status of peasants. Tolstoy is not... more info
Sometimes it's great to be a putz ...:
I'm probably one of the very few people who read this classic without having a clue as to the ending (no, never saw the movie--still haven't) ... so it was a genuine surprise and it rocked me. The opening line is a killer ... nothing else like it in all of literature. Although I prefer Dostoevsky to Tolstoy, this is a genuine masterpiece.
I really like this book, but...:
It's really hard to understand sometimes! Anna Karenina is the famous Tolstoy tale of a wife who has an affair. At first, I wanted to quit it was such a difficult read, but once I got through it, I loved it. I have to say, I thought Kitty and Levin's relationship was really cute, especially when they finally kissed! I was super-sad when Anna killed herself, it just sucked that was so sorrowful that she felt the need to die. I didn't really like Vronsky, he seemed sort of like a jerk who just lost interest... more info
Anna's tale:
"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.... more info
