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There is also a sub story about socialism, communism, and the rights of the people and peasants in Russia. The story was engaging, though it may not be appropriate for anyone under the age of 13 as there are some thematic adult elements.
This was a fascinating novel on the affects that society can have on one lone woman and what a single decision can do to her and to her reputation. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in politics, sociology, literature, philosophy, or questioning the ties in society that bind us down.
I loved the book I got here, Anna Karenina. While many would enjoy it, it is a fairly difficult read with some dry passages so I would recommend this to people over the age of 17 who have an interest in women's rights and politics.
Anna Karenina is a timeless classic not just because of its engaging story line but because of the reflections of what Anna felt that we can see in our own lives today. This is a timeless classic by Leo Tolstoy about a woman torn by the decisions of her past and the confines of society and their affect on her happiness and her family.
The main point of the story, is that Anna had an affair with someone that she actually loved- the reader is left with the question, "Were her actions justified." There is a lot of wonderful symbolism in this book, as is seen by the metaphor of the train throughout it.
He leaves her to ride in a steeplechase, where he takes a jump incorrectly and his mare breaks her back. Clearly, the meaning of life will not be found here, and Levin looks to love and religion to see if he can find some higher meaning. although neither science, art, nor politics specially interested him, he firmly held to the opinions of the majority and of his paper on these subjects, changing his views when the majority changed theirs - or rather, not changing them - they changed imperceptibly of their own accord." Tolstoy also uses symbolism to tremendous effect. He engages in a number of rather abstruse conversations about politics and economics that mostly confirm his suspicion that men are self-interested fools.
Anna is very different from Levin. there was a malevolent look on her face that distorted its expression. He looked at her as a man might look at a faded flower he had plucked, in which it was difficult for him to trace the beauty that had made him pick and so destroy it." I read the Norton critical edition, based on the Maude translation, and I thought it was terrific. There are less expensive editions, but this one is nicely produced and includes 128 pages of end matter, including excerpts from letters, diaries, and newspapers, a chronology, essays, and a bibliography. Anna Karenina is a long book with a number of themes, characters, plots, and subplots, and it takes a certain amount of effort to appreciate what Tolstoy has done here. Still, the book is a joy to read, and re-read.A very prominent theme deals with ethics and how to live a good life. She is made of fine material - she is vital, intelligent, and beautiful - but she lives for herself and she suffers for it. Of Oblonsky, Anna's brother and a kind of lovable fool, Tolstoy writes that ".
Tolstoy is a practiced observer with a great deal of psychological insight, and almost every page from the novel offers some highly quotable passage. Looking down at the mare, Vronsky reflects, ".this dear, unfortunate mare ruined. These are of high quality and considerably enhanced my experience of reading Anna Karenina. what have I done." Months later, Anna "had broadened out, and as she spoke. Some other themes that are explored at length deal with social issues in Russia at the end of the 19th century: the destabilizing effects of social, political, and economic development; the vast inequalities between landowners and peasants; and what we would now call gender politics. Ah.
Levin, Tolstoy's protagonist, explicitly considers this question throughout the book. In one of the book's most moving passages, Anna has just told her lover, Vronsky, that she is pregnant. Anna Karenina was published serially, and Tolstoy moves from one plot to another in a way that maintains suspense for the reader. Although Levin would deny it, he lives for others, and ultimately he finds peace and purpose within a network of people who depend on him. Tolstoy, a Christian pacifist, also condemns the Russian volunteers who were leaving to fight the Turks in the Serbo-Turkish War as Anna Karenina was being completed.These themes are developed through two principal plots that center on Anna and Levin, respectively, as well as through a number of subsidiary plots.
If I didn't know Anna Karenina was translated, I would think the Magershack version was simply better written. It's still one of my favorite books of all time, but mid-way through this new translation I returned to my ancient dog-eared paperback. However, if you've never read this book, any translation is a worthwhile endeavor. I much prefer the translation by David Magershack (Signet Classics). Perhaps it's a case of heightened expectations not lived up to because I'd read so many wonderful reviews about this translation.
Tolstoy was a brilliant man and writer. This novel is much more direct than War and Peace. But no less amazing than the other characters in the novel. I feel enriched for having read something so well written. Anna Karenina.
Levin and Nikolay. Natasha and Kitty. Just the way that Tolstoy mixes words leaves me with a feeling of awe. I see similarities to War and Peace everywhere. I believe he must have spent hours reflecting on why people act in the way they do. The novel is great, the plot is fantastic. After reading his novels, I am convinced that he was a keen observer of human nature and interactions. In this novel, digression sometimes happens in his dealings with Levin, but not as frequently as in War and Peace.
She was an amazing woman. He left his characters out of his writing in War and Peace, while he digressed about other topics. Tolstoy's dislike of the medical profession. He knows how to blend plot and thought like few others. And the result, clear and penetrating novels on the human experience.I highly recommend this novel.
But mostly I fall in love with the tragic heroine, torn between the love of her only son and her adulterous lover. I have read all of Tolstoy's works and though I love them all, Anna Karenina is my most treasured. A story that stands up to the test of time. Her affair in the end consumes her, and Anna's life takes a tragic turn. I have read this book atleast a dozen times and never get tired of reading it. I love how high society is always portrayed in Tolstoy's works as "naughty" (wink).
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