Katya Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 For the third time (actually, the first time in two years) I am reading this great novel, moreso because I adore the story of Levin and Kitty. Not usually am I irked by a novel's protagonist, but this is the case with me. I find Anna fickle and exasperating, however outwardly dazzling. And Vronsky seems to represent all those shallow high school boys my friends once swooned over. Nevertheless, I am having a good time reading this book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inderjit Sanghera Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I am not so sure I agree with you re Anna and Vronsky, yes, Vronsky is, as Nabokov pointed out "a blunt fellow with a mediocre mind", but Anna is something completely different. I think Anna Karenina is, in many ways, Tolstoi battling against himself-and the artist in him coming out the stronger. Anna started out as a tepid, rather banal character, but she sprung into life as one of the most beautiful female characters in all literature-she towers above the zero-dimensional characters of Gogol's stories and the one-dimensional Turgenev maidens, Anna soars above all these trite conventions of Russian literature, Anna is the case of Tolstoi's imagination overcoming his own sexist views. Again, Tolstoi tried to emphasise the spiritual affinity between Kitty and Levin versus the sensual and sexual connection between Anna and Vronsky, but their scenes are some of the most poignant and realistic love scenes in all of literature-the passage when Vr. first meets Anna is one of the most beautiful in the book, as well as the scene in the ballroom, the deterioration of their relationship is beautifully done, yes there is a strongly physical aspect to their relationship, but their relationship is also one of the most beautiful love stories ever told, and this is again Tolstoi the storyteller triumphing over Tolstoi the moralist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadya Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 I like your understanding of the characters, very interesting, though I don't know if I would agree or not, because I had read it once many years ago with a different understanding of life and prose. I remember thinking that had Anna Karenina lived in a different time and place, with different choices, she could have reached something wonderful and would have been remembered for greatness instead of living the tragedy that her life became. Then I woke up completely from the book and realised it's just a character from a book and not of real life. I've forgotten most of the characters now, but I still also remember being shocked and disappointed in her when she actually considered leaving her son, leaving her husband I could understand, but not leaving her child. But then later her husband, showed positive behaviour towards her despite of knowing everything, which also surprised me as I didn't expect that reaction from him . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirian Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 I find Anna quite a mystery still. Sometimes I think I get why she chooses how she does, and sometimes I'm sure I don't get her at all. But she seems very real to me. But I see what you mean about Anna and Wronsky. The first time I read the book I thought that Anna and Wronsky was the relationship you thought you'd want, but it could never last. And Kitty and Levin was the one that seemed a bit boring, but had a depth that you needed to get close to understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 For the third time (actually, the first time in two years) I am reading this great novel, moreso because I adore the story of Levin and Kitty. Not usually am I irked by a novel's protagonist, but this is the case with me. I find Anna fickle and exasperating, however outwardly dazzling. And Vronsky seems to represent all those shallow high school boys my friends once swooned over. Nevertheless, I am having a good time reading this book. I loved this book! Levin and Kitty were my favorites too. I thought about reading that again this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadya Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Have a nice read. I'm not rereading this book yet. So far, I've only read it once, a few years ago. I liked it, but not enough to make me want to reread it. Perhaps in a few years I will feel like doing that. I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Mines Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Only at page 27 and already captivated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Not one I have read, but have heard it is very good by friends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Mines Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 (edited) I finished Anna Karenina on Thursday. Splendid. The subtle foreshadowing of Anna's tragic fate in dreams and symbols (the shuddering train and the Russian peasant's mumbled words) prepares the way for a spine-tingling climax that I rate as one of the most incredible experiences I have had reading. Edited July 25, 2009 by Ben Mines Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Reading this now and totally hooked even tho im only 50 pages in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphorix Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I've only just bought this book, and with the overwhelmingingly positive feedback from all angles, I can't wait to get started . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 This is one book I really want to tackle. I just need the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdaonp Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I think it is one of the great books. The fact that Anna is such a difficult to place character makes her all the more real. She represents what humans are like. At first she seems in full control of a situation that soon takes her over and then she is swept away by events beyond her control. Isn't this how much of our lives run their course? We often think we control our fates and then fate bites us in the hind quarters. This is one of those books that shows a human struggle with so much force of recognition that it will stay with you for a long time. One of the best books I ever read! Henk (tdaonp). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Pig Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I definitely have to read this book, I was going to buy it the other day but being a poor ****** I could only buy one so settled with James' 'The Portrait of a Lady'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Pig Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Excuse my language by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirinrob Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 just finished 'Anna Karenina'. I don't feel I can add much to the comments already made, except to say it is one of the truly great novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busy91 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 I hope who ever reads it enjoys it. I read it about 17 years ago, and it still stays with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Read this in a matter of hours a couple of weeks ago. I quite literally could not put it down. I had to add a TBR Again section to my book journal just for this novel. Entirely captivating, beautifully written. In a word, stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Read this in a matter of hours That must be a record or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueK Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 That must be a record or something! Yeah, double WOW! My copy of AK is extremely thick (don't know how many pages), and the print is tiny. It took me a fair old time to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blithe Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 Read this in a matter of hours a couple of weeks ago. I quite literally could not put it down. I had to add a TBR Again section to my book journal just for this novel. Entirely captivating, beautifully written. In a word, stunning. Wow! You're a fast reader. I read it many years ago and I honestly don't remember the story that well. I'll have to read it again so I can better appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I am indeed a very fast reader. I don't seem to have been much gifted. My singing is atrocious, numbers make no sense to me whatsoever, and any form of science completely escapes me. Literature however is my home as it were! At the risk of being beaten around the head with the hardback edition of War and Peace by fellow lovers of Classics, I will admit that "a matter of hours" can be summed up as 2 and a half. These days I prefer to read a few pages, digest them and then return to the book later on. Anna Karenina though made this entirely impossible. With every page I read, I had to know what was on the next! Quite possibly because I think I fell in love with Levin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bel-ami Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Yes that's amazing - I think I would read a 'classic' at roughly 30 to 40 pages an hour. Vanwa reads at at least 10x that speed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanwa Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 Geez, I never did a pages/hour ratio before, it's actually pretty frightening. Bel-ami, you may have just proven what I should have known all along...that I need to get a life! A few years ago, when we did "silent reading" at school, I used to get told off for skimming, which I always vehemently denied, as although I just roll my eyes across the lines on a page, I do actually take every single word in. On top of this, I get completely lost in books, and if someone wants to say something to me, they have to physically shake the book I'm reading to bring me back to reality! I'm virtually indistractable (did I just make a word up???) I imagine if they made AK into an exact film, it would take about 2.5 hours. That's kind of what happens when I read: it plays out as a movie would in my head, and the narrative I actually visualise very quickly. *Weirdo am I.* . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 5, 2009 Share Posted September 5, 2009 I bought this book yesterday and I am looking forward to the challenge of reading it. I have heard nothing but good things Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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