Anna Karenina by Leo TolstoyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
So, that adultery book where the adultery happens 100 pages in and the repercussions go on for another 700 pages. Typical Russian author.
Of course, it isn't really just about Anna or the adultery itself, since there's an entire half (more than half?) of the plot concerning the male co-protagonist Levin, whose story doesn't really have much to do with Anna at all but occasionally intertwines with hers at some points. It winds up making for an interesting parallel between the two, where one falls and the other rises, and less so because of their different genders (I suppose you could make a case for Tolstoy having a preference for family-oriented women... but I dunno about that) but rather because of their contrasting life philosophies in the face of their problems.
And I stress the word philosophies, because of how abstract and long-paragraph-winded the writing can get sometimes with all the talk about ideas and how Russian society should progress and the existential plight of the farmer and whatnot. A large part of this book would really be relevant to an educated Russian reader of the late 1800's, whereas for anyone today it would probably feel more like a chore to read.
But when it gets to the relationships and the social commentary and everyone's internal monologues, the prose is amazing. Tolstoy (and I guess by extension the translators - I read Pevear + Volokhonsky) really has a way with words, of putting succinctly observations about life and the situations we find ourselves in that we might vaguely realize but not yet know how to describe. I can't say I've had any experience with any of the situations described in this novel, but some of the thoughts and emotions conveyed by the characters felt very familiar and close to home... or maybe that's just a strength of the writing.
Towards the end I found myself starting to dislike Anna more, but I guess it's easy to judge someone for their irrational thoughts when you're looking at them from a distance and not trapped in their shoes. In spite of how annoyed I got with her thought process later, it didn't make her last chapter in the book any less exciting, though; compare with Levin, who I liked more as a person but found more tiring to follow at times. There's also a ton of other great characters in the book who take the spotlight at times to the point where it's easy to get lost without the help of a character list (per typical Russian novel fashion) like the one my version had at the beginning. I wonder if it's just me, but I actually liked Alexei Karenin... until near the end anyway.
Overall, a pretty good read; just expect to put a decent time investment into it because it's thick and dense and not easy and occasionally tangential (but there's definitely been a lot worse).
