you might die of boredom with this post....

These are my thoughts on Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

There are a few parts of the post that will give away parts of the plot, but the real spoiler is at the end of the post and labeled clearly.

This was an amazing book and I can see why it is such a well read book and also why dave enjoyed it so much. I can’t say that it was a personal favorite as I enjoy a good mystery or more uplifting story…however Tolstoy is a great writer and I feel that the journey of reading the book is a good one! Overall I liked the first half of the book better than the second half. Reason being Anna had not completely destroyed her life and so for me there was still some hope of her making a good choice and I was in suspense as to what would happen. During the second half of the book she was completely ruined and I would have liked to push her in front of a train at any time (inside joke for those who have read the book). There were also a couple of scenes that were boring to me in the second half of the book, namely, Levin’s wedding and the elections.

I have some favorite parts/quotes that I’ll share. I realize that this won’t be interesting to many of you but it goes in my book journal and I have been dying to discuss this book with someone who has read it (someone other than dave) so if you have comments, please leave them even if they are long!! I wasn’t able to keep track of all my favorite things in the book b/c I listened to the audio book for most of the story. So I’d go back into the written book and mark some favorites on occasion but didn’t get them all.

When Anna and Vronsky first had their love affair this was not a favorite part but the description was amazing. “He felt what a murderer must feel, when he sees the body he has robbed of life. . . .And with fury, as it were with passion, the murderer falls on the body, and drags it and hacks at it; so he covered her face and shoulders with kisses.”

I also thought the scene at the horse races near the beginning of the book was fascinating the way Tolstoy described the scene from all angles. I esp. liked his description of Alexey Alexandrivich’s discovery. (not that I liked what happened. I liked the description. I didn’t like much of what happened in the book but did like the authors way of describing what happened).

One of the characters that I liked was Dolly (Darya alexandrovna). She had lots of kids and had a idiot husband who was not faithful to her, but was a sweet and good woman. “Peaceful with six children Darya Alexandrovna could not be. One would fall ill, another might easily become so, a third would be without something necessary, a fourth would show symptoms of a bad disposition and so on. Rare indeed were the brief periods of peace. But these cares and anxieties were for Darya Alexandrovna the sole happiness possible.”


I really liked the conversation between Vronsky and Serpuhovskoy who was trying to convince Vronsky to not give up his professional career for a woman. “”there’s only one way of having love conveniently without its being a hindrance—that’s marriage . . . yes, just as you can only carry a fardeau and do something with your hands, when the fardeau is tied on your back, and that’s marriage. But to drag that fardeau about with you without marriage, your hands will always be so full that you can do nothing.” (fardeau means load)

About Seryoza, describing why he wasn’t perfectly obedient to his teacher or father: “He was nine years old; he was a child; but he knew his own soul, it was precious to him, he guarded it as the eyelid guards the eye, and without the key of love he let no one into his soul.”

I also loved the chapters about Kitty having her baby. Here is a description of what Levin was thinking, “Levin had prepared his mind to bear resolutely what was before him, and without considering or anticipating anything, to avoid upsetting his wife, and on the contrary to soothe her and keep up her courage…Levin had in his imagination braced himself to bear up and keep a tight rein on his feelings for five hours, and it had seemed to him he could do this ….But when he came back form the doctor’s and saw her sufferings again, he began to feel afraid he could not bear it,,,,such agony it was to him. And only one hour had passed…..But after that there passed another hour, two hours, three, the full five hours he had fixed as the furthest limit of his sufferings, and the position was still unchanged; and he was still bearing it because there was nothing to be done but bear it; every instant feeling that he had reached the utmost limits of his endurance. And that his heard would break with sympathy and pain.

What did you think of Alexey alexandrovich? I personally liked him up til the very end when he got a little weird. But overall I thought he was a kind man, not very affectionate and outspoken but I do think he loved Anna. When Anna was sick and he cared for her I think that is a time when his true devotion and tender disposition were revealed, though they were there all along. Dave completely disagrees with me on this point. He thinks AA is quite at fault for having put Anna in such a desperate and unloved state of mind that she would throw her life to waste for the love of Vronsky. He feels that Tolstoy describes Alexey Alexandrovich throughout the book both as obsessed with a meaningless career, unaffectionate in his home life, and also largely concerned for his wife's betrayal because of the embarrassment it brought to him socially. I, on the other hand, feel pity and affection for him b/c I think he is sincerely trying to do what is right. We have had many heated debates over this issue and I would be curious to hear what you think of him.
In a way Karenin reminds me of the Scarlet pimpernel who comes across as an idiot but is deep down a loving and passionate person.

Major SPOILER HERE::
I think countess Vronsky sums up my feelings about Anna well with her statement, “yes, hers was the fitting end for such a woman. Even the death she chose was low and vulgar.” Dave agrees with Sergey Ivanovitch, “it is not for us to judge …”


If you have not died of boredom yet, feel free to comment. I have been trying to download a book onto my MP3 player for the last hour and have spent that time writing my notes on Anna Karenina. I figure I won’t read it again for a while if ever and it is one I don’t want to forget!