Lezersrecensie
Classic for a reason
english version
Anna Karenina was my first experience of Tolstoy and it struck deep. Looking back, it was like falling in love, as though I'd always been searching for this experience. The book lived in me, through me.
It is full of society, the foibles of people, their small-mindedness; captivating moments such as Oblonksy's drunken reverie of the decanters as tiny sensual women; the details of Anna's marriage; Levin's heart-breaking honour and goodness, his acceptance of compromise, but at its heart there is only one thing: love. How to have it, rest in it, understand it; how it goes hand in hand with deep suffering.
I'd never read Russian literature before and was astonished by the scope of this story of a woman who kills herself for love. The two chapters leading to Anna's suicide under the train are breathtaking. She hates the lack of truth and love in everyone around her. The depth and humanity .
Tolstoy proves that life is really tough, and families all have their battles that they must face. And what a well-written novel it is.
Tolstoy has a way with words, though he is constantly drifting off onto other subject matters, away from what the story is really about at that time. He can go off on three page rants on farming methods, political policies, or philosophical discussions on God. In addition, Tolstoy brilliantly displays every character, without leaving a detail out.
I was hooked on Anna Karenina from the very beginning when I realized that Tolstoy was brilliantly portraying characters' thoughts and motivations. Tolstoy's skill is not just in characterization, though he is the master of that art. His characters, I must admit, are extraordinarily complex.
Tolstoy allows us access to each of the characters’ inner thoughts, which was actually one of my favorite things about his writing style. As a reader, being given this ability, we can learn a lot about each of the characters through their thoughts, their fears, their insecurities, and even their deep dark secrets.
Tolstoy has this amazing talent of being able to portray how one can change their mind, or how one’s mind does change. He shows how a person, like Anna Karenina, can become so infatuated with a person or a place and then with the flick of a switch, the great adoration can change. What may have seemed like an exceptional love can simply disappear in a matter of mere days, even hours.
As I turned the pages and got further into the novel, I could see the parallel plots that Tolstoy was trying to show his readers: That life can turn out one of two ways, all depending on circumstance, choice, and opportunity. He proved that with making one decision it can either be our greatest regret or our happiest joy.
His writing evokes passion, and lots of it. There were parts of the book that left me speechless, I felt as though I was reading pure feelings: when we realize that Anna is no longer pushing Vronsky away, and later when Levin thinks about death.
Tolstoy excels in the portrayal of Anna's collapse, Anna's downhill nosedive, the unraveling of her nature under the guilt, paralyzing insecurity and lack of confidence, and the stress the others place on her, as well as the pressure she places on herself. Tolstoy shows that despite what everyone believes, getting what you want does not bring contentment. He presents the journey for intimacy and the ways that love is found and lost.The book sucked me into its story; I could sympathize with all the characters when everything was rapidly going downhill. This is a book about life, written by someone who is profoundly besotted with life. Reading it makes me want to live, even if life has many downfalls. Tolstoy makes me want to experience it all, and to have a taste of absolutely everything.
Anna Karenina was my first experience of Tolstoy and it struck deep. Looking back, it was like falling in love, as though I'd always been searching for this experience. The book lived in me, through me.
It is full of society, the foibles of people, their small-mindedness; captivating moments such as Oblonksy's drunken reverie of the decanters as tiny sensual women; the details of Anna's marriage; Levin's heart-breaking honour and goodness, his acceptance of compromise, but at its heart there is only one thing: love. How to have it, rest in it, understand it; how it goes hand in hand with deep suffering.
I'd never read Russian literature before and was astonished by the scope of this story of a woman who kills herself for love. The two chapters leading to Anna's suicide under the train are breathtaking. She hates the lack of truth and love in everyone around her. The depth and humanity .
Tolstoy proves that life is really tough, and families all have their battles that they must face. And what a well-written novel it is.
Tolstoy has a way with words, though he is constantly drifting off onto other subject matters, away from what the story is really about at that time. He can go off on three page rants on farming methods, political policies, or philosophical discussions on God. In addition, Tolstoy brilliantly displays every character, without leaving a detail out.
I was hooked on Anna Karenina from the very beginning when I realized that Tolstoy was brilliantly portraying characters' thoughts and motivations. Tolstoy's skill is not just in characterization, though he is the master of that art. His characters, I must admit, are extraordinarily complex.
Tolstoy allows us access to each of the characters’ inner thoughts, which was actually one of my favorite things about his writing style. As a reader, being given this ability, we can learn a lot about each of the characters through their thoughts, their fears, their insecurities, and even their deep dark secrets.
Tolstoy has this amazing talent of being able to portray how one can change their mind, or how one’s mind does change. He shows how a person, like Anna Karenina, can become so infatuated with a person or a place and then with the flick of a switch, the great adoration can change. What may have seemed like an exceptional love can simply disappear in a matter of mere days, even hours.
As I turned the pages and got further into the novel, I could see the parallel plots that Tolstoy was trying to show his readers: That life can turn out one of two ways, all depending on circumstance, choice, and opportunity. He proved that with making one decision it can either be our greatest regret or our happiest joy.
His writing evokes passion, and lots of it. There were parts of the book that left me speechless, I felt as though I was reading pure feelings: when we realize that Anna is no longer pushing Vronsky away, and later when Levin thinks about death.
Tolstoy excels in the portrayal of Anna's collapse, Anna's downhill nosedive, the unraveling of her nature under the guilt, paralyzing insecurity and lack of confidence, and the stress the others place on her, as well as the pressure she places on herself. Tolstoy shows that despite what everyone believes, getting what you want does not bring contentment. He presents the journey for intimacy and the ways that love is found and lost.The book sucked me into its story; I could sympathize with all the characters when everything was rapidly going downhill. This is a book about life, written by someone who is profoundly besotted with life. Reading it makes me want to live, even if life has many downfalls. Tolstoy makes me want to experience it all, and to have a taste of absolutely everything.
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