Anna Karenina, Vol 6 of 8

Anna Karenina (8 volumes) #6

by Leo Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy

A magnificent story, that amalgamates the classical sensuality and rebelliousness against the prevailing customs, is presented here. This novel is a unique example of social realism that portrays the inevitable tragedy of a wilful woman, Anna Karenina, who transgresses the conventions of society and follows her own lead.

Genres: Fiction, Romance

Paperback

First published April 1, 1877

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Zuzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️
Bardzo przyjemnie się to czyta, powiedziałabym nawet, że się wciągnęłam:)
Nie jest to książka dla każdego, bo momentami mocno przynudza… Jakoś szczególnie mi to nie przeszkadza tho, większym problemem jest sposób w jaki zostały przedstawione w tej książce postaci kobiece.
Nie powiedziałabym, że nie mają głębi ale ich rozmowy, myśli i pragnienia są bardzo stereotypowe.
#abookwrittenbyaman

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna and Vronsky are seriously pissing me off. They gave up everything to be together. Not that they should in the first place but ok since you're going for it, the least you can do is not completely ruining it. I resent Anna even from the start. Probably because I think of that face of annoying Kiera Knightly when I think of Anna, which is not really fair. But oh boy, isn't she pretentious and selfish.

[Misha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughts on Volume 6: (Almost reaching the dreaded end)
- Tolstoy finally gives us a (tiny) break from all the angst and heartbreak of Volumes 4 and 5. I love the depiction of familial happiness as Levin spends time with Kitty and her family. It feels idealized but also real. Made me strangely nostalgic!

- How lovely is the depiction of female friendship in this volume! Dolly visits Anna who has been socially shunned, and tells her that she loves her for who she is. A male writer writing two hundred years ago somehow depicts all the intimacy of female relationships in more depth than many contemporary male writers can.

- Growth and redemption still remain key in this volume as we see Levin and Kitty somewhat grow in their relationship.

- The society still remains the real 'villain' of this book as Anna meanders between happiness and depression, completely dependent on Vronsky. We feel her desperation.

- All in all, Tolstoy continues to play ping pong with his readers' feelings as I go from love to hatred to anger to love for every one of his characters (except Dolly, who is perfect and deserves to be hugged always).

Onto part 7.

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Literarianism

[Jedenobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another banger! Empathy for Anna and Vronsky dropping about at the same rate as Tolstoy's (those poor kids!) but still so many great insights into characters here. Favorite part is where we suddenly get a paragraph from the perspective of Levin's dog.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

misery
seeps into
everything

[Neha Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, dear. This didn't end well for Anna and Vronksy. On to volume 7!