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Anna Karenina

By Leo Tolstoy

(377)

| Others | 9785040007547

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Book Description

Translated by Constance Garnett, Introduction by Leonard J. Kent and Nina Berberova

Critics

Anna Karenina

Review-a-Day Saturday, February 6th, 2010 Voice your opinion about this review by posting a comment on the Powells.com blog Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy The World's Best-Written Soap Opera A review by Doug Brown "All happy families are alike; each un ... (read full critics)

powells published on Mon, 6 Sep 2010

21 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

Non plus ultra

Si può scrivere un romanzo più perfetto di questo? Io penso di no.

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Tore Obinu said on Dec 15, 2011 | 2 feedbacks

2 people find this helpful

I had many contrasting feelings for this book. At the beginning, I could do nothing but comparing Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and blaming the former for its unnecessary interventions (I am not necessarily talking about its alleged moralistic view of everything). Also, I have been complaining that Anna Ka ... (continue)

I had many contrasting feelings for this book. At the beginning, I could do nothing but comparing Tolstoy and Dostoevsky and blaming the former for its unnecessary interventions (I am not necessarily talking about its alleged moralistic view of everything). Also, I have been complaining that Anna Karenina's relationship with Count Vronsky is too cheesy and resembles a soap opera.
But then, the second half of the book is another story. I actually believe that Tolstoy's writing got better, though it might be that I got used to it. The pages about the cooling off of Anna and Vronsky's relationship are wonderful to me. So deep and effective.
However, this book is not only about the difficulty of maintaining a "criminal" relationship in the Russian high society of 19th century.
There is a parallel love story going on about Levin and Kitty, the positive heroes of the novel.
Through Levin's thoughts and discussions with other people, Tolstoy gives us a feeling about the hot questions of the time, the conditions of peasants in Russia, education reforms and religion. The book concludes with Levin's rediscovering of God, which comes to give meaning to his life. Levin's inner struggle is described so well as this is what Tolstoy was experiencing while writing the book.
I could not say whether to recommend this book or not, but for sure it's not wasted time.

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Sara said on Sep 15, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

This is probably currently my favourite of all of the novels I have ever read. Can't think of any aspect of life not in it. And so much more concise than Proust!

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sid_rw said on Jun 30, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina is an emotionally turbulent novel that explores the fascinating stories and struggles of both lucrative and unestablished members of 1870s Russian society. From the passionate Anna to the more rational but intrinsically complex Konstantin Levin, Tolstoy’s work is a heavy commentary on ... (continue)

Anna Karenina is an emotionally turbulent novel that explores the fascinating stories and struggles of both lucrative and unestablished members of 1870s Russian society. From the passionate Anna to the more rational but intrinsically complex Konstantin Levin, Tolstoy’s work is a heavy commentary on Russian life and hierarchy as well as an honest, realist exhibit of human nature.

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VJ Von Art said on Jan 25, 2012 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Il massimo della letteratura russa dal massimo scrittore per antonomasia. Ho apprezzato ogni sillaba.

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Sheherazade 2005 said on Jan 20, 2012 | Add your feedback

L'ho divorato in 5 giorni tanto mi è piaciuto! E' un must da leggere assolutamente. Non fatevi impressionare dal numero di pagine ( la mia edizione arriva a 910 pagine circa ) perchè questo libro è un vero capolavoro! Consigliatissimo.

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Acquamarine said on Jan 15, 2012 | Add your feedback