Question by Anonymous: What makes Anna Karenina such a good novel?
Answers and Views:
Answer by Gandalf
This book is definitely one of the most known classics, it’s also one of the best books I’ve ever read.
I felt that this book is _really_ about people. Their personalities are worked out so well, you can really feel what they feel sometimes. At the beginning, I had a weird impression that all the characters are presented as good people, but somehow the interactions between them make some look worse and some look better. Here’s a walkthrough of the main characters and what I think about them:
Levin – he is the best character of the book, IMHO. The one I most “agreed” with. He is positive all way long. A simple good hearted guy on one hand, a progressive philosopher on the other. I was amazed at his thoughts about “life”. Thoughts about the existence of god, about a meaning of life, about “why we’re here”. It’s amazing that 130 years ago (the novel was finished in 1877) people have thoughts similar to the ones we’re having now, and that’s despite the fact that life today is very much different from then.
Kitty – She’s the most passive main character, I think. Except for some “action” during the Vronsky-Levin choice and the time when Levin’s brother was dying, Kitty is, IMHO, just a supporting character for Levin. She guides his thoughts, through which Tolstoy reveals some views on women and families. Kitty is an “all good” girl, aiming at a dedicated house-wife, just like her sister.
Vronsky – at first he is presented as a negative figure, but all in all I hardly find anything wrong with him during the whole novel. The eventual failure of his relations with Anna, is in my opinion solely her fault. Vronsky moved through life using all the aims he could, and it’s not his fault he was born “with a silver spoon in his mouth”.
Karenin (Alexander Alexandrovich) – a very gray person, but good nevertheless. His relations with Anna was very weird and not real-husband-and-wife like, but that’s because of his nature and because she never loved him in the first place. Can you blame a person for his nature? I can’t. Karenin is pragmatic, pedantic, a perfectionist. He’s very successful in his work, because he’s smart, but sadly highly unsuccessful in his personal relations. I admired his clear, mechanic view of things sometimes. I think that for many situations, this is the correct approach to life.
You must know when to look at a situation with a clear, rational view, weighting all pros and cons carefully. Even his sentimental nature came out when Anna was sick after the birth of the girl.
The book is very readable, Tolstoy doesn’t delve to long descriptions, and most important doesn’t spend lots of time describing details irrelevant to the main story-line.
Very highly recommended !
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