The UCPL "Big Book" for the summer, Anna Karenina turned out to be my favorite so far. The titular character is important but several others share in the action enough that the book could have been named after at least a couple of others. Anna is an unhappy wife who enters into an affair. In a totally unacceptable move for the time and culture, she leaves her husband for her lover. In the meantime, her brother is also having marital problems and his larger family and in-laws are all featured. Most prominently, Konstantin Levin is struggling with the way of life as a landed gentleman dealing with peasants, not far removed from serfdom. He struggles with many ethical dilemmas and tends to overthink a lot.
This most basic summary of the main characters lends itself to a very interesting story that deals with class, culture, personal relationships and many larger questions. Hard to put down and easy to return to, this book gives me an entirely different view of Tolstoy than War and Peace, a book that was a real struggle for me.
check our catalog
No comments:
Post a Comment