Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, 938 pages
While I think I liked last year's Big Book Challenge, Middlemarch, more, I still enjoyed Anna Karenina. The story largely revolves around Anna, her affair with Count Vronsky, and its inevitable fallout, but I found that what kept me coming back was the story of Levin and Kitty. I found myself rooting for those two crazy kids, and that helped balance out some of the awfulness around Anna. While I'm with the crowd that finds Anna annoying, I find I'm still sympathetic to her. She's such a tragic character that I can't help feeling sorry for her, Vronsky, and their child (though I don't feel sorry for Karenin, and I'm not sure I can fully explain why). It's well worth a read, and I can see how it has endured through the years, even if it isn't been my favorite.
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