It has entertained me on every chapter and I am going to purchase more of his work. Do you think it would be a good audiobook to listen to? Refresh and try again. Everyone has their crazy reasons for reading a book. When Levin is trying to propose to Kitty, he asks God to help him and guide him. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Anna has the dream on the night before her suicide. Anna and Vronsky’s relationship grows more and more strained. Dolly has to ask Stepan for money to buy their children winter coats, but he says to purchase the coats on credit. I really liked how, given this book was written in the 19th century, it seems people never change. This book has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster. Then he takes those views to their fruition. I constantly question if my outward happiness, or sorrow, ease or unease is equally complimented with how I feel inside. Anna is angry that Karenin will not divorce her. I decided to reread it after reading A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (which I loved!) To see what your friends thought of this book, I know that he stated that Kitty was modeled after his own wife, so it would make sense that Levin is modeled after himself on some level. As a daughter of a Russian literature teacher, it seems I have always known the story of Anna Karenina: the love, the affair, the train - the whole shebang. ( Log Out /  Levin recalls that his brother Nikolai lived like a monk during college, avoiding any kind of sexual activity. First of all, it has a unique style of narration. There is something to be said for making a book that will make parents excited to read to their children, but that is a non-issue with literature lovers. Anna is a young wife and mother who has come to Moscow to visit her brother Stepan Oblonsky, who is Vronsky’s friend. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Levin is disgusted by the idea of a former prostitute like Marya meeting his pure wife, Kitty. Which of these do I run to in neutral moments to seek my own truth? And at the same time, each of the characters was in some way, What turned out to be the most interesting to me as I devoured this lush book was Tolstoy's amazing ability to show how we change our minds, or how our minds just do change -- how enamored we become of a person, a place, a whole population, an idea, an ideal -- and then how that great love, which seemed so utterly meaningful and complete, sours or evaporates just days, hours, or even minutes later -- in short, how truly fickle we are. But am I glad that I did. Anna wonders why Vronsky is no longer as charmed by her as new acquaintances are, and she fights with Vronsky over his freedom to move about in society while she is bound to him and can rarely leave their home. Anna is disgusted with Karenin and still hates him, despite his kindness. As well as all those between the wars novels from lady novelists and the wide and varied titles I read and review for Red, I’ve just started George Eliot’s Middlemarch, a 322,000 word whopper, again through Daily Lit, which I’m loving. I have always stayed away from old clasics like this, because I thought they were too dated to enjoy. Stepan is not repentant, but he is sorry that he did not do a better job of hiding his adultery from his wife. In other words, not my cup of tea at all. He receives a letter from Stepan Oblonsky, asking him to go and visit Dolly, who has moved to a rustic house nearby and is having a difficult time managing a country life with her six children. Although he makes occasional brief efforts to be a good family man, he has difficulty remembering that he should think of his wife’s and children’s needs. I was positively lost in the beginning, trying and failing to evoke genuine interest in Lenvin’s deep interest in agriculture and trying to come up with a perfect system to organize the peasants and farmers. Vronsky retires from the military, and he, Anna and Annie leave St. Petersburg to travel abroad. Red Online participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. In confession, Levin tells the priest that he doubts all of the doctrines of the church. Kitty becomes friends with Madame Stahl, a pious woman confined to a wheelchair, and Varenka, Madame Stahl’s young ward. This meant that as I munched on my toast, I read my daily instalment of Anna Karenina and ensured I’d start the day in a bad mood. Levin says that he despises fallen women, by which he seems to mean women who have committed either fornication or adultery. Somewhat like Levin, Vronsky has never truly experienced family life. Anna thanks God when she leaves Moscow, glad to be going back to her ordinary life and leaving Vronsky. Change ). Levin is an agnostic, and though he is not sure if he believes in the existence of God, he is not a Christian. It was on a list of books that I'd been working my way through and, after seeing the size of it and the fact that 'War And Peace' was voted #1 book to avoid reading, I was reluctant to ever get started. Prince Shcherbatsky finds it strange that Madame Stahl thanks God for everything, even unfortunate events like her husband’s death. What if this story was happening in another part of the world? Instead of a barrage of metaphors describing things in terms of other things that they resemble, Lev … Anna Karenina couldn't be less like a conventional modern novel. Even though it is approaching summer where I live as well, I decided to embark on my own journey through Leo Tolstoy's classic nineteenth century classic novel. Tolstoy draws a portrait of three marriages or relationships that could not be more different. They take her to Europe to help her recuperate from her emotional trauma. If I am exhilarated in the current moment, I would reflect all my past and present in the same lens. I read chicklit and I don’t care who knows it. When Kitty accepts Levin’s proposal of marriage, both her parents are thrilled with her decision, and they welcome Levin into their family. The Oblonskys’ nurse, Matryona Filimonovna, tells Stepan that he must apologize to his wife again for his infidelity.