Title: Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Genre: Classic
Publication Date: 1878
Publisher Description: A famous legend surrounding the creation of Anna Karenina tells us that Tolstoy began writing a cautionary tale about adultery and ended up by falling in love with his magnificent heroine. It is rare to find a reader of the book who doesn’t experience the same kind of emotional upheaval: Anna Karenina is filled with major and minor characters who exist in their own right and fully embody their mid-nineteenth-century Russian milieu, but it still belongs entirely to the woman whose name it bears, whose portrait is one of the truest ever made by a writer.
Literary Atelier Review: What can I say about Anna Karenina which hasn't already been said in the over two-hundred years since this masterful was published? Firstly, this novel is about so much more than the titular character. Over the course of the story you get to know Anna, her extended family and a vast cast of fascinating characters. You also learn through Levin about ideas and philosophies of life. His chapters were initially jarring to the overall story, a distracting detour so to speak, but I came to love them.
Mainly, as I read this book I felt so sorry for Anna and her bad decision making. I lost count of how many times I put the book down, turned to my husband and said "Wow! Anna is really messing up her life. All I can say is "I hope Vronsky was worth it."
If the idea of reading this book has in any way intimidated you, don't fear and definitely give this brilliant book a shot. It is totally worthy of the hype and will stay with you forever.