Anna Karenina

I finally finished listening to an unabridged audio version of Anna Karenina by Tolstoy.  It was a long book and I felt it.  I'm not one who regularly tackles long books, so maybe I'm just a wimp, but if I were to do it again, I would try an abridged version.

What made it so long?  I think Tolstoy got carried away with descriptions of social issues and philosophies of the time.  In his defense, most of the issues he has his characters discuss or think about endlessly are still quite relevant today; things like social classes, labor issues,  and women's vs. men's rights.  That is probably why the book is seen as classic literature even after so may years.

Did I like the story?  At times.  I really liked some of Tolstoy's descriptions and comparisons, though I couldn't think of any to share.  However, I  found an article through Google that included a lot of my favorite lines in her list of favorites.  Go here if you want to read some of them.  I don't know if they will be meaningful if you haven't read the book, but in case you are interested, it is there.  

The problem was I  really didn't like a lot of characters.  The upper class and nobility in this time period are so awful. Their arrogance,their pampered lives and the amount of time they spend thinking about themselves and their mostly petty problems like what to wear, the latest fashions or who is going to invite them or who they will invite to some snobby social function, wears on me.  

However, I genuinely liked the character of Levin.  Though he was of the noble class too, he was a good man and I liked that he didn't know how good he was. Throughout the book, he struggles with his religious beliefs and with the meaning of life and his flaws.  Near the end of the book, he comes to terms with religion and his beliefs.   His realizations are so genuine.  That was my favorite part of the book, I think.  I liked Kitty too, though I didn't think she was as interesting or her character as well-developed.  

I never mustered up much sympathy for Anna though.  After I finished the book, I read a few reviews of it.  The reviews pointed to reasons that her character was worthy of sympathy for her tragic life, but it just didn't happen for me. She just seemed controlling and selfish to me most of the time.  Her lover, Vronsky, seemed shallow to me.  I didn't find him very interesting or likable either. 

  If I am going to read about people like this, I need it to be laced with humor and that is one thing I thought this book seriously lacked.  I only remember one brief comment by one of the characters that made me even smile.  Okay, maybe two, but I needed more.  When I have read books by Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, I have found enough humor in them to keep me happy.  Maybe I value humor too much, but I'm glad my ancestors were English and not Russian.  If Russians were funnier, maybe they wouldn't have to drink as much vodka in order to cope with life.

So, would I do it again?  Yes, but I think I would get an abridged, printed version.  That way, I could mark the passages of thought or description that I really liked so I could enjoy them again.  That is one drawback of listening to audio versions of books.  BUT  this book was so long, I was glad I could listen to it while I was doing dishes or walking or something, and you can't do that while reading an actual book.  

There are lots of different translations, abridgments, and audio versions of this book available.  The one I listened to was narrated by Davina Porter.  She was an excellent narrator.  It didn't say who did the translation.  I definitely give it a thumbs up, and if we are giving stars, I think I have to say 3.75 out of 5.

I'd be interested to hear impressions any of the rest of you have about it or if you think tackling War and Peace would be worth it.