Anna Karenina tells parallel stories about two couples, or rather, a triangle and a couple: Anna, her husband, and her lover; and Kitty (Anna's sister-in-law), and her husband Levin. Anna's sterile marriage and disastrous adulterous relationship are contrasted with Kitty and Levin's marital and spiritual growth.
Tolstoy really does do a remarkable job of getting inside characters' minds--men, women, and children. I caught myself wondering if he had asked his wife, for instance, exactly what it's like, physically and emotionally, to struggle with breastfeeding. He seems to understand the mental exhaustion of a mother with many young children and an irresponsible husband. And this is a man, writing in the 1870s! He captures the stress and frustration of an introvert forced to spend large amounts of time with argumentative people. He takes us inside the minds of all three members of the triangle--and I couldn't imagine any of them acting in any other way than they did. Their choices all seemed inevitable outcomes of their personalities. Even Anna's young son, the victim and onlooker, is fully realized.
Spiritual struggle is a major theme in Anna, as it was in War and Peace. From this angle, too, I felt the skill of the characterization. Levin is the character I would have expected to wrestle with questions such as the meaning of life and the existence of God. His development from agnostic to believing Christian is treated in depth, and doesn't feel like prosletyzing. Again, I wondered if Tolstoy was remembering his own experience, as it seemed to unfold so naturally.
Was Leo Tolstoy a warm, wise, and understanding man? There's no way to know for sure, of course, but that's how I think of him now.
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You've made me want to read it again--and it was less than a year ago! What translation did you get, and did you like it? Next time I want to read the P/V version, but then I'll have to buy it...thanks for a lovely review that took me back.
ReplyDeleteIt was a beautiful book, wasn't it? I read the Louise & Aylmer Maude translation. I had initially bought the Pevear/Volokhonsky one, then discovered it was a new translation, and looked at the older one to compare. Generally I prefer translations done nearer in time to the original. I don't like the language to sound too modern, if the book was not modern. Not that the P/V is super modern-sounding. Probably I would have been happy with that if I hadn't seen the Aylmer one also. I'd be interested in your reaction if you do end up reading both.
DeleteWell, the Maude translation is the one I read. I was perfectly happy with it, and I liked knowing that the Maudes actually knew Tolstoy and were friends with him, and shared a lot of his beliefs. I'm just also curious to see what the P/V team would do with it (but I hate their cover, what is that even, bare knees? What?).
DeleteI didn't know that the Maudes knew Tolstoy; that's neat. And it makes me feel better about the integrity of the translation. You should look at the P/V translation on Amazon. I read the first couple of pages of each and it seemed that P/V were using fewer, shorter words than the Maudes did, and that annoyed me slightly. (And I didn't get that cover either!)
DeleteI had much the same thoughts when I read this. Tolstoy seems to be disarmingly accurate about all aspects of human experience. It really makes the reading experience wonderful. I'm thinking of tackling War and Peace next, although I am somewhat intimidated by it!
ReplyDeleteOh, do read War and Peace! It's so readable, it doesn't feel long. And it is the same kind of reading experience--the 13-year-old girl's thoughts and reactions are as subtle as those of the 30-year-old Prince.
DeleteUnfortunately, it sounds like Tolstoy was kind of a wanker towards his wife. He had some very peculiar ideas about marriage and life in general. Amazing writer, yes, but I feel for Sofia.
ReplyDeleteSay it isn't so, lol! That's why I make an effort not to romanticize an author too much, as I said. For many people, expressed ideals don't necessarily translate into behavior toward their nearest and dearest. Unfortunately.
DeleteUnfortunately, yes. Sigh.
DeleteAs far as I can tell, literary or other artistic genius seems to translate directly into selfishness and jerkiness towards others, esp their nearest! Though I was sort of hoping Tolstoy would turn out to be an exception...
DeleteI enjoyed the book. Tolstoy, I consider him a genius...as Mason Cooly (1927 - 2002) professor of English at Columbia University once said: "Genius knows where the questions are hidden"
ReplyDeleteI like that quote. (Googling Mason Cooly now... )
DeleteHello Amy, I enjoyed your review especially since you were the first (I haven't read all that many yet) that mentioned the parallel between Anna and Levin. That didn't occur to me at first when I closed the book and I was a bit puzzled. Fortunately I was busy and didn't pen my review for a few days, and slowly the contrast became clear to me, as well as the brilliance of this book. Cheers...Joseph (from the Classics Club)
ReplyDeletehttp://100greatestnovelsofalltimequest.blogspot.com/2014/07/anna-karenina-by-leo-tolstoy-28-down-72_15.html
Hi Joseph! Yes, the title notwithstanding, I felt the story to be that of two marriages on opposite trajectories. I'm going to head over and read your review now... :)
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