I started reading Anna Karenina after New Year's with the goal of finishing it before Spring Break. I am happy to say that I do so last night with a week to spare. The book had come highly recommended to me since I love early 20th century literature and before. Everyone knows that my favorite author is Jane Austen and when this book was suggested I thought it was supposed to be a lot like one of her works. I was incredibly wrong. The more I read it the more I found it like a Henry James novel - a soap opera with a very unlikeable main character. I kept hoping something would change, but it never did. It started with an affair and a broken heart. It ended with a suicide and a shattered life.
Although I am never found of infidelity there were parts of the book that I really enjoyed. There were several chapters discussing socialism and communism which would have been main topics of the day. One of the couples in the book was very likable and their interactions with the peasants gave a great insight into the interactions of the day. Overall, if asked, I do not know if I would recommend this novel or not. Tolstoy wrote it well, but after 800 pages I am still not sure that the story was finished. That coupled with the unlikeable namesake of the book makes me leery that others would enjoy it in this day and age.
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