The characters are great and the plot is interesting, but the writing is weak, the text is very superficial, predictable, and flat. The characters' development is abrupt and not believable.
I really enjoyed this collection of essays about Tolstoy. They were insightful, approachable for a non-specialist, and gave an excellent overview of Tolstoy's works.
In an attempt to examine my own Russian-ness and form an opinion on Tolstoy as an adult (I studied his books in high school), I recently finished reading War and Peace and decided to tackle Anna Karenina next.
On a personal level, I enjoyed Anna Karenina a lot more than I did War and Peace. Anna Karenina is a lot more contained, the plot is more linear, the structure of the book was great, and the characters cohesive. I loved Tolstoy's language, factual but poetic, and I found his psychologism mesmerizing.
I think Tolstoy's insight into the human nature, together with his tenderness towards life and mastery as a writer, worked amazingly in this book. Of course, Tolstoy was examining the question of what makes a happy family through his own lense, which at this point is deeply outdated, both on a personal level (sometimes he comes off as a ranting grandpa) and on a societal level. But if you try to squint a bit, so to say, at some of the details, the bigger picture is beautiful and still relevant.
Anna's plot line is a disturbing and poignant examination of a life being ruined because of feeling unloved, getting caught in passion, misunderstandings, and societal limitations. The scene where she throws herself under the train is scary because of how much the text managed to put me in the same hopeless mindset.
Contrary to many other reviewers, I deeply sympathized with Levin. He is, of course, a bit of a self-insert, with accordingly Tolstovian views and values, but, unlikely basically everyone else in the novel, his primary driving force is sincerity, and Tolstoy doesn't shy away from acknowledging that sincerity is not without its faults. As Levin says in the end, he will still fight with his wife, be inappropriate in conversations, and argue with the maids, but his life will, despite that, be full of meaning, because he strives to do good and follow his heart. I don't agree with Levin (and Tolstoy) about many things, from religion to his stance on women's rights, but I think he's right that being led by a sincere and sometimes awkward earnestness is perhaps the best choice to deal with this life.
The mystery in the book is so great that I'm writing this review at 2:23AM, having just finished reading. The language is a bit to fiction-y for the chosen format in places, and the resolution is a bit too straightforward, but it's still a great read and an interesting story.
This was a dark, funny, absurd, and tragic book. I really loved how Vonnegut used science fiction in a sort of anti-escapist way, science fiction to highlight the realism, in a way. Great, great, great book.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The writing in this book is amazing, it is arresting and sincere, and the way Tommy Orange interweaves different stories to end up with a deep and unsettling tapesty of Urban Indians is fascinating. I think some parts of the book didn't contribute as much and seemed a bit unfinished, such as Blue and Edwin's parent storylines, but perhaps that ties into the ending. Overall, a great read.
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Amazing read. Written in the 19th century, but so perfectly tongue-in-cheek and funny that I can easily imagine Jane Austen having a very successful Twitter in 2022, meant in the best way possible.
The setup of the plot was very promising and kept me from dropping this book but, unfortunately, the writing and the depth did not support the plot. The author tends to get stuck in the same cliche metaphors. The writing is overly sentimental, and the characters are two-dimensional. As a result, the book is just very weak :(
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is a beautifully written book that takes you in and covers you with its profound sadness and yearning for something that cannot be described. I cannot recommend it enough, it is both captivating thanks to the plot and wonderful in terms of its literary value.