Anna Karenina

Here is a literary book review of the Leo Tolstoy classic Anna Karenina. This review is short and sweet but hopefully to the point. To see what the reader must contend with, here are a few excerpts;

 

1. “I envy him for being better than I am,” said Levin with a smile. “He does not live for himself. His whole life is subordinated to duty. And that is perhaps why he is so calm and contented.”

“And you?” asked Kitty with a mocking and affectionate smile.

She would never have been able to put into words the train of thought that made her smile; but the conclusion she drew was that her husband, who so admired his brother and thought so little of himself compared with him, was not sincere. Kitty knew that that insincerity of his arose from his love for his brother, from his sense of shame of being so inordinately happy himself – and especially from his ever present desire to perfect himself – she loved this in him and that was why she smiled.

“And you?” she asked with the same smile, “What are you so discontented about?’

 

To the moon with this smiling thing. My edition of the novel goes for 800 pages. I never felt so grim when confronted with non-stop grins. Maybe it came down to the translator?

 

2. “I’m so glad to see you,” said Vronsky, showing his strong white teeth in a friendly smile.

 

Grr! If any more of these characters show their teeth they are going to get a knuckle sandwich to bite on.

 

3.  Flushing and blushing.

 

Old fashioned words that seem so overused and anachronistic. There, Leo, who would have thunk it that I could critique a literary giant?   A minus grade for me on my book review.