It was such a joy to finish the year reading Anna Karenina. It was my first time but not my first Tolstoy. So I shouldn't have been surprised that the story sucked me right in - it was hard to put down. I might make it a tradition to re-read every December now. Although, Anna exasperated me many times, I also empathized with her. Ultimately, I believe she deteriorated under the weight of varying demands/expectations/pressures. Vronsky was free of any long term consequences to his wealth, status, hobbies, and family. He was a little isolated from his friends and society but nothing like Anna. Really, he could do what he pleases. But Levin was my favorite character in the first half to the book and then Kitty was my favorite character of the second half of the book. I really enjoyed Kitty's character arc. Now that I think about it - maybe Anna and Kitty are exact opposites. Kitty made a mistake early in her adult life but was able to turn things around but Anna made a mistake later in her adult life and was unable to turn it around. 🥺
It was such a joy to finish the year reading Anna Karenina. It was my first time but not my first Tolstoy. So I shouldn't have been surprised that the story sucked me right in - it was hard to put down. I might make it a tradition to re-read every December now. Although, Anna exasperated me many times, I also empathized with her. Ultimately, I believe she deteriorated under the weight of varying demands/expectations/pressures. Vronsky was free of any long term consequences to his wealth, status, hobbies, and family. He was a little isolated from his friends and society but nothing like Anna. Really, he could do what he pleases. But Levin was my favorite character in the first half to the book and then Kitty was my favorite character of the second half of the book. I really enjoyed Kitty's character arc. Now that I think about it - maybe Anna and Kitty are exact opposites. Kitty made a mistake early in her adult life but was able to turn things around but Anna made a mistake later in her adult life and was unable to turn it around. 🥺
Such a lovely conversation! And very very nice to see Erin
Thank you Milen!
37:47. Anything by Tolstoy? If they start with Resurrection they’ll never go back.
We just finished Anna Karenina