Hey guys I just checked out Anna Karenina from the library, I've never read a full novel by Tolstoy only some of his short stories. What should I expect? Will it blow my dick off?
dont think about how long it is
just read it
it's good
if you have pic related the translation isn't ideal but it's not nearly a big as deal as some people make it out to be
>>7572885
>Anna Karenina meme
HE FELL FOR IT
>>7572890
Yeah it's the only copy they had
>>7572885
I was reluctant to read a book about a woman but I'm glad I did. The parts with Levin hunting with his dog or mowing grain at his farm are just so damn comfy. Plus all the parts with Vronsky being alpha as fuck.
>>7572885
Side question. The other night I watched the movie on Netflix. It was so fucking theatrical.
I've never read Tolstoy, either, but I thought his big thing was realism?
I know, I know, it's a movie. But this was over the top theatrical. Is his writing as theatrical as the movie made him seem?
Also, side note: I'm happy Anna killed herself because she was a huge cunt.
>>7573204
I'm not too sure. The only things I read by him were some Christian related things that were written later in his life so I think that's probably not an accurate presentation of the writing I his novels and stuff he wrote earlier
>>7572885
Anna Karenina is easily in the top 3 best books I've ever read. It's not a meme. If it's not too late I'll suggest Maude's, or Bartlett of you're looking for something newer. Avoid p&v for Russian if you can.
>>7573204
Realism refers to an honest description of life and its banalities instead of romanticising them for the sake of grandeur. It can be incredibly refreshing when you've read a lot of post modernism, genre fiction, etc.
>>7573204
there are some comic elements to his descriptions of the vanities of bureaucrats and the decadence and silliness of Moscow and Petersburg society
but he also has plenty of introspective moments where he is after psychological realism, so I'd say there was a mix, much like in Shakespeare's tragedies he has comic relief scenes