Book Review: "Anna Karenina," by Leo Tolstoy

I get all the points. Of the three of us who started reading it over a year ago, I'm the only one to have finished it.

And if you want me to give you a one-word description of it, that would be 'tedious.' Honestly, Mr. Tolstoy, if you want to write a book about farming, horse racing, and social and political conditions in Russia in the early to mid-1800s, please do not sell it under the guise of a novel about a woman having an affair.

When he stuck to the story, it wasn't bad. There were even some fun moments and some spiritual ones. The other love story, that of Kitty and Levin, was actually sweet. Overall, though, the book was just too long and too full of pointless stuff.

I know part of that is the style of the times. It's easy to get bogged down in some parts of even my beloved "Les Miserables," but I don't know. Tolstoy's just seemed harder to get past. I think in part it was due to the fact that it was his characters discussing these other things. At least when Victor Hugo goes off on a tangent, it's from the narrator's perspective, so it's a lot easier to skim through. (And "Les Mis" is just a better story.)

I'm glad I finished it. I'm always proud of myself when I read a classic. However, if you're looking for any old classic to read, I would be far more likely to recommend "Les Miserables," "Ben-Hur," or "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." And if you're looking for a classic tragic love story to read, I would recommend "Vanity Fair," "Wuthering Heights," or "Gone With the Wind." And that's my summation.