ANNA
KARENINA BY LEO TOLSTOY
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Anna
Karenina (Russian: «Анна Каренина»; Russian pronunciation: [ˈanːə
kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə]) is a novel by the Russian writer Leo
Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical
The Russian Messenger. Tolstoy clashed with editor Mikhail Katkov over
political issues that arose in the final installment (Tolstoy's unpopular views
of volunteers going to Serbia); therefore, the novel's first complete
appearance was in book form.
Widely
regarded as a pinnacle in realist fiction, Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his
first true novel, when he came to consider War and Peace to be more than a
novel.
Fyodor
Dostoevsky declared it to be "flawless as a work of art". His opinion
was shared by Vladimir Nabokov, who especially admired "the flawless magic
of Tolstoy's style", and by William Faulkner, who described the novel as
"the best ever written". The novel is currently enjoying popularity,
as demonstrated by a recent poll of 125 contemporary authors by J. Peder Zane,
published in 2007 in "The Top Ten" in Time, which declared that Anna
Karenina is the "greatest novel ever written."
PLOT
INTRODUCTION:
Anna
Karenina is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and
her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives
in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled
womanizing—something that prefigures her own later situation, though with less
tolerance for her by others.
A
bachelor, Vronsky is willing to marry her if she would agree to leave her
husband Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures
of Russian social norms, her own insecurities and Karenin's indecision.
Although Vronsky and Anna go to Italy where they can be together, they have
trouble making friends. Back in Russia, she is shunned, becoming further
isolated and anxious, while Vronsky pursues his social life. Despite Vronsky's
reassurances she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined
infidelity, fearing loss of control.
A
parallel story within the novel is that of Konstantin Levin, a country
landowner who desires to marry Kitty, sister to Dolly and sister-in-law to
Anna's brother Oblonsky. Konstantin has to propose twice before Kitty accepts.
The novel details Konstantin's difficulties managing his estate, his eventual
marriage, and personal issues, until the birth of his first child. (Summary from Wikipedia.org)
Grateful thanks to Greatest Audio Books,
Wikipedia and YouTube.
