First read it back in my teen years, didn't get much out of it. Re-reading it now, in my early 20s, I was amazed how captivating such a long and notoriously detailed book can be. The parallel of the three families, the development of relationships between the spouses, gives an insightful idea of what love and family life can and cannot be. Yes, a lot has changed in society since the late 19th century, but the core feelings are pretty much the same. I wouldn't want to claim that I understand Anna, but the pride, sensitivity, wisdom, insight and intuition of this woman together with her neurotic inclinations and hysteric outbursts did resonate with my own feelings and got under my skin. Wouldn't recommend reading the book if you are slightly down yourself.

I'm in love with this book! The characters are described very well- you can really understand their thoughts and emotions. A love Vronsky and Levin. They're both very different but I love them. Of course Anna is also one of my favorite characters. Her personality is very interesting. She is beautiful inside and out.
You know- Tolstoy is genius.

One of the only books I couldn't finish. I've read some pretty boring books that I managed to enjoy in the end but good gravy this book is just ..

I felt literal relief when I finally gave myself permission to give up.
Did I mention it was the second time I tried to read it? Zzzzz

This is a novel about power of woman and thinking of society in Russia in the 19.th century. The novel describes destiny of three families: Anne´s family, her brother´s family and Levin´s family. Every one of those families is diferrent, but with interesting opinion on life.

I decided to read Anna Karenina over my maternity leave, because when else would I have enough time? (This was before I realized that unfortunately maternity leave is not in fact a three-month paid vacation, but more of a full time job seven days a week, plus chronic sleep deprivation and no lunch break.) Anyway, minus the parts with Anna, this was a very good book. Tolstoy really knows his stuff.

Reviewing a book like this is difficult because there is the whole historical context to take into consideration. The book is heavy on philosophical and religious rumination (something I am sometimes guilty of). And Tolstoy's style doesn't foll0w a lot of the modern "do's" of good novel writing.

But, when yo get down to it, I think what impressed me most this time I read the novel was the matrix of juxtapositions Tolstoy creates - Dolly versus Anna (on the theme of adultery), Karenin versus Alexandrovich (on bureaucracy), Levin versus Oblonsky (on socially acceptable male conduct), the city versus the country (the natural versus the artificial - and how the characters are react and change in each environment), Levin and Anna (Levin's bouts jealousy and their resolution versus hers). The consistency and depth of the characters is fantastic...even if we have to read about "modern" ideas for Russian farming in between.

Russian literature is not my favorite, so this rating might be biased. I didn't mind the ending (which is not normal for Russian media)-it was actually a nice ending. I mean the end ending, not the part when Anna's role in the story ends.
There are some things to like in this book. I enjoyed Levin's "conversion". I thought Tolstoy's description of the feelings accompanying communion with God was just exquisitely done. There were a lot of good insights into human nature altogether.
I found the juxtaposition of Anna's and Kitty/Levin's stories significant. But overall I couldn't tell what the book was really supposed to be about. I guess I like to walk away with some coherent theme. A lot of it was just like-Uh...OK. And there was a lot of discussion of Russian farming, politics that went on a little long.

If you only read one book make it this.

If you want me to discuss themes, I'd probably have to read the print version, but for my first walk through a Tolstoy novel, listening to it was the way to go for me. Frequently I marveled at the basic plot, centering on Anna's affair and eventual divorce, but also the amount of discussion about personal faith. It was interesting to hear about the classes in Russia, the duties and expectations.
There were times I also thought--"What a soap opera!"
Better than I expected, yet I fear that I would get impatient with the print copy--it is a big time commitment.

Fiiiiiiiiinalmente terminé. Me pareció un buen libro, creí que los últimos capítulos eran relleno inútil, pero hoy que terminé me queda la impresión que a sido una introspección del autor. Buen libro, de los que Hay que tomarse el tiempo para leerlos, eterno, pero no me arrepiento de haberlo leído. Puedo decir Anna Karenina ✅️

I understand that the translation is better now. Truthfully, when I read it years ago, I would have given it a 3. But I would have based it on the story itself (maybe 3.5). I'm going to read it again because it is deemed as one of the greatest of the classics by academics and writers that I respect. That's why I'm giving a rating of 5.0. When I read it I wasn't qualified enough to evaluate Anna Karenina. I hope to read it again and do a better job this time.

Todos sabemos da capacidade da descrição minuciosa e assertiva de Tostoy, entretanto me surpreendi com essa leitura. Tostoy entra na mente de cada personagem, só a descrição da corrida de cavalo do Vronski valeu por todo o livro. Há certas partes que são tão entediante quanto a vida real e isso é fascinante.