Anna Karenina (Barnes & Noble Classics)

A beautifully enticing and engaging story of people - yes, of people - containing beautifully drawn characters, whose lives are interwoven so apparently effortlessly that their routines, realisations and revelatory experiences unfold as undramatically and dramatically as they do to in our own lives; we are with the characters, all of them, every step of the way, as far removed from our...more

A beautifully enticing and engaging story of people - yes, of people - containing beautifully drawn characters, whose lives are interwoven so apparently effortlessly that their routines, realisations and revelatory experiences unfold as undramatically and dramatically as they do to in our own lives; we are with the characters, all of them, every step of the way, as far removed from our own material circumstances as their lives may be. There are no 'good' guys and there are no 'baddies', only people who doubt, and desire as we all do. Hence, we sympathise with each character while we are with them, and despise those who they despise. A true mark of genius to be able to do this with such an array of personalities. Superficially, a tale of love and relationships, but this novel details and reflects on the personal and political, and how the personal is political and vice-versa. The evocation of time, place and people is so fully realised that you cannot help but become part of it and, as with all classic works, transpose much or all of it to your own experience.   hide

It's a classic, what else can I say?

I love this book for two reasons. First, it's a wonderful and classic book. Second, I read this book right around the time I moved to New York City and even though it was heavy I carried it with me everywhere. So, I'll always associate the book with that special time.

One of my all time favorites, and the only book the Tolstoy wanted to be remembered by