Anna Karenina Part 1: Readalong!

 

Reading Tolstoy's War and Peace three years ago was a revelation, because I'd always been intimidated by classic Russian literature, and perhaps slightly disinterested. Disinterest may have been my default because of the intimidation factor, but it perhaps stemmed too from a sense that a novel like War and Peace was not the kind of reading that was relevant to me. As in, it didn't really occur to me to pick up a novel by Tolstoy, or a story by Chekhov. A middle-class, rural-ish upbringing in 80s west coast Canada didn't offer much impetus to read Russian literature. I loved my teenage and young adulthood reading life, racing through books by my then favourite author Stephen King and myriad other pop fiction authors. I had my forays into the classics too. I loved A Tale of Two Cities, and I remember counting Les Misérables as the greatest reading achievement of my teen years. 

It wasn't until my work life slowed down, presaging my retirement from a medical career in 2021, that I seriously turned to the classics. It's been a revelation! There's so much of value, wisdom, and just plain good storytelling and fun in the classics. Each different, they have brought a richness to my reading life that I didn't foresee. And I have learned that these classics are for everyone. There is no need for me to be intimidated. Reading slowly and steadily is just fine, even if some bits are occasionally dry and long (I'm looking at you, Moby Dick!) It's just a different style, but the classics are accessible to most anyone who has the interest to read them. 

I started with War and Peace, as a readalong with A Public Space. Slowly and steadily, I made my way through and loved it! Classics sometimes require a bit closer reading from me, with literary style and language often very different than today's, but I'm constantly amazed how relevant the issues hold up today. I'm often taken by pithy or wise themes, and beautifully penned quotes. 

In terms of Russian literature specifically, I read War and Peace, then in 2024 I went on to read a collection or Tolstoy's short stories, which were also excellent. I followed that up with a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov. I read these with another avid classics fan, and it was so nice to discuss the books as we went along. I was interested in how different Tolstoy and Chekhov's styles were, though I did gradually warm to Chekhov, and found a lot to like. 

So now, I turn to Anna Karenina, often described as the best novel ever written, Tolstoy's tale of domestic life, family structure and relationships, against the backdrop of Russian society in the late 1800s. It was published serially between 1875 and 1877, and released in book form in 1878. I'm reading this book over 8 weeks with a group of other dedicated readers on Instagram so that we can chat as we read the book slowly. After some consideration, I've chosen the Penguin Classic's Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation. 

I'll be blogging every day or two with some thoughts and favourite quotes! For some background info on Tolstoy, I read these articles: 

Biography of Leo Tolstoy, Influential Russian Writer 

5 Things You May Not Know About Leo Tolstoy 

By the way, I did the same type of blogging-readalong project for The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Check it out if you're interested, and feel free to use it as a reading companion if you're motivated to tackle that novel. 

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The readalong plan: The 900 page novel is divided into eight parts. As a group, we'll be reading one part of the novel per week, for a total of eight weeks. 

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Day 1: Part 1, I-V

"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," and, "They felt that there was no sense in their living together and that people who meet accidentally at any inn have more connection with each other then they, the members of the family and household of the Oblonskys." 

All is not well between husband Stepan Arkadyich and wife Darya Alexandrovna! 

I'm enjoying getting to know Stepan Arkadyich (of the "habitual, kind, and therefore stupid smile") who seems to be born and bred to be the least offensive person possible. Liberal by ease and habit only, happy with himself and others, and "a perfect indifference to the business we was occupied with..." So in love with himself and his contentment, that he is almost comically taken aback that his wife might be upset that he's had an affair with the French governess. 

My favourite line today: to escape from his troubles, Stepan Arkadyich notes, "There was no answer, except the general answer life gives to all the most complex and insoluble questions. That answer is: one must live for the needs of the day, in other words, become oblivious. To become oblivious in dreams was impossible now, at least till night-time; it was impossible to return to that music sung by carafe-women; and so one had to become oblivious in the dream of life." 

Day 2: Part 1, VI-XI

A great scene that brings to life the pastime of ice skating for the well-to-do classes in Moscow, with Levin desperately seeking any sign from Kitty that she might be interested in his romantic advances. I've read before that skating was a great occasion for flirting, and I had to love this exchange when Kitty praises Levin's reputation for being an excellent skater: 

"Yes, I used to be a passionate skater; I wanted to achieve perfection."

"It seems you do everything passionately," she said, smiling. "I do so want to see you skate. Put on some skates and let's skate together." 

"Skate together! Can it be possible?" thought Levin, looking at her. 

"I'll put them on at once," he said. 

Here's a basic article about the history of skating in Russia: A History of Ice Skating in Russia

Later, getting to know more about Stepan Arkadyich and Levin's relationship was interesting. It seems that Tolstoy identified more as akin to Levin. They are true foils to each other. At lunch, Stepan Arkadyich gobbles oysters hedonistically ("Not bad," he said, peeling the sloshy oysters from their pearly shells with a little sliver fork and swallowing them one after another.") whereas Levin prefers "shchi and kasha," simple cabbage soup and grains, country food. 

Day 3: Part One, XI-XVII

I do kind of feel for the princess, Kitty's mother. Raising children can be a joy, and also difficult, and a parent's anxiety over seeing a child happy and settled is real, even if we know we shouldn't interfere so much! The princess has been much satisfied with her own arranged marriage to her husband the prince years ago. I loved this: 

"And however much the princess was assured that in our time young people themselves must settle their fate, she was unable to believe it, as she would have been unable to believe that in anyone's time the best toys for five-year-old children would be loaded pistols." 

Levin's futile proposal to Kitty was painful to read! Tolstoy contrasts Levin to the urbane, polished and handsome Vronksy, and I can't help but like Levin a bit more for it...but also pity him a bit. When Kitty's and his eyes meet as he leaves, Levin's unhappiness also includes a generous helping of self-loathing: 

"If I can be forgiven, forgive me," her eyes said. "I'm so happy." 

"I hate everybody, including you and myself," his eyes answered, and he picked up his hat.

Finally, Tolstoy refers to "muzhiks," which I took to mean as the peasants in the country. The uppity Countess Nordston refers to them with a disparaging tone, but says to Levin, whom she dislikes, "You praise muzhiks all the time." 

This is a great, short article about the term, and its telling that it can be a neutral, negative, or (like for Levin) a positive term. A Muzhik For All Seasons (The Moscow Times, 2010)