Read-a-Long :: Anna Karenina Sign Up
These next three months (October, November, and December) we’ll be reading Anna Karenina for our next Read-a-Long. It’s a long one, and I admit – I’m a little intimidated by all the Russian names, but I know it will be much easier to read with others (it always is)!
What is Anna Karenina about? 
Vladimir Nabokov called Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina “one of the greatest love stories in world literature.” Matthew Arnold claimed it was not so much a work of art as “a piece of life.” Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity.
Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.
Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society.
From its famous opening sentence—“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”—to its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul. (description from Goodreads.com)
Interesting tidbits about the book:
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. The character of Anna was likely inspired, in part, by Maria Hartung (Russian spelling Maria Gartung, 1832–1919), the elder daughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. Soon after meeting her at dinner, Tolstoy began reading Pushkin’s prose and once had a fleeting daydream of “a bare exquisite aristocratic elbow”, which proved to be the first intimation of Anna’s character.
Although Russian critics dismissed the novel on its publication as a “trifling romance of high life”, 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, which declared that Anna Karenina is the “greatest novel ever written”.
Some Facts About the Read-a-Long:
- You do not have to be a book blogger to join.
- We will be reading the book in October, November, and December (12 weeks) / the book is 754 pages (paperback) so that’s roughly a 8/9 pages a day.
- Don’t be intimidated. We will be going at a slow pace and discussing the book throughout our reading. And just think, afterwards you will have all sorts of new wrinkles in your brain and you will be able to add a one of the most important pieces of literature to your library.
Please let me know in the comments section of this post if you are interested! Hope you’ll join us, the more the merrier! The Starting Post (with a break down of who’s reading and the reading schedule) will be posted next Friday, October 7th . That will also be the official starting day for reading, so if you’re joining you’ll want to grab your books by then. (Just a note: I prefer the Barnes and Noble edition for classics because they have the footnotes on the page instead of having to flip to the back. That said, I have an extra Penguin Classics copy if anybody needs one… first person to ask for it in the comments can have it. Please note that if I do send you the book, I will expect that you are committing to finishing the entire read-a-long.)
I’m in ! I have the penguin edition so I’m ready to go!
Great!
Me, me, me!
Yay, yay, yay!
Count me in!
You’re in!
Wallace, I think I’m gonna have to join in on this one. I’ve never read this book and I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it, so I think its time to take the plunge and dive right in. Count me in
Oh good! Hey, we’re all in it together — hopefully that will make it easier!
I’m going to attempt to keep up! I’ll get myself to B&N this weekend, hopefully! Unless you still have the Penguin copy you could mail my way!? Looking forward to reading this!
It’s yours! E-mail me your mailing address at unputdownableswebsite@gmail.com and I’ll get it out to you.
P.S. And by “it’s yours” that is assuming you’re going to finish… want to think about it a little more before I send you the copy or are you committed?
I’m in! Excited to read it with others!
I’m in! Excited to read this with a group.
I’m in! I totally failed last time, but I’ve always wanted to read this one. I’m determined!
We can read it together on the couch when I’m there!!
I’m in! I’ve been meaning to read it for years, and the pace seems about right. I’ve got a copy queued up on my Kindle already!
I’m in for reading this, but I’m not sure I’m in for posting every week. (I’m also reading several other titles and posting on composers/artists bi-weekly. So I don’t know if I’ll have time.) Do I have to post every week to be part of the readalong? Or could I do more like, once a month?
You don’t have to post on your blog at all — but you do have to post here every week or you will be taken off of the list (so that we can all see who’s still reading along). You can even just check in with an “I’m a little behind, catching up, see you next week” type of message — as long as we know you’re still with us!
Oh, great! That’s no problem at all then. Thanks, Wallace!
I’m in!
I’m really apprehensive about signing up for this because I’ve failed so miserably at your other read-a-longs. I just could not get into the Midwife’s Tale. I made it halfway through and then my other obligations (a new blog launch, for one) started getting in the way, and since my interest was stagnant, I just didn’t apply myself as I should have. That being said, I have been wanting to read Anna Karenina for so long and I already have the book so…I’m going to attempt this. *wringing hands* I hope I haven’t been banned from your read-a-longs!
On another note, I really like your new blog header!
Don’t worry – people drop sometimes… it’s fun to make it all the way through, so I’m cheering for you, but you are definitely not banned! Glad to have you again.
And thanks about the blog header!
Oh I’m SO tempted…I adored the Villette read-a-long. Technically, I’ve read Anna Karenina, but it was when I was in high school (which was longer ago than I like to admit) so I don’t remember much. I enjoyed it then, and I was smitten with War and Peace when I read it in 2009. But then again, life has been a basket of craziness since school started up…I’ll think about it and let you know.
I pulled out my copy, and I just can’t resist. It’s translated by Pevear & Volokhonsky (I’ve been wanting to read a translation by them) and the French translations are at the bottom of the page (instead of nonexistent like in my copy of Villette). I’m very excited to revisit this book & looking forward to the starting post!
Yes, we all learned from Villette didn’t we? Translations at the bottom of the page are KEY!
Ya know what? I’m totally in. I’ve been meaning to read this book for *years*, and reading at 8-9 pages per day will make the whole thing a lot less intimidating. Plus, read-a-long!
I’ll put up a post on my blog next week to announce my participation. I’m excited!
Oh my gosh, I tried reading this earlier this year and just couldn’t get into it!
Maybe if I read it with everyone else then I’ll actually have better luck! Count me in!
I just participated in The Great Gone with the Wind readalong and loved the discussion. Already getting excited for this!
I read this so long that I hardly remember it and would love to participate. I’ve got it loaded on my Kindle. There’s a list of all the characters at the beginning and I’ve got it bookmarked for constant reference, so I’m all set! Looking forward to it!
Ohhh I wish I could join in for this one! I’m slowly working on finishing up War and Peace, though, which will probably take me the rest of the year. Adding Anna Karenina would be a lot of Tolstoy. Maybe I’ll be able to join one in 2012!
You will love it. Don’t be scared. I was also intimidated when I first picked it up but could not put it down once I started. Enjoy and have fun!
Oh good – thanks… I need the encouragement!
I’m interested! Do you have any idea if the Barnes & Nobel translation is a good one? I have that edition, but I’m wondering if I should get the go-to translators (their names escape me right now) that so many bloggers seem to prefer. Any thoughts?
I use the Barnes and Noble editions of most classics. They are the best in my opinion (& have the foot notes and translations on the same page as the notation instead of in the back of the book– big bonus in my opinion).
Count me in too! I’ve got it ready to go on my Kindle…
I’m so in. I feel like I need an excuse to read this book and this seems like the perfect one! Btw, I love your site.
Thanks!
Just found your blog through a friend of mine (Walkie Talkie Book Club) and she convinced me to join. Can’t wait to start!!
I’m in!
I’d like to think I’ll join, but I’m still trying to finish To the Lighthouse. And John Adams.
*slinks away in shame*
Haha, no worries AT ALL. Let me know if you want to join and I’ll add you to the list.
I’m in too!
I join too!
I tried to read it once but gave up at page n. 40… it was a defeat… This time I feel I can do it!
I think I’ll jump in on this, as well
I am really going to try this read-a-long. I love the classics and have had this on my tbr pile for awhile.
I’m joining a little late, but I’ve been looking for another readalong while I try to finish this one! So I’ll pick up where it matches with how far along I am in the book