This post contains affiliate links (Moshimo Affiliate).
"Anna Karenina" is one of those books that people feel they ought to have read. It is long, it is Russian, and it is often listed among the greatest novels ever written, which is enough to make anyone hesitate. The good news is that it is far more approachable than its reputation suggests. It opens not with war or philosophy, but with a marriage in crisis and a household that has stopped functioning because of it. Within a few pages, you are simply curious about what these people will do next.
Who wrote it, and when
Leo Tolstoy was born on 9 September 1828 (28 August in the Old Style calendar then used in Russia) at Yasnaya Polyana, his family's estate southwest of Tula. He died on 20 November 1910 (7 November, Old Style) at Astapovo. By the time he began "Anna Karenina," he had already published "War and Peace," completed in 1869.
The new novel appeared in installments in the periodical The Russian Messenger from 1875 to 1877. All but the last part ran there, and the complete book was published in 1878. It is organized into eight parts and 239 chapters. Tolstoy himself described it as his first true novel, though writing it was not a happy experience: by the time he reached the final installments he was in an anguished state of mind, had come to hate the book, and finished it unwillingly.
Where the story begins
The novel opens with a much-quoted first line: a remark that happy families all resemble one another, while every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
Then it shows us an unhappy family. In Moscow, the aristocrat Stepan "Stiva" Oblonsky has been unfaithful, and his wife Dolly has found out. The whole house is in disorder. To help calm things down, Stiva's sister arrives from St. Petersburg. She is Anna Karenina, wife of the senior government official Alexei Karenin and mother of an eight-year-old son, Seryozha.
At the same time, another visitor comes to Moscow. Konstantin Levin, a landowner and a friend of Stiva's, prefers life on his large country estate, but he has come to the city for a reason: he intends to propose to Dolly's younger sister, Kitty, who is eighteen. Kitty, however, is also being courted by a cavalry officer, Count Alexei Vronsky.
Then Vronsky meets Anna at the railway station, and he is drawn to her. From that encounter, several lives begin to move in new directions. Where they lead is for you to discover.
What makes it worth reading
The first thing to understand is that the book tells two stories, not one. Alongside Anna's, there is Levin's, and the novel moves back and forth between them. Anna lives in the glittering world of city society; Levin is wrestling with how to run his land and how to live a meaningful life in the countryside. Set side by side, their stories ask the same big questions about love, marriage, family, and faith from very different angles. Levin is often seen as a semi-autobiographical portrait of Tolstoy's own beliefs, and even his name comes from Tolstoy's first name, Lev.
The second is the psychological detail. Tolstoy follows the small movements of people's minds: what they notice, what they hope, what they tell themselves. Characters are rarely reduced to heroes or villains, so you end up understanding people whose choices you might not approve of. That is a large part of why the book still feels modern.
The third is the world it captures. Moving between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the countryside, the novel paints a broad picture of Imperial Russian society and the contrast between urban and rural life. Themes such as desire, fidelity, hypocrisy, and jealousy play out against a society with very firm ideas about how people ought to behave.
A practical tip: Russian characters are called by full names, patronymics (middle names formed from the father's first name), and nicknames, sometimes all in the same chapter. Keeping a short list of the main characters and their relationships beside you for the first part makes everything much easier.
Who will enjoy it
This is a book for readers who want a love story that is also about marriage, family, and the shape of a whole life. It suits anyone ready to settle into a long novel and live with its characters for a while, and anyone who would like to try Tolstoy but finds "War and Peace" intimidating. It also rewards readers who know the story only from films or stage versions and are curious about the original, which is far richer than any adaptation can hold.
Follow Anna off the train in Moscow, and you will find that this enormous novel has quietly pulled you in.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Anna Karenina" (serialization in The Russian Messenger 1875-1877 with all but the last part appearing there, book publication in 1878, eight parts and 239 chapters, the opening line, the opening setup, character descriptions, Levin's parallel story and his link to Tolstoy, main themes, Tolstoy calling it his first true novel, his state of mind while finishing it, its standing in world literature) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Karenina
- Wikipedia, "Leo Tolstoy" (birth and death dates in both calendars, Yasnaya Polyana near Tula, Astapovo, publication of War and Peace in 1869) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy