Anna Karenina

I finished the book a few days ago. Overall I'm glad I read it, but am relieved that it's done. It took me so long to complete, and meanwhile my to-read stack has become dangerous.

Stuff I Didn't Like:
-The enormous list of characters, most of whom weren't necessary, except for the small handful of people that were introduced at around page 5, then turn up again around page 650 without a reminder of who they were.
-Maybe it's less confusing in Russian, but several characters had identical (or nearly so) names, and everybody might be referred to by first name, last name, version of father's name, or nickname interchangeably. For example, there was Vasenka and Varenka (these two even showed up in the same chapter!), Katavasov and Kartasov, and Anna's husband and lover were both named Alexis (but thankfully were usually called by last name).
-Tolstoy liked to have his characters give long speeches about political and social ideas that were important to him. I might care, if he tried to work it into the story rather than some long, spontaneous pontification at a dinner party.
-Last fifty pages (Part VIII) were anti-climactic.


Stuff I Liked:
-The double-plot, even though it was loose and baggy at times and prone to meandering, was good for my short attention span. The two plots were gently interwoven in spots that I didn't notice until after they had already passed.
-Lots of slice-of-life, memorable, imagery packed scenes. Rich and dense.
-Made me hungry for black peasant rye bread, cabbage soup, and buckwheat porridge.
-Sections of inner turmoil (of which there were many) were generally much more interesting than scenes of action (of which there were few).

I have now completed my quota of Russian novels for Winter 2010 and will consider future options for 2011.