Wednesday, June 6, 2012

On a "must read" classic.


There are many classic books people tell you are "amazing!" "incredible" and "a must read."
One I had never read was a book that kept on popping up here and there with people saying how good it was. "Anna Karenina."
Eventually I decided to read it. Surely it couldn't be that bad?
I am not even halfway finished  and yet  I am already bored, horrified  and  upset over  the main character's transformation and idiotic choices.
Frankly, I cannot see how a book with so much immorality in it can be held up  so much by scores of people as a "fabulous  , must read".   Its kinda sad really.
Image on a book cover I found on-line.

I had to see how it ends so read up on it on Wikipedia and am happy now I know how it ends. It doesn't end happily. But, now I know how it'll end so I'm content in that knowledge.
 But, I am still horrified with Anna and her behaviour and what she does.    I shall link to the Wikipedia article on her and the book  here as it is rather long and has mature content in it. Anna is an interesting character  but I do not like her very much at all.
I prefer the secondary main female character  Kitty. Her story is most interesting and her character delightful.
Frankly, I think Leo Tolstoy 's book is more admired for his writing style and the amazing  quotes then the story itself.

I shall be finishing the book ,even though I know how it ends. As much as I dislike Anna herself it is a rather interesting story. And I imagine many would call it tragic. I do enjoy reading it but Anna gets to a stage where she gives me a headache and we need time apart.     A new movie starring  Keira Knightly in the role  is coming out this year and frankly I am excited about that as I really feel Kiera could play the role very well. In the meantime I shall be finishing the book and then watching one of the old films of it.  Watch out for a post on my finishing the book perhaps my view will have changed. And movie reviews of it.

Have you ever read Anna Karenina? Or any books by Leo Tolstoy?  Have you ever read a book people said was awesome only to read it and think it wasn't?


Ta Ta Darlings!!!
 

5 comments:

Miah said...

Never read it or any of his books... But it doesn't sound like I want to because I have the bad habit of finishing books even if I hate them and I end up annoyed!

Unknown said...

I'm reading it right now, and I love it. I love Tolstoy's style. Its an unhappy book, its supposed to be that way. And that's why I like it. The people are real, and they are unhappy. They make mistakes like *real* people do. I hate Kitty, she's silly and she's flighty. At one time I thought I was going to like her, when she was serving people. But then she stopped, and I realized she had no substance. Anna has substance, she had character. Levin is stupid, I don't like him at all. I believe Anna is the only character I do like.

Autumn said...

Riah: haha. :] He writes well. I guess I'm just more of a "happily ever after"kind of girl.

Abi: Thank you for your comment. :] Like I said my view might change, I'm not even 50% through the book yet. So, maybe I"ll be surprised. I do admire Leo's writing style though.


~Autumn

Gae said...

Dear Autumn,
I guess I will just skip this one then
Look forward to your finished review
Love Mummy
xxoo

Unknown said...

Oh you're welcome. :D Indeed Leo Tolstoy is an amazing writer, I hope to read "War and Peace" soon.