I didn’t find it hard to read. It’s actually an easy book. It’s just long. Just keep a list with the names and families for the first few chapters and consult it after a longer reading break.
@@johnnysalter7072 It was at the end of my book. A german antique edition. But you can find it online everywhere. Wikipedia has also one. But be aware you might run into some serious spoilers on these sites! It mentions who's married to who and who becomes the lover of who - but that might not happen for the next 800 pages. So i suggest you just note that down on a post-it in your book while you read and only consult online family trees when you think you are totally lost.
@@Chechat As I said. It’s not a difficult book. The names are confusing sometimes. Mainly because you have to know some russian nicknames (like Kolja = Nikolai). What do you think was difficult about it?
@@Chechat The argument on the necessity of a russian cultural background is just absurd. This is one of the most sold and read fiction books in the world. How arrogant to say that all these people didn’t understand the book. In fact, that’s what makes this book so great. It speaks about fundamental human experiences that everyone can relate to. In no way do you have to have a russian background. Also we‘re talking about a book and not about a hollywood movie. Who do you mean by „you guys“? I‘m not american or british. Non-Russians don’t make the connection between Kolja and Nikolai. That is not ignorance, as you seem to imply, but simply a distinct way to shorten first names in different countries.
I have just started reading Anna Karenina. I’m on page 39. I find it amazing, but also intimidating and difficult-difficult not because of its length (though this may be a contributing factor), but because there is SO much substance on every page. The sensations, the characters, the psychology. It all feels so real, almost too real-as if I am a part of the novel or as if the novel were occurring in real life in front of me. I instantly got the impression that this is a book to be savored with delight, not shotgunned in the way one reads a school assignment to get it over with.
Four months ago I discovered your channel and started my "some day I'll read" journey through the classics, starting with Jane Eyre, then moved to Middlemarch , and am now leaving old England for Russia and Anna Karenina.
Anna is one of my favorite books. The introduction had two major spoilers that almost ruined the book for me… This taught me to never ever read introductions again before reading the book (in the end i mostly end up never reading the introductions because of it…)
Actually, I watched the movie first, and I really wanted more, i wanted to know more about the characters, who they were, what are they thinking/feeling, so I read the first 600 pages in three days. I’ll keep reading. 💛
Wow! What an amazing story :) 600 pages in three days - it sounds like you fell in love with the novel, Sara! Truly a special book, I hope you enjoy the rest of it :)
Upon completing the book, I found myself immersed in a profound experience. It was as if I cradled within my hands a portal to another era, a passage that allowed me to traverse the intricate landscapes of people's minds. The narrative skillfully invited me to not only witness but to genuinely feel their joys and pains, to connect with the ebb and flow of their everyday thoughts. I traversed the societal norms of their time, discerned the subtle nuances that shaped their existence, and absorbed the very essence of their collective anguish. Yet, amidst the tapestry of emotions, what stood out was the unwavering will to live. The characters exhibited a remarkable resilience, navigating the spectrum of suffering and joy with grace. It's undeniably a masterpiece, a literary work that intricately defines the profound dimensions of what makes a timeless and enduring piece of art. Anna Karenina has etched its place in my heart, destined to be a timeless companion that will stay with me always!
I don’t know how to put this but I’ve never picked up a book and found it’s writing style and narrative so easy to digest. I’m by no means a learned reader. But this book is in my opinion simply brilliant. I started reading with trepidation, being my first Tolstoy (I’d read the first book of War and Peace but no more), but after a few pages realised this would likely soon be my one of my favourite novels. Maybe it’s easy to be put off by the multitude of characters and even more so their many names; but Tolstoy reveals the individual characters so deftly through the passage of their thoughts, that their inner workings become more real to you than their outward embodiment. I read a footnoted Pevear-Volokonsky translation and can’t recommend it more highly. Thanks for the tips Benjamin!
I went with Rosamund Bartlett's version. I was debating with this or the P&V's translation, but ultimately decided with Bartlett's because the Hardcover edition was too beautiful to pass up.
It is indeed so beautiful. I have three copies of that Bartlett version. The Oxford clothbound of Crime and Punishment is beautiful too - deep red with a blood-spattered axe on the cover. Love the whole series.
I am so excited to read this book! I've had it on my bookshelf for a while now and haven't gotten the courage to pick it up. I am starting it now and would love to listen to you lecture for each section!
I just came across this video after reading the book and I’m very happy I did🙂 I actually loved the haystack section. Maybe something to do with the fact that I like gardening and working with soil too, but the section went passed like Levin was probably feeling, the feeling of timelessness, and it got stuck in my brain like I actually worked with the peasants and so satisfied. English is not my native language, and so I had to look up what scythe is and how it works, and also some other farming words, but that helped me to kind of submerge myself into the scene. Thank you for the video, I definitely will reread the book over and over!
I also really enjoyed sections of this book that went off on the farming methods and the place of the peasants in agriculture. It's not even that I find these subject matters that enthrawling. I think I just liked spending some 'quality' time with Levin. I felt that in these ' boring' moments that he was talking directly to me. Kind of like he was taking me aside and I got a magic copy of this book with some extra pages.
Hadji Murad is the perfect introduction for new Tolstoy readers. I was only really aware of his 2 most famous epic novels, it's great to see the same quality of writing with a smaller page count.
Thank you for this man! I was gifted this book for Christmas and just started reading it. After the first few chapters, I was already agreeing with many of the things you are talking about. And now, it's nice to hear someone else explain the reasons why I want to read the book in the way you recommend.
Reading it now. 50 pages in. First Tolstoy I have read and the reading is very easy. The last 2 books I read were Brighton Rock and Brideshead Revisited and I found both a bit unnecessarily ' clever' to the extent that it made the reading at times difficult. The words just drip off the pages of this book like honey. I understand everything he says , there is no verbosity , he doesn't seem to feel the need to be smart for smarts sake. The characters are becoming real. Looking forward to the rest of this book. Seems to me the greatest writers make a complicated difficult story easy and the medicores do the opposite. Kinda the same as good and bad mathematicians.
I love that, Ross - "the greatest writers make a complicated difficult story easy and the medicores do the opposite." Perfectly put. I'm so with you on that!
I love the passion your voice. I must admit I haven't read all book, I stopped at the sixth part. I will definitely pick it up again and reread it from the beginning.
That you, Rut :) We're kicking off the Anna Karenina Book Club in a few days, you might want to get involved. We're also reading Crime and Punishment and many others: cutt.ly/xjRJwBf
I liked the Levin in a haystack section. He's an athlete in the zone there. Later when he goes hunting, he's like an athlete choking. The section I really had to plow through was Levin attending parties in Moscow just before the birth of his son. Really seemed aimless. But now I think that's what Tolstoy wanted.
Ha! I loved it too - but I find readers can be torn on these sections. His interior is riveting, but some are more drawn to the overt conflict with the Anna narrative. Totally agree with Tolstoy wanting that - there's a lot of examples of this sort of thing in his writing. Like Levin being late to his own wedding - has no real bearing on the story or character even, just a frivolous detail from Tolstoy's own life, and yet the book would suffer if it were removed.
This video inspired me to read Anna Karenina. I've just come back to watch it for reassurance because I'm at the 'Levin in a haystack' bit. Thank you for saying it's a struggle, I've loved the rest of the book but this section is a bit less interesting. I will persevere! 🌾
Yes!! I'm so glad you're going to persevere :) You know, some people love that haystack bit. And, on a reread, it became the best part of the book for me. But it definitely can be a slog - it's worth getting through it!
I have 200 pages to go of Anna Kerenina and I reckon I might upset a few people ? I keep getting one word that drops into my head as I read it and I mean this word in it's best sense and not as a pejorative. The word is 'NICE'. I have started putting my reading into 3 categories , morning , afternoon and evening. Anna is a morning book , it starts my day off in a good natured way. I NEVER read this book thinking I have to read a certain number of pages and I quite easily get draw in and 1 hour passes like 1 minute. I don't find any suspense , horror , bad manners , intrigue. What I get from the book are little snippets of myself wrapped up in each of the main characters and I find the different perspectives of the world through Levin and Kitty's eyes as touching and at times laugh out loud funny. I think this book belongs on that statistical bell curve. If your are ,say , under 16 it's kind gonna go over your head , if you are over 50 (married with grown up kids) then I feel your gonna wish you had read it when you were 20 , 30 or 40 years old , if you are 20 ,30 , 40 and trying to work out the world of adult humans then this would be a great book to read. Not yet finished it but I feel that re-read of this will happen. Just now it gives me a warm glow and I look forward to picking it up in the morning but it doesn't drive me , amaze me , make me anxious or scared or provide any major insights in to life the universe and everything but it makes me very thoughtful and puts me at ease. PS - my afternoon read would be Count of Monte Cristo and evening would be Bram Stoker's Dracula or Shelley's Frankestein.
I like your videos and some of your reading tips stick with me. Particularly your tip in this video about reading slowly, and letting the book linger with you for a while before moving on to another. I've always done some of that but lately, I've really been taking my time with Notre Dame de Paris, writing, blogging, re-reading parts of it, just plain thinking about it for a good two weeks after I finished it. Now I'm going really slowly through the Epic of Gilgamesh, just a chapter or two a day, deliberately not rushing it. Sometimes when I linger with a book like this, I wonder, shouldn't I be moving on? But your tips have been encouraging for me at such times. And it's just so true, how much more you get out of a book if you take it in slowly and even let it continue to take up your time after you read the last page. Thanks as always!
Great video, thanks so much! Just started listening to the audio version by Maggie Gyllenhaal, which I think is the Constance Garnett version, and was looking for tips or themes to look out for as I’m loving it so far. Will probably read the P&V version as well. One thing I love to do with the audio version is that I often end up listening to a certain section multiple times - which feels easy and relaxed since all you have to do is listen!
I agree, I love the Levin parts, it really stuck with me. Because I love Vivian Leigh I thought I would love the Anna part of the book but I actually love the Levin story. in my opinion, no movie yet has captured the real heart and soul of this book.
Through Levin, Anna, Kitty and the other characters (or people, because you can feel that they are alive...Tolstoy is a GENIUS) you can see points of Tolstoy's philosophy ...and he's one of the best, if not the best. He's a giant, a god...a pagan and a good christian saint in the same time. He's in the same time a great creator and nihilist. He's like Nietzsche, but in my opinion more mature.
All Levin parts were top notch for me. Always had to lough about something when Stepan showed up. Got really annoyed about Anna, when she got into the book addiction, because I can relate too much and was evaluating my life a bit.
All his characters are incredible...incredibly real and Tolstoy is philosophizing during the time he is writing! He's a beast. He's the best. He can touch the human soul
Started reading it, doing the ebook + audiobook combo. I got the audiobook narrated by Maggie Gyllenhal (mouahh, chef's kiss) and i'm pretty sure she's reading from the Constance Garnett translation, as it's pretty much identical to my ebook version. Still very early on, but i'm in love so far.
I just picked up a good quality copy of AK at a thrift shop for $1. However, it is the David Magarsback translation. I don't have much money to spend on books, or I would have bought the P & V translation. Is the Magarsback translation so poor as to be a waste of time to read? Would I be better off getting library copy of a better translation?
Just finished this last night, and I loved it. I actually ignored the names completely. I had an idea of what everyone looked like instead, and when their scenes came up, I carried their picture in my mind. This worked (at least for me) with everything except the voting chapters!
I was into the first fifty pages of the book and decided it was one of the best 'experiences' of my life, so much so that I chose the deadest part of night to read it, savoring every bit and reading oh so slowly. Tolstoy is that writer that, as I fanboyed to my friends, will write everything there is inside one room, dust and dog included (very similar to Flaubert). But in this case, you will actually care about the dog (there really is a dog scene in War and Peace). Anyways I lost my book, a Constance Garnet translation which I enjoyed very much, maybe it's the old-school part of me, so I bought a Volokhonsky-Pevear translated one, and finished that one. It ended up being my favorite book of all time and to this day I keep gushing to my friends about Tolstoy, pushing them to read him because only I seemed to have had the patience to read such fat books. Most of them have read Dostoevsky whose books are 500-800 pages (add another 200 and you read Tolstoy! A little more patience!)
Could listen to Anna Karenina while exercising, could anglosiase names, could write anything in the book, could read it over time, drink with the book, and so on.
Anna Karenina so many versions of the same exciting tale Watched the beautiful Vivien Leigh in the Korda movie version which l loved and lead me to the book Now reading Constance Garrets translation of the book ( the Pevear&Volokhonsky version is winging its way to me) your excellent review has given me the fire to read and enjoy Excellent videos well done
Thank you for this. I'm at the Levin in a haystack section (P and V translation) and can't seem to get through. I was wondering if I'm the only one, and found your video. I will read on!
Good tips. Read it with another person is the top one. I read the book to my wife while she did the cooking. It was a great experience, we laughed so much about how real the book is. One minute I'm Levin, she's Kitty; the next minute she's Anna, I'm Karenin. The book has it all.
I’m in 150th page and as you said i will not go and check it on the internet and i will just live the book And thanks a lot for making a sweet video like that
Thank you Benjamin. I am inspired to read this book with an audiobook to keep me on track. On Amazon their audiobook for Penguin is in Russian. Do you, or any of the commenters know of an English audiobook for the Penguin translation? If not, what is the next best translation that has an English audiobook?
Hey I am an audience from Taiwan. I’m wondering by any chance can you also talk about great Japanese authors such as Yukio Mishima?? Will be much appreciated because I cannot read in my first language but English and I find it not accurately translated when encountering Eastern literature; wondering how a native speaker who really dives into the world of words might decode and interpret those translated texts by Japanese authors other than Haruki Murakam.
I'm currently reading their translation of Tolstoy's novella Hadji Murad. And I actually think their translation has some charm to it. Many people love this translation, and it ultimately comes down to personal taste. I ended up preferring Constance Garnett's translation of Chekhov rather than Pevear and Volokhonsky, which most people would disagree with. So I think you will still love the story :)
Aww, thank you so much. I'm planning an audiobook atm, and have a podcast called Hardcore Literature. We also have tons of Anna Karenina lectures over at the book club :) www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature
Your video is great especially when you end with become raptured with Anna Karenina. We analyzed it in Serbia in 4 th grade of High School for a whole year .
Currently reading AK, there was one tiny tiny part I didn’t understand. When Dolly was visiting Karenina on the country side, where Wronsky is building the modern hospital and Anna is trying to preserve with books. Wronsky asked Dolly to convince Anna on writing the letter to Alexy to get the divorce. Anna is telling Dolly that she doesn’t want anymore kids and that she talked with the doctor about it, is she hinting at an abortion she would consider? Tolstoy is not specific what Anna is saying in that moment to Dolly and it made me be a bit difficult to relate on the reasoning of Anna… if you know exactly what I mean and this secret will be lifted in the late 7th part or in the 8th part, than just tell me so and don’t spoiler please, but if not please give me your take on that part 👏🏾
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Ahh, yeah, there's plenty of untranslatable nuances in the dialogues, as expected. It was fascinating to have the Russian explained a little deeper, all the tones and manners and voices of the original that gets partly lost in English. I had the P&V translation which was a blast to read. In general, Tolstoy, especially Anna Karenina, is enough a reason to learn Russian.
God! As a native Russian speaker I was like “why Kitty ? Why Betsy? Why Stieva”… now I read comments and I realise that the English speakers have hard time remembering Russian names, pet names especially like Aleksei=Alyosha.
Is there anywhere to get a list of the characters' names? I am also interested in the audion version you mentioned but have not been able to understand the reader's name.
Levin in the haystack was alright but the election near the end part of the book was a rough patch for me - I knew if I didn’t read that whole section in one sitting I wouldn’t pick it back up lol
Love all your tips but I cannot bring myself to write in my books, so I do keep notes but in a separate notebook. As great as marginalia is for researchers, I don’t think anyone will ever be wanting to know my thoughts on AK :) Still, I love your videos Ben!
I've recently returned to keeping extensive notebooks myself, Daniel :) I certainly understand not wishing to mark one's books. I remember the first time my friend cracked the spine of one of my books. I had to hide how distressed that made me. And I would personally love to know your thoughts on AK!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy will be happy to share my thoughts with you…but don’t hold it against me - I’ve opted for the Bartlett translation over PV. I find the PV a little too clunky.
I am Portuguese and here, in Portugal, we also have a couple translating Russian books and one of them is Portuguese and the other is Russian, like the couple that translate to English 😄
I'd say persevere anytime you meet Levin, I put the book down when he started talking nonsense about the poor workers. I don't understand how people like Levin so much, he's not that great, neither his rants.
It’s not a difficult read, I do find the length a bit tiresome though. and no offense to him, but I don’t care about the details of Levin’s farming pursuits loool
Could you share with us the editions you have? You pointed towards them and made a comment but did not go any further. That white one looks beautiful. Also I don't really like your comment about Tolstoy being a "raging misogynist". Insertion of your personal prejudices are not necessary or needed. If you were taught that from your education that's fine. But that doesn't make it necessarily true. A characterization of someone like that can be the same said for you 100 or 200 years from now out of bias and cultural differences, and from a relative perspective. Just please keep that in mind, and be neutral on your commentary about authors. Remember, the history is always written by the victor and there are two sides to every story. Most schools have very left-wing liberal teachers inserting their doctrines and that was a glaring showcase when you made that statement. Thanks.
The Book Club is live! You're invited :) www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature
I don’t think I could go for a run and read Anna Karenina at the same time. I’d feel too superior to the people around me and that can’t be healthy.
Ha!! Yes, well... perhaps :)
That’s funny 😄
I didn’t find it hard to read. It’s actually an easy book. It’s just long.
Just keep a list with the names and families for the first few chapters and consult it after a longer reading break.
where do you get the list?
@@johnnysalter7072 It was at the end of my book. A german antique edition. But you can find it online everywhere. Wikipedia has also one. But be aware you might run into some serious spoilers on these sites! It mentions who's married to who and who becomes the lover of who - but that might not happen for the next 800 pages.
So i suggest you just note that down on a post-it in your book while you read and only consult online family trees when you think you are totally lost.
@@Chechat As I said. It’s not a difficult book. The names are confusing sometimes. Mainly because you have to know some russian nicknames (like Kolja = Nikolai).
What do you think was difficult about it?
@@Chechat
The argument on the necessity of a russian cultural background is just absurd. This is one of the most sold and read fiction books in the world. How arrogant to say that all these people didn’t understand the book. In fact, that’s what makes this book so great. It speaks about fundamental human experiences that everyone can relate to. In no way do you have to have a russian background.
Also we‘re talking about a book and not about a hollywood movie.
Who do you mean by „you guys“? I‘m not american or british. Non-Russians don’t make the connection between Kolja and Nikolai. That is not ignorance, as you seem to imply, but simply a distinct way to shorten first names in different countries.
@@Chechat conceited much?
I have just started reading Anna Karenina. I’m on page 39. I find it amazing, but also intimidating and difficult-difficult not because of its length (though this may be a contributing factor), but because there is SO much substance on every page. The sensations, the characters, the psychology. It all feels so real, almost too real-as if I am a part of the novel or as if the novel were occurring in real life in front of me. I instantly got the impression that this is a book to be savored with delight, not shotgunned in the way one reads a school assignment to get it over with.
Four months ago I discovered your channel and started my "some day I'll read" journey through the classics, starting with Jane Eyre, then moved to Middlemarch , and am now leaving old England for Russia and Anna Karenina.
Anna is one of my favorite books. The introduction had two major spoilers that almost ruined the book for me… This taught me to never ever read introductions again before reading the book (in the end i mostly end up never reading the introductions because of it…)
Thank you. I hope to skip the introduction now.
I'm the same. If I read an introduction I always read it after I've read the book.
Actually, I watched the movie first, and I really wanted more, i wanted to know more about the characters, who they were, what are they thinking/feeling, so I read the first 600 pages in three days. I’ll keep reading. 💛
Wow! What an amazing story :) 600 pages in three days - it sounds like you fell in love with the novel, Sara! Truly a special book, I hope you enjoy the rest of it :)
Does the movie justify the novel totally
Como assim 600 páginas em 3 dias?! 😅 Uau. Podes dar algumas dicas? Eu não consigo ler mais de 1 hora seguida.
Impressionado!
@@miguelmartins4703 it takes practice and gets easier to focus the more you push yourself.
Upon completing the book, I found myself immersed in a profound experience. It was as if I cradled within my hands a portal to another era, a passage that allowed me to traverse the intricate landscapes of people's minds. The narrative skillfully invited me to not only witness but to genuinely feel their joys and pains, to connect with the ebb and flow of their everyday thoughts. I traversed the societal norms of their time, discerned the subtle nuances that shaped their existence, and absorbed the very essence of their collective anguish.
Yet, amidst the tapestry of emotions, what stood out was the unwavering will to live. The characters exhibited a remarkable resilience, navigating the spectrum of suffering and joy with grace. It's undeniably a masterpiece, a literary work that intricately defines the profound dimensions of what makes a timeless and enduring piece of art.
Anna Karenina has etched its place in my heart, destined to be a timeless companion that will stay with me always!
Your passion about the book is heartwarming ❤️
Thank you :)
War and Peace is a great read, and Anna Karenina shares a similar dialogue. I really like Tolstoy's style of writing.
Finished it today. Read it because you have talked about it. What an influencer you are!
Well done on finishing, Carroll. Did you enjoy it? :)
I don’t know how to put this but I’ve never picked up a book and found it’s writing style and narrative so easy to digest.
I’m by no means a learned reader. But this book is in my opinion simply brilliant.
I started reading with trepidation, being my first Tolstoy (I’d read the first book of War and Peace but no more), but after a few pages realised this would likely soon be my one of my favourite novels.
Maybe it’s easy to be put off by the multitude of characters and even more so their many names; but Tolstoy reveals the individual characters so deftly through the passage of their thoughts, that their inner workings become more real to you than their outward embodiment.
I read a footnoted Pevear-Volokonsky translation and can’t recommend it more highly.
Thanks for the tips Benjamin!
I went with Rosamund Bartlett's version. I was debating with this or the P&V's translation, but ultimately decided with Bartlett's because the Hardcover edition was too beautiful to pass up.
It is indeed so beautiful. I have three copies of that Bartlett version. The Oxford clothbound of Crime and Punishment is beautiful too - deep red with a blood-spattered axe on the cover. Love the whole series.
I am so excited to read this book! I've had it on my bookshelf for a while now and haven't gotten the courage to pick it up. I am starting it now and would love to listen to you lecture for each section!
Amazing! I hope you enjoy it, Madison :) Definitely will put some dedicated lectures per section out - hopefully soon!!
I just came across this video after reading the book and I’m very happy I did🙂 I actually loved the haystack section. Maybe something to do with the fact that I like gardening and working with soil too, but the section went passed like Levin was probably feeling, the feeling of timelessness, and it got stuck in my brain like I actually worked with the peasants and so satisfied. English is not my native language, and so I had to look up what scythe is and how it works, and also some other farming words, but that helped me to kind of submerge myself into the scene.
Thank you for the video, I definitely will reread the book over and over!
This has swiftly become a favourite scene of mine too :) I love how you've described it! It sounds like you have fallen deeply in love with the novel!
I also really enjoyed sections of this book that went off on the farming methods and the place of the peasants in agriculture. It's not even that I find these subject matters that enthrawling. I think I just liked spending some 'quality' time with Levin. I felt that in these ' boring' moments that he was talking directly to me. Kind of like he was taking me aside and I got a magic copy of this book with some extra pages.
Hadji Murad is the perfect introduction for new Tolstoy readers. I was only really aware of his 2 most famous epic novels, it's great to see the same quality of writing with a smaller page count.
Thank you for this man! I was gifted this book for Christmas and just started reading it. After the first few chapters, I was already agreeing with many of the things you are talking about. And now, it's nice to hear someone else explain the reasons why I want to read the book in the way you recommend.
Haha, the 'Levin in a haystack' was my favourite section!
Ha! I must reread it!
Whait, what happend in that section, i've forgott
I actionally liked that part. I was more struggling with the last bit after Anna died.
@@luisaah5707 Spoiler alert! haha!
hOw?
Reading it now. 50 pages in. First Tolstoy I have read and the reading is very easy. The last 2 books I read were Brighton Rock and Brideshead Revisited and I found both a bit unnecessarily ' clever' to the extent that it made the reading at times difficult. The words just drip off the pages of this book like honey. I understand everything he says , there is no verbosity , he doesn't seem to feel the need to be smart for smarts sake. The characters are becoming real. Looking forward to the rest of this book. Seems to me the greatest writers make a complicated difficult story easy and the medicores do the opposite. Kinda the same as good and bad mathematicians.
I love that, Ross - "the greatest writers make a complicated difficult story easy and the medicores do the opposite." Perfectly put. I'm so with you on that!
Couldn’t agree more.
I love the passion your voice. I must admit I haven't read all book, I stopped at the sixth part. I will definitely pick it up again and reread it from the beginning.
That you, Rut :) We're kicking off the Anna Karenina Book Club in a few days, you might want to get involved. We're also reading Crime and Punishment and many others: cutt.ly/xjRJwBf
@@BenjaminMcEvoy is the link valid? It doesn't seem to work...
@@rutolteanu3828 My apologies! Please try this one: cutt.ly/nkTRPMY
@@BenjaminMcEvoy no worries! Thank you a lot!
I do agree with you that there is no rush to read these type of masterpiece....
I liked the Levin in a haystack section. He's an athlete in the zone there. Later when he goes hunting, he's like an athlete choking.
The section I really had to plow through was Levin attending parties in Moscow just before the birth of his son. Really seemed aimless. But now I think that's what Tolstoy wanted.
Ha! I loved it too - but I find readers can be torn on these sections. His interior is riveting, but some are more drawn to the overt conflict with the Anna narrative. Totally agree with Tolstoy wanting that - there's a lot of examples of this sort of thing in his writing. Like Levin being late to his own wedding - has no real bearing on the story or character even, just a frivolous detail from Tolstoy's own life, and yet the book would suffer if it were removed.
This video inspired me to read Anna Karenina. I've just come back to watch it for reassurance because I'm at the 'Levin in a haystack' bit. Thank you for saying it's a struggle, I've loved the rest of the book but this section is a bit less interesting. I will persevere! 🌾
Yes!! I'm so glad you're going to persevere :) You know, some people love that haystack bit. And, on a reread, it became the best part of the book for me. But it definitely can be a slog - it's worth getting through it!
I have 200 pages to go of Anna Kerenina and I reckon I might upset a few people ? I keep getting one word that drops into my head as I read it and I mean this word in it's best sense and not as a pejorative. The word is 'NICE'. I have started putting my reading into 3 categories , morning , afternoon and evening. Anna is a morning book , it starts my day off in a good natured way. I NEVER read this book thinking I have to read a certain number of pages and I quite easily get draw in and 1 hour passes like 1 minute. I don't find any suspense , horror , bad manners , intrigue. What I get from the book are little snippets of myself wrapped up in each of the main characters and I find the different perspectives of the world through Levin and Kitty's eyes as touching and at times laugh out loud funny. I think this book belongs on that statistical bell curve. If your are ,say , under 16 it's kind gonna go over your head , if you are over 50 (married with grown up kids) then I feel your gonna wish you had read it when you were 20 , 30 or 40 years old , if you are 20 ,30 , 40 and trying to work out the world of adult humans then this would be a great book to read. Not yet finished it but I feel that re-read of this will happen. Just now it gives me a warm glow and I look forward to picking it up in the morning but it doesn't drive me , amaze me , make me anxious or scared or provide any major insights in to life the universe and everything but it makes me very thoughtful and puts me at ease. PS - my afternoon read would be Count of Monte Cristo and evening would be Bram Stoker's Dracula or Shelley's Frankestein.
You should start a book club. I'd like to listen to your interpretations.
Thank you :) I do indeed have one: www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature
Started reading the book in November, 2022 and still reading ... And enjoying the process :) and thank you, Benjamin ❤
I like your videos and some of your reading tips stick with me. Particularly your tip in this video about reading slowly, and letting the book linger with you for a while before moving on to another. I've always done some of that but lately, I've really been taking my time with Notre Dame de Paris, writing, blogging, re-reading parts of it, just plain thinking about it for a good two weeks after I finished it. Now I'm going really slowly through the Epic of Gilgamesh, just a chapter or two a day, deliberately not rushing it.
Sometimes when I linger with a book like this, I wonder, shouldn't I be moving on? But your tips have been encouraging for me at such times. And it's just so true, how much more you get out of a book if you take it in slowly and even let it continue to take up your time after you read the last page.
Thanks as always!
Thank you for this. AK has been on my TBR for a very long time and these were just the tips I needed to get started.
Enjoy! It's a great book :) My favourite.
Levin and Haystack! wow. I'm amazed how you nailed it. Almost tossed the book there, but continuing after watching this clip. Thank you.
Great video, thanks so much! Just started listening to the audio version by Maggie Gyllenhaal, which I think is the Constance Garnett version, and was looking for tips or themes to look out for as I’m loving it so far. Will probably read the P&V version as well. One thing I love to do with the audio version is that I often end up listening to a certain section multiple times - which feels easy and relaxed since all you have to do is listen!
Love your passion for Anna Karenina
I agree, I love the Levin parts, it really stuck with me. Because I love Vivian Leigh I thought I would love the Anna part of the book but I actually love the Levin story. in my opinion, no movie yet has captured the real heart and soul of this book.
Omg wish you were my English teacher!!
Thank you, Olivia!! :) This is the most flattering compliment I could receive.
Through Levin, Anna, Kitty and the other characters (or people, because you can feel that they are alive...Tolstoy is a GENIUS) you can see points of Tolstoy's philosophy ...and he's one of the best, if not the best. He's a giant, a god...a pagan and a good christian saint in the same time. He's in the same time a great creator and nihilist. He's like Nietzsche, but in my opinion more mature.
I just ordered a copy, I’ll be sure to come back to you once I start it!
Nice one :) I'm excited for you - let me know what you think!
Starting Anna Karenina tonight, looking forward to starting this journey.
Nice one :) Happy reading! Let me know what you think!
All Levin parts were top notch for me. Always had to lough about something when Stepan showed up. Got really annoyed about Anna, when she got into the book addiction, because I can relate too much and was evaluating my life a bit.
All his characters are incredible...incredibly real and Tolstoy is philosophizing during the time he is writing! He's a beast. He's the best. He can touch the human soul
@@ΓεώργιοςΓαλανάκης-ν5ω currently reading his last novel: the Resurrection! What short stories of him do you recommend?
This is such a great video. Thank you! I am about to embark on the book.
Thank you :) Let me know how you enjoy it!
Started reading it, doing the ebook + audiobook combo. I got the audiobook narrated by Maggie Gyllenhal (mouahh, chef's kiss) and i'm pretty sure she's reading from the Constance Garnett translation, as it's pretty much identical to my ebook version.
Still very early on, but i'm in love so far.
I just finished reading for the second time and just loved it! Could you please recommend me a good Tolstoy biography, please?
Rosamund Bartlett and A. N. Wilson both have great ones :)
I just picked up a good quality copy of AK at a thrift shop for $1. However, it is the David Magarsback translation. I don't have much money to spend on books, or I would have bought the P & V translation. Is the Magarsback translation so poor as to be a waste of time to read? Would I be better off getting library copy of a better translation?
Nice one, Tom! This is why I love thrift shops so much :) David Magarsback's translation will work perfectly, so my advice is to dive right in :)
Just finished this last night, and I loved it. I actually ignored the names completely. I had an idea of what everyone looked like instead, and when their scenes came up, I carried their picture in my mind. This worked (at least for me) with everything except the voting chapters!
Totally agreed 👍. This is one of the the best way to tackle characters.
2025 I’m going to start at the beginning with your BookClub and from what I can see this is the first one
Exactly what I was looking for. THANK YOU.
Glad I could help :) Have fun with Anna Karenina, Tejal!
I was into the first fifty pages of the book and decided it was one of the best 'experiences' of my life, so much so that I chose the deadest part of night to read it, savoring every bit and reading oh so slowly. Tolstoy is that writer that, as I fanboyed to my friends, will write everything there is inside one room, dust and dog included (very similar to Flaubert). But in this case, you will actually care about the dog (there really is a dog scene in War and Peace). Anyways I lost my book, a Constance Garnet translation which I enjoyed very much, maybe it's the old-school part of me, so I bought a Volokhonsky-Pevear translated one, and finished that one. It ended up being my favorite book of all time and to this day I keep gushing to my friends about Tolstoy, pushing them to read him because only I seemed to have had the patience to read such fat books. Most of them have read Dostoevsky whose books are 500-800 pages (add another 200 and you read Tolstoy! A little more patience!)
I am reading the Constantine garnet one and it is going extremely well.
It has 797 pages.
Could listen to Anna Karenina while exercising, could anglosiase names, could write anything in the book, could read it over time, drink with the book, and so on.
Anna Karenina so many versions of the same exciting tale Watched the beautiful Vivien Leigh in the Korda movie version which l loved and lead me to the book Now reading Constance Garrets translation of the book ( the Pevear&Volokhonsky version is winging its way to me) your excellent review has given me the fire to read and enjoy Excellent videos well done
Thank you for this. I'm at the Levin in a haystack section (P and V translation) and can't seem to get through. I was wondering if I'm the only one, and found your video. I will read on!
It's worth perserving, Nasim! I feel your struggle but do keep going, and let me know how you find it :)
Good tips. Read it with another person is the top one. I read the book to my wife while she did the cooking. It was a great experience, we laughed so much about how real the book is. One minute I'm Levin, she's Kitty; the next minute she's Anna, I'm Karenin. The book has it all.
Benjamin, you are really a very special person.
Aw, thank you, Erika :)
Can you recommend which English translation to read for Hadji Murat?
Not to be off topic but is the translation by Pevaer/Volokhonsky the best for all of Tolstoy's work?
Okay, great! I have the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation.👍
Amazing! :)
I’m in 150th page and as you said i will not go and check it on the internet and i will just live the book
And thanks a lot for making a sweet video like that
Having never read Tolstoy (but with a cautious interest in giving it a try at some point!), which would you start with, Anna Karenina or War & Peace?
Both are masterpieces :) But for a newcomer to Tolstoy, I would personally recommend starting with Anna Karenina.
Thank you Benjamin. I am inspired to read this book with an audiobook to keep me on track. On Amazon their audiobook for Penguin is in Russian. Do you, or any of the commenters know of an English audiobook for the Penguin translation? If not, what is the next best translation that has an English audiobook?
I read War and Peace last year and can't wait to pick up Anna Karenina this year. Sadly Pnin by Nabokov spoiled it for me..
So much of Anna Karenina is about Levin, but the two (Anna and Levin) barely meet....
Hey I am an audience from Taiwan. I’m wondering by any chance can you also talk about great Japanese authors such as Yukio Mishima?? Will be much appreciated because I cannot read in my first language but English and I find it not accurately translated when encountering Eastern literature; wondering how a native speaker who really dives into the world of words might decode and interpret those translated texts by Japanese authors other than Haruki Murakam.
I love all the Levin parts
Darn. I bought the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation before watching this video. Is that translation good?
I'm currently reading their translation of Tolstoy's novella Hadji Murad. And I actually think their translation has some charm to it. Many people love this translation, and it ultimately comes down to personal taste. I ended up preferring Constance Garnett's translation of Chekhov rather than Pevear and Volokhonsky, which most people would disagree with. So I think you will still love the story :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy oh excellent, that’s a relief! Thanks!
Yes, I an reading this at the age of 11 and it took me a like two three weeks for one part 😃
Wow! Great job :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy thanks 😅
Iam starting today
You should give lectures on each book.
Also your voice would be really nice for an audio book.
Aww, thank you so much. I'm planning an audiobook atm, and have a podcast called Hardcore Literature. We also have tons of Anna Karenina lectures over at the book club :) www.patreon.com/hardcoreliterature
currently reading it!! i have the woodsworth classic maude translation version… do u think its good?
Benjamin you are amazing ❤
What about the Wordsworth editions?
Wordsworth Classics is the Maude Translation...that's the one I'm reading....
Your video is great especially when you end with become raptured with Anna Karenina. We analyzed it in Serbia in 4 th grade of High School for a whole year .
Its good I decided to watch this video before starting the book 🙌🏻
Currently reading AK, there was one tiny tiny part I didn’t understand. When Dolly was visiting Karenina on the country side, where Wronsky is building the modern hospital and Anna is trying to preserve with books. Wronsky asked Dolly to convince Anna on writing the letter to Alexy to get the divorce. Anna is telling Dolly that she doesn’t want anymore kids and that she talked with the doctor about it, is she hinting at an abortion she would consider? Tolstoy is not specific what Anna is saying in that moment to Dolly and it made me be a bit difficult to relate on the reasoning of Anna… if you know exactly what I mean and this secret will be lifted in the late 7th part or in the 8th part, than just tell me so and don’t spoiler please, but if not please give me your take on that part 👏🏾
The ‘Levin in a haystack’ bit 🤣🤣🤣 So true 👌🏻
I read it over a few months in English with a Ukrainian friend who read it in Russian.
That sounds like a wonderful reading experience! My only regret is I didn't have someone to explain the nuances of the original language to me!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Ahh, yeah, there's plenty of untranslatable nuances in the dialogues, as expected. It was fascinating to have the Russian explained a little deeper, all the tones and manners and voices of the original that gets partly lost in English. I had the P&V translation which was a blast to read. In general, Tolstoy, especially Anna Karenina, is enough a reason to learn Russian.
@@joshthompson9390 Wonderful stuff. I absolutely agree. I would love to read Turgenev in the original too!
God! As a native Russian speaker I was like “why Kitty ? Why Betsy? Why Stieva”… now I read comments and I realise that the English speakers have hard time remembering Russian names, pet names especially like Aleksei=Alyosha.
Is there anywhere to get a list of the characters' names? I am also interested in the audion version you mentioned but have not been able to understand the reader's name.
Would anyone know if the Signet Classic Translation of Anna Karenina is any good?
I would like to hear about the utility of boredom in literature!!!!
read the levin and the haystack scene and then immediately fell asleep. at half past eleven. it was weirdly interesting though
Haha! I relate... :)
I've laid out a month to read AK as my only read.
Levin in the haystack was alright but the election near the end part of the book was a rough patch for me - I knew if I didn’t read that whole section in one sitting I wouldn’t pick it back up lol
For how long was Levin gone from the moment he was rejected by Kitty until he returned to Kitty and asked for her love a second time?
I've heard you mention at least twice that Tolstoy disliked Shakespeare. Is there any writing of his where he explains this?
Yes, check out his 'What Is Art?' - wonderful work in its own right and goes some way to illuminating Tolstoy's theory of art :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thanks for the amazingly fast response.
Love all your tips but I cannot bring myself to write in my books, so I do keep notes but in a separate notebook. As great as marginalia is for researchers, I don’t think anyone will ever be wanting to know my thoughts on AK :) Still, I love your videos Ben!
I've recently returned to keeping extensive notebooks myself, Daniel :) I certainly understand not wishing to mark one's books. I remember the first time my friend cracked the spine of one of my books. I had to hide how distressed that made me. And I would personally love to know your thoughts on AK!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy will be happy to share my thoughts with you…but don’t hold it against me - I’ve opted for the Bartlett translation over PV. I find the PV a little too clunky.
Whats the best movie version? Series?
Currently reading Anna Karenina - would love to bounce ideas off folks
Rusian names are so difficult. It's like everyone is Aleksey.
Or as I wrote over them "dave" "Craig" and "Adam" lol
I like your energy
I am Portuguese and here, in Portugal, we also have a couple translating Russian books and one of them is Portuguese and the other is Russian, like the couple that translate to English 😄
Who are they?
@@RPEpsilon-lc4vm Nina Guerra and Filipe Guerra
i literally left the part where levin goes farming fucking hated it , will get back to it
Incredible book
At 395 and an easy boo and a beautiful one too.
Everything Levin was top for me
Thankfully because Serbian is my native tongue the names are easier,but still have problems with some names
I guess I bought the correct version
I am thinking about reading it after watching a Anna Karenina movie.
I'd say persevere anytime you meet Levin, I put the book down when he started talking nonsense about the poor workers. I don't understand how people like Levin so much, he's not that great, neither his rants.
Maude's war and peace was awesome, I hate P&V
It’s not a difficult read, I do find the length a bit tiresome though. and no offense to him, but I don’t care about the details of Levin’s farming pursuits loool
I don’t find any of Tolstoy’s characters compelling. I’m stuck in the Swiss section of the book. I far prefer other Russian authors to Tolstoy.
Could you share with us the editions you have? You pointed towards them and made a comment but did not go any further. That white one looks beautiful.
Also I don't really like your comment about Tolstoy being a "raging misogynist". Insertion of your personal prejudices are not necessary or needed. If you were taught that from your education that's fine. But that doesn't make it necessarily true. A characterization of someone like that can be the same said for you 100 or 200 years from now out of bias and cultural differences, and from a relative perspective. Just please keep that in mind, and be neutral on your commentary about authors.
Remember, the history is always written by the victor and there are two sides to every story. Most schools have very left-wing liberal teachers inserting their doctrines and that was a glaring showcase when you made that statement. Thanks.