There were 6 of us at Kellie's on Friday to discuss Anna Karenina. First and foremost, thank you Kellie for hosting! The food was so yummy and your home was beautiful. If you weren't there, we missed you.
Our discussion of the book was interesting but we all felt there was just too much to discuss in such a short period of time. We definitely did not do this book justice. There have been a few times when we have read a classic and thought that without some advanced study and thought topics, we did not grasp the full meaning and impact of the novel. This was certainly the case with Anna Karenina. We should have broken the book down and had questions to review throughout. Food for thought before our next classic!
Just a little recap for us all....
Themes (taken right from the internet)
1. There were huge social changes taking place in Russia at the time Tolstoy wrote this, making the historical aspects of the novel as important as the personal and psychological aspects. We see a battle between old patriarchal values and new liberal values.
2. Blessings of family life. Family novels were popular in the early 1800's in Russia but were out of fashion when Anna was written. Tolstoy presents an idea that family limits individual freedom. However, we are shown that faith, happiness and family life go hand in hand.
3. Philosophical value of farming. Wow, did we read a lot about farming (if you didn't skip these parts.) Levin, one of the main characters in the book, is a devoted farmer. Tolstoy uses him to portray farmers as more fulfilled and happy than their urban counterparts. There is a delicate balance between personal labor and trust in the forces of nature.
4.Interior monologue. We discussed this in depth. Some of us really disliked this aspect of the book. There was tons of internal dialogue and many thought it was monotonous. This was a new style of writing at the time and was supposed to create more empathy with the characters....not sure if we got that!! We did find the radical change in thoughts to be almost comical. For example, a character might be happy and in love, then the next minute feel that they were not loved and life was not worth living. Then would come the "make-up scene" and all was forgotten. Wow!
5. Forgiveness. The idea of Christian forgiveness recurs regularly in the book and is one of Tolstoy's main topics. The central action of the plot is sin, forgiveness is the potential resolution. What is our attitude toward the characters (primarily Anna) and how much do we forgive them?
6. Death. The protagonists face death numerous times. It is seen as an escape from problems that are faced and also as an "inescapable end to existence", calling into question the entire meaning of life.
Ok, these themes would have been good to discuss last Friday. Why didn't I see this before today? Oh well, if anyone wants to reread with these insights in mind, feel free!
On a personal note, I loved this book when I read it the first time, about 20 years ago. I fully expected to love it again. What happened? I really didn't love it this time around and think that I must now be jaded! I didn't feel as much emotion and connection to the characters and wasn't sad this time when I was done reading it (would it ever end?) It's interesting how our own life experiences affect our perception of books and most likely everything we encounter. Hmm...
Ratings: We gave it 2 2.5's and 3 3's for an average of 2.8. Here were a few of our comments: Didn't enjoy it, not compelled to keep reading it, would not recommend. Gave it a 3 because it was a classic. Needed to have more information about the book so we could understand it more. Gave it a 3 because I understood where the book was coming from and the time period but could not relate for today.
Ok, our next book is "Their Eyes Were Watching" by Zora Neale Hurston. We are meeting on Friday, April 11th.
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