Anna Karenina

These days I’ve finished reading Anna Karenina. Yes, I did it. The only thing I regret is knowing how it ends, I hated that I knew. The only thing that everyone knows about this book, whether they’ve read it or not is that Anna kills herself by throwing herself in front of a moving train. But what drives her to do it? Yes, it must be love, but how and why? I admit I didn’t like Anna and I didn’t understand her, and the last hours of her life were unbearable to me, difficult to read, to take in, very strong pages, at times I felt I couldn’t breath and I hated her, but it’s easy to watch and judge. I felt she was ill, burdened with despair, yes jealousy can drive someone crazy.  I read the book slowly trying to avoid the end, trying to postpone as much as possible what I knew was about to happen. But there were parts I enjoyed: Levin’s everything for Kitty (love, emotions, marriage proposal, first and second), Levin’s hunt, Vronsky’s horse race, Varenka and her “love” story. The scything passage in book reminded me of my grandfather, the way he sharpened his tools, the way his body moved when scything, the smell of hay. The working days in the country side don’t seem too different from those times to recent times in Romania. I liked Dolly, devoted to her children, forgiven of her husband, but not blind anymore. And I really liked the old Prince, Kitty and Dolly’s father. He loves his daughters and comforts them best he can.  I don’t know what happens with Vronsky, what Kitty feels when she hears about Anna, how Dolly lives her life, what happens to Serioja, but it’s a treat to imagine different scenarios.