Review: ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy

This is a long book. More correctly, it sprawls. The title character is only one of many foci in the book, and while her adultery is a major plot, the book spends as much time on several members of her extended family.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky noted that Tolstoy concocted long, detailed histories for even minor characters, and that shows in the life that infuses such characters. The downside to this obsessive detail is long books that move very slowly.

I'm glad I made it through this once, but I can't see doing it again. I recommend it if you like the idea of several interconnected romance novels. If that doesn't sound good to you, just be glad I read it so you don't have to.