Anna Karenina isn’t a difficult book.
But it is long, and Tolstoy’s great work is perceived as a difficult book.
So here are a few tips for how to read Anna Karenina and make the work much more enjoyable and easy to get through, from a lover, teacher, lecturer, and book club host for the book.
1 – Get the right translation of Anna Karenina
There are plenty of translations of Anna Karenina to choose from.
The most popular translations are from:
- Louis and Aylmer Maude
- Constance Garnetta
- Pevear and Volokhonsky
Choosing the right translation of Anna Karenina is the difference between getting great enjoyment out of the drama and abandoning the book in boredom and frustration.
The best translation of Anna Karenina is the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation – this one.
They have done the best job of realizing what Tolstoy would sound like in English.
2 – Make the names easier for you to remember
There are a lot of Russian names.
If people are honest, that’s the real reason they think books by Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekhov are difficult.
Here’s a trick for that:
Pronounce the names however you want.
I remember as a kid mispronouncing Hermione’s name. It worked for me, and I was able to enjoy the book without agonising over the name once I had plumped for a pronunciation.
You could also keep a notebook (these ones are my favourites) with the list of character names and who they are as they enter the novel (this is a legitimate technique worth employing for reading huge multi-cast novels).
3 – Get the audiobook
You could also try listening to this great audiobook version of Anna Karenina read by Maggie Gyllenhaal if you want someone to take care of the name pronunciation for you.
As Anna Karenina is such a long book, I divided my reading experience up.
I’d read a few chapters before bed, and I also listened to the audiobook on my runs in the park. It helped get through the book quicker.
4 – Take your time
People like to brag about how quickly they read these big books.
Oh, it took you weeks to read Anna Karenina? You must be stupid. Hah hah! I read it in three days.
Um, no you probably didn’t.
Sure, if you spent 8 hours all day for a week straight, you’d get through Anna Karenina, but the real pleasure and joy in reading these big books is taking your time with them (and rereading them).
Live with the book.
Befriend the characters.
If it takes you months to get through Anna Karenina, good!
It took me half a year to read Anna Karenina, and I got so much out of it.
5 – Take a break
Anna Karenina is a long book, so break it up.
There’s no shame in that.
My girlfriend put it aside and read The Silence of the Lambs halfway through the book to regather energy.
I took multiple breaks and literary detours.
If you’re getting tired, put the book aside for a week or two. It will still be there when you get back.
6 – Make notes/marginalia
You can learn a lot about life and human relationships from reading Anna Karenina.
Tolstoy’s great work is probably the book most likely to sharpen your empathy.
So fill up the margins with your thoughts along the way.
Make an index and collect themes.
Underline your favourite quotes.
There will be a lot of them
7 – Persevere through the Levin-in-a-haystack bit
You’ll know what this means when you come to it.
Just understand that Tolstoy has a real reason for making a huge whack of the book mind-numbingly boring.
There is a pay-off.
And it’s all worth it.
So please persevere.
8 – Understand that Anna Karenina is like life itself
Tolstoy is God
And the characters evolve.
You’ll grow to love certain characters and despite others.
How you feel about characters will change.
That’s the genius of Anna Karenina.
Enjoy it.
You’ve been plopped down in 19th century Russia among new friends and family.
Be present.
9 – Don’t read spoilers
Stay away from book summaries.
Avoid book discussions about Anna Karenina online.
Until you’ve finished the book.
The less you know, the better.
10 – Get a book buddy
The main reason I loved reading Anna Karenina so much is because it was a shared reading experience.
One of my best friends recommended the book to me and implored me to read it slowly. And now we’ve got so much to talk about.
I also read it simultaneously with my girlfriend.
So we’ve been having a six-month-long book club on this great work, which has brought us closer together.
And the journey’s not over for me.
I’m going to do a book podcast and series of lectures on Anna Karenina and Russian Literature to open up the conversation with you too.