To think that Anna Karenina would have been less unhappy if she hadn't fallen in love with Vronsky?

[SwedesInACape]

I think everyone who has embarked upon/is thinking of embarking upon/is a bit bored with their husband or partner should read the book or at the very least watch the film. All that pain.

I only ever carried the book around, Swedes. When I was 17. Didn't everyone?

No help here.

Happy New Year Wilf

I got very impatient with her when I read the book. Wanted to yell 'what on earth do you think you are doing?!' Or 'it'll all end in tears, mark my words...'.

[as in Not Actually Read It]

Is this a comment on something In Particular, or an attempt to reassert the intellectual credentials of us, er, 'remaining' MNers?

Oh gosh it's years since I read this but isn't it just impossible for her to live with the mediocrity of family life? (or could be mixing up with mme Bovary) Some people have to have things happening don't they, no matter at what cost, I think some people just can't exist in the humdrum-ness of it all.

surely that was the main point of the story?

Am going to try and persuade my book group to read this.
They will hate me

No Mrsmike, its a great book, they'll love it

WIlfsel - you know how it is. New year's eve in front of the TV. (We watched The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (on DVD) but I could tell DP would have rather watched Meet the Fokkers .) Wondering how life became so shit.

So does it mean she just couldn't help it, some people are just like that?

Yes, doubtless less unhappy but it wouldn't have made such a good book, would it?

The pursuit of happiness brings one nothing but misery.

I know its great but maybe rather long for them.

Haha Swedes to pursuit of happiness - is that a quote from the book or did you make it up?

Ah. I see. We sat in front of Jools Holland. And today we rowed.

I feel your pain.

But I would have chosen Meet the Fokkers too - it is genius!

LOL.

Yes. She would have saved herself a lot of trouble.

LOL at not such a good book. But we don't really believe 'good enough' is good enough, do we?

Do you suppose Relate should give the book and film to everyone seeking counselling? It would fairly take the thrill out of an affair. The way AK and Vronsky argue towards the end is truly vile; most marriages at least have the decency to take a good few years to descend to that.

She was a foolish woman. Generally, past a certain age, there is no harm in that, provided she'd been a reasonably sensible one who realised she was a fool and thereby lived to control her folly.

She didn't.

Therefore, I lost patience with her.

Oh ha ha ha Swedes.

I think she would just have been happier if she hadn't had such a self-hating fuck-up of an author. He made a woman who was just a projection of how much he hated himself for having sex.

But at least he chose a less nasty way for her to kill herself than poor Emma Bovary got lumbered with.

I thought you meant Olive from On the Buses!

Erm I know what you mean Swedes, and I found her self-indulgence a bit difficult to deal with (ditto Mme Bovary).

Good point, Threadworm!

Thank you, Quattro, you've put your finger on my chief objection to AK and EB.

Same here, QC. I seriously wished Mme Bovary had swallowed that arsenic by about page 100 and spared us her insufferable stupidity.

About the only thing he wrote that was worse was that story about the parrot.

Jesus wept!

AK has helped me appreaciate a New Year's eve 'in', tapping my heels to a White Heather show.

But I'm worried I've just become middle aged.

Well I do apprecaite Mr Vronsky's advances but Jonathan Creek is on this evening and besides Mr & Mr Swedes are going to have a Waitrose Vegetarian Thali for two. We are both looking forward to it. Tremendously.

Threadworm. I really like Anna Karenina.