Anna Karenina Readalong, 2023

[StColumbofNavron]

Following the success of W&P in 2022, we’ve decided to stick with Tolstoy for 2023 and read Anna Karenina, one chapter per day.

For newbies: we simply read one chapter a day and discussion is allowed with a broader chat at the end of each section. Tolstoy’s chapters are nice and short, flicking through average length is about 4 pages.

I have used the Penguin Classics (2001, 2003) trans. by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky for the breakdown below. More on editions below.

There are 249 chapters in this edition and the book is in 8 parts taking us to 14 September with a break of a day between each book. Hopefully, irrespective of the edition you pick the finishing of each ‘book’ will hopefully align.

Book 1, ch. 1-34 (1 Jan-3 Feb)
BREAK, 4 Feb
Book 2, ch. 1-35 (5 Feb-11 Mar)
BREAK, 12 March
Book 3, ch. 1-32 (13 Mar-13 Apr)
BREAK, 14 Apr
Book 4, ch. 1-23 (15 Apr-7 May)
BREAK, 8 May
Book 5, ch. 1-33 (9 May-10 Jun)
BREAK, 11 Jun
Book 6, ch. 1-32 (12 Jun-14 Jul)
BREAK, 15 Jul
Book 7, ch. 1-31 (16 Jul-15 Aug)
BREAK, 16 Aug
Book 8, ch. 1-29 (17 Aug-14 Sept)

Some info on different translations and editions in the links below. Maud, Aylmer and Pevear and Volonkhonsky all present once again.

Wikipedia here
Tolstoy Therapy
New York Times
Some thoughts on Pevear and Volonkhonsky contenting the Russian Lit market

For reasons best known to me (largely foolish) I decided look up and work it all out on my phone instead of laptop, so apologies for any inaccuracies, typos etc. I am certain I have forgotten something, got my numbering wrong somewhere, but hopefully broadly correct.

All that remains is to say welcome back to those who are remaining committed to Tolstoy, thank you to those who organised and helped the last read run smoothly and welcome, do come in to those joining.

p.s. I would love to see the covers of your books.

I'm really enjoying this section - so much is familiar (fortunately my dd is well past the age of having to be sat down & got through holiday homework!). I'm glad Kitty & Levin managed to talk & Levin realised how unreasonable he was being.

A tiny bit ahead, but Veslovsky's outfit sounds hilarious 😆

I've been struggling with these chapters because (although the mushroom story was hilarious!) I can't keep on top of who all these people are with their multiple monikers.

And with characters called Vasenka and Varenka in the same chapter it's almost like Tolstoy is deliberately trying to be confusing!

Who was it that Levin wanted to pay a visit instead of the bloke he is jealous of?? Have we met him?

Kitty's dad

Vasenka Veslovsky. Bit of a tongue twister!

I thought Kitty's dad was there... oh dear!

Kitty's Dad has more sense. Enjoying a good book with a glass of something nice.

Levin is annoying me. Kitty glances at another man in passing and he goes off in a huff of jealousy and has a toddler tantrum. I would tell her to run a mile (if she wasn’t already married).

And Kitty is barely allowed to move without someone telling her to be careful. I bet the servants are seething as they probably deliver a baby and return to work the next day.

I think Levin wanted Kitty’s dad to come (sensible nice man) and instead a random new person has appeared who is a bit of a dandy.

19/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 8

•	Before the women get up, all the men go out to the cart and small carriage.
•	Veslovsky is dressed in shiny new clothes with a shiny new gun.
•	Oblonsky comes out in old clothes with an awesome gun.
•	Veslovsky resolves next time to emulate Oblonsky's style, realizing that's what real sportsmen look like.
•	Levin is late because he is talking to Kitty, mostly making sure that she has forgiven him for his overly sensitive behavior the night before.
•	Levin is extremely happy to be on his way to shoot. He's eager to beat both Oblonsky and Veslovsky.
•	
•	Levin, contrite about being so jealous of Veslovsky, is especially nice to the man today, and finds him agreeable, except for his idle attitude towards life.
•	The men set off with their guns and two dogs, Krak and Laska.

20/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 9

•	The group comes to a small marsh that Levin does not want to stop at, but Oblonsky and Veslovsky insist on going down to shoot snipe there.
•	Levin stays with the vehicles.
•	It's a big loss of time.
•	They continue; Veslovsky does something stupid with his gun.
•	At the second marsh, Levin again wants to continue forward, but Veslovsky and Oblonsky want to go down.
•	Levin again stays with the vehicles.
•	
•	After Veslovsky kills a snipe, he trades places with Levin.
•	Levin is just aiming at a woodcock when Veslovsky interrupts his shot.
•	When Levin turns around, the horses are in the swamp instead of on the road. Veslovsky had been watching Levin's shot instead of watching the vehicles, and he's let them get mired in the marsh.
•	Levin is further annoyed when neither Veslovsky nor Oblonsky help him get the horses back on the road.
•	Finally, they break for lunch.
•	After lunch, Veslovsky insists on driving the horses to make up for his mistakes. Levin is afraid that Veslovsky will strain the horses, but he succumbs to the happiness of his companions.

21/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 10

•	Veslovsky drives too fast, and the hunting party gets to the marsh while it is still hot out.
•	Both Oblonsky and Levin start concocting ways to separate themselves from Veslovsky.
•	Oblonsky suggests that Levin and Veslovsky go off to the right, while he goes to the left.
•	They separate.
•	Levin's first shots go off badly, and he shoots poorly for the rest of the day. He even stops expecting success, which Laska (the dog he's hunting with) seems to realize. She stops trying as well.
•	Levin and Veslovsky go off to meet Oblonsky, but they come across some peasants who invite them for vodka. Levin suggests that Veslovsky join them, and he does so.
•	Even without Veslovsky, Levin still shoots poorly.
•	When he finally meets up with Oblonsky, Levin has shot five birds and Oblonsky has shot fourteen.

Sorry stewarding at Glastonbury and signal is awful will post summaries as and when I can!

Oh wow @DesdamonasHandkerchief - enjoy!

22/06/23

Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 11

•	Levin and Oblonsky meet up with Veslovsky at a peasant's hut. Veslovsky is in a merry mood.
•	None of them feels like going to sleep, so they tell stories.
•	This evolves into a discussion of luxury and privilege. Levin argues against money dishonestly obtained (i.e. money obtained without having to work for it), while Oblonsky says he's being too harsh.
•	Levin thinks that it's unfair that a peasant on his land makes fifty rubles, while Levin makes five thousand, but Oblonsky points out that Levin isn't about to give his estate away to the peasant.
•	
•	This reflects the hostility that has lately characterized the relationship between the two brothers-in-law.
•	Levin wants to go to sleep in order to ensure an early start in the morning, but Oblonsky and Veslovsky go carousing. Veslovsky in particular has found a pretty maid with whom he wants to spend the night.

Thank you Tarahumara, it's quite chilled at the moment but gets manic tomorrow so I'm going to post the weekends chapters whilst I have some signal and time:

Warning Spoilers

Friday 23rd June
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 12

•	Levin wakes up early, but he can't rouse his companions. So he resolves to go hunting by himself. He grabs his gun, and walks to the marshes.
•	He and Laska commune as the dog begins flushing snipe from the bushes. What follows is a long descriptive passage of the marshland and Laska's experience hunting with Levin.
•	A boy who sees Levin shooting in the marshes runs up and says there were ducks there the day before, a sign of approval that makes Levin so happy that he manages to shoot three snipe, one after another.

Saturday 24th June
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 13

•	Levin heads back around 10 a.m., having successfully killed twenty animals. He is also pleased to find a note from Kitty.
•	This good mood lasts even though one of his horses is overdriven (thanks to Veslovsky), and there is no more food left (also thanks to Veslovsky).
•	They shoot again in the evening, and then drive home pleased with how the day has gone.
•	Levin feels no animosity towards Veslovsky, despite the way he has persistently spoiled this hunting excursion. In fact, he feels positively friendly towards Veslovsky. Levin heads back around 10 a.m., having successfully killed twenty animals. He is also pleased to find a note from Kitty.
•	This good mood lasts even though one of his horses is overdriven (thanks to Veslovsky), and there is no more food left (also thanks to Veslovsky).
•	They shoot again in the evening, and then drive home pleased with how the day has gone.
•	Levin feels no animosity towards Veslovsky, despite the way he has persistently spoiled this hunting excursion. In fact, he feels positively friendly towards Veslovsky.

Sunday 25th June
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 14

•	In the morning, Veslovsky is given a tour of the estate, of Levin's horses and stables and grounds. He and Levin even do some gymnastics together.
•	In the drawing room, Veslovsky goes straight to Kitty and chats with her, which, for some unnamable reason, gets to Levin.
•	Kitty's mother, meanwhile, is trying to interest Levin in all the preparations for the birth of his child. They're moving to Moscow for the two months prior to the birth, and she's concerned with finding the right doctor.
•	Levin feels the same way about the preparations for the upcoming birth as he felt about preparations for his wedding, that the sacred is being profaned by all this talk of logistics and practical considerations.
•	
•	Thanks to Veslovsky and his mother-in-law, Levin's previous good mood has evaporated.
•	Veslovsky is talking to Kitty about Anna's situation (in very general terms). Kitty feels extremely uncomfortable, because she knows that Levin is feeling jealous, but doesn't know how to extricate herself from the situation gracefully.
•	When Levin goes off to meet with a mechanic, Kitty looks at him guiltily (confirming all his worst suspicions).
•	Kitty follows him, and tells the mechanic to wait while she talks to her husband.
•	They keep trying to find somewhere private to talk, and finally settle on going into the garden. A peasant sees them, and compares their expressions to those of people trying to flee some tragedy.
•	The two of them talk of how happy they were prior to Veslovsky's arrival. They both recognize that there has been something indecorous in Veslovsky's behavior, but Kitty protests that it is not her fault. Five minutes later they are reconciled and happy.

Have fun @DesdamonasHandkerchief, half my friends are there this weekend - all a bit full on for me these days!

Did anyone get tickets for the Bristol Old Vic Anna Karenina live stream? I got a ticket for tonight and really looking forward to it.

Wow, Desdamona, that's so cool that you're at Glastonbury! I love the idea of you messaging Tolstoy chapters from Glasto 😁

And StColumb, enjoy the show! It looks great. I was tempted but kind of want to finish the novel first before I see stage or film versions of it.

I got very behind with reading, but have caught up now. Those ending chapters in Part 5 really were magnificent. Tolstoy portrays Anna's relationship with her son so convincingly. And her shaming at the opera... I don't even know what to say, it was heartrending. The Gradesaver analysis of Part 5 struck me as very insightful as well, as some of you pointed out. I particularly liked this sentence: The Marxist critic Engels used Anna Karenina as an example of how the "deceits, failings, and miseries" of bourgeois marriages are less the fault of individuals than of the ways societies organize sexuality. If that's Engels' argument, then bring on the Engels, I say!

As for the current chapters, I'm not keen on hunting scenes, but the way Tolstoy gives us the perspective of Laska the dog in ch. 12 is brilliant.

It is hard work being married to Levin. If someone posted on Mumsnet, my husband is jealous when I talk to another man and sulks to punish me, everyone would say run.

Home, having got up at 5:30am to avoid the traffic! What an amazing 5 days but bloody knackered now!

26th June
Anna Karenina Part 6, Chapter 15

•	After going back to the house, Levin goes to find Dolly. She is punishing her little girl named Masha for misbehaving—we never find out exactly what Masha did.
•	Dolly finally asks Levin to speak his mind.
•	Dolly points out that everyone has noticed Veslovsky hitting on Kitty.
•	Levin feels better immediately, and says that he'll force Veslovsky to leave.
•	On his way to find Veslovsky, he orders a servant to prepare a carriage to go to the rail station.
•	
•	Levin finds Veslovsky in his room, and tells him that a carriage is ready to take him away.
•	Veslovsky asks for an explanation, but Levin refuses. But when Veslovsky remembers Levin's big muscles and sees the look in Levin's eyes, he packs up and leaves (spouting French left, right, and center—a further sign, in this book, of his affectation and lying ways).
•	Oblonsky tries to talk Levin out of it, because it's so impolite and ridiculous to kick out a guest out of jealousy, but Levin won't change his mind.
•	At the end of the day, everyone is jolly except for the elderly Princess, who doesn't like Levin's brash behavior. Even so, when Levin thinks over his conduct, he realizes that he'd do the same thing again if it became necessary.

Welcome back Desdamona! Enjoy catching up on your rest!

James I agree, jealousy and sulking are not appealing traits. That said, Veslovsky is a CF and I'm not sorry to see him being kicked out. I don't think he has any regard for women at all, whether they're peasant women or Kitty. Also, it can't be easy for Levin having his house crammed with the PILs and family, ha.

Hope you get a good rest, Desdamona!

Earlier on in these chapters I felt that Levin was jealous and overreacting for no reason. But then I was slightly thrown when everyone else seemed to agree that Veslovsky was hitting on Kitty (I had assumed it was in his imagination), so Levin's reaction seemed a bit more justified. I don't blame him for kicking V out!