Anna Karenina

When I saw our summer read for Book Club was Anna Karenina, I nearly threw up.  I thought, "You've got to be kidding me!"  I had no desire to read something so long, and I had heard so much about it, the huge number of characters, and the complexity of the plot that I had no interest.  But, since it was assigned, I had to read it.

Within a chapter, I was hooked.  Now maybe I just had an easy translation of it, but I found it delightful (until the last four chapters that became a philosophical mess rather than a novel - somewhat like John Galt's 63-page speech but shorter, and I skipped that, too).  And the numbers of characters, though very large, was not daunting at all, since many of them just slipped into the story and then slipped out, much like people in our lives.  

Anna Karenina seemed more like  a soap opera than anything.  Each chapter could be a 30-minute show during the day, and it could last for several years, I am sure.  There is adequate drama, plenty of philandering, and enough intrigue to keep a person interested throughout the whole book.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the book . . . and at Book Club I will have the opportunity to hear Judy Goodpasture tell me what I missed during the read!