Thornfield Hall on “Anna Karenina”

I ignored the Russians most of my life. I did start the first chapter of War and Peace just before my arrest; we had a copy around the house when I was a kid. Then, I took after James Joyce, instead. I tried reading Crime and Punishment as part of my Twelfth Grade Honors English class, but resorted to Cliff Notes. No, it took prison to get me to read the Russians. Particularly, when I decided to learn something about the novel.

I found out I really liked the Russians. Tolstoy is brilliant.

But if you have doubts, I refer you to The Fate of a Charming Woman: Love, Sex, and Drugs in “Anna Karenina”. I think all the points are on point - the novel is more than Anna, Anna is dangerous, so is Vronsky, and both will break your heart.

sch 11/24/22