I've read this book once before but missed so much of the "subtext" the first time around. One of the key things I picked up on this time was the contrast between Anna and the character of Levin or "Kostya" as his wife Kitty calls him.

Both of them struggle with relationships. Levin is initially rejected by the woman he loves but eventually they are married. Life isn't perfect, but they make it work. Anna, a beautiful woman by all accounts, is married with a son and has all but given up on making her marriage a happy one. So she takes a lover - young Count Vronsky. The two of them have a child together (a daughter) and Anna eventually leaves her husband and son behind to live with Vronsky. In both relationships, there are moments where Levin and Anna suspect that the one they love is being tempted to stray or that they have already strayed. Levin takes the matter in hand by asking a flirtatious young rogue to leave so that things are not awkward for his wife. Anna simply throws herself under a train.

Relationships are NEVER easy. Anna herself is a perfect example of how outrageous our expectations can get in relationships where we feel that the other isn't doing enough work. When we begin to see ourselves as the "most wronged" in the relationship, it's easy to play the victim.

I LOVE this novel. The characters are fully developed and very believable. They are so complex in their creation that you go from loving them in one chapter, being frustrated with them in the next and nearly ready to give up on them in the following! Or perhaps it's just the opposite - you move from frustration to adoration! The length of the novel means that it is not for the faint of heart but lovers of great classic literature simply must have this title on their "literary bucket list".