I'm going to finish Part 4 tonight...so my thoughts for specifically the Part 3 are a little foggy since I didn't write anything out while or right after reading, so I decided to...cheat. Here are some questions I found on Oprah's website. If you see something that touches on a thought for you, go ahead and answer. Obviously if you have other thoughts, do share.
1. Spend some time thinking about and talking about Levin's brothers, Nikolai and Sergei. How do they come together to form a family? In what ways to they challenge each other to make good choices and live good lives...and in what ways to they seem to hinder this process for each other?
2. What do you like about Levin's nurse and housekeeper Agafya?
3. How do you feel about the fact that Levin has taken on the work of a laborer, mowing right along with the muzhiks? How does this endear him to you as a character?
4. Levin's brother Sergei comes to visit him in the country. What do you think about their interactions? Do you get the feeling that one or the other of them is a stronger or more "noble" man? What specifically gives you that impression?
5. On Page 277, Levin and Kitty see each other for the first time after the debacle of his initial proposal. Tolstoy writes, "There were no other eyes in the world like those. There was no other being in the world capable of concentrating for him all the light and meaning of life." What do you think of this passage, and Levin's feelings towards Kitty despite all that has passed between them?
6. What do you think about the fact that Karenin considers and rejects the possibility of a duel with Vronsky for Anna? Do you think the fact that he initially decides on divorce instead is reasonable?
7. Trace the ways Anna has thought of her affair with Vronsky up to this point. Discuss what Anna says makes her happy and unhappy about her situation. Do you think she is being realistic or naive?
8. Do you feel Anna's relationship with her brother and his wife Dolly is a good one? Discuss this dynamic and how you think it may play out as the book progresses.
9. On Page 302, Vronsky is described as a man who "hated disorder." If this is the case, why do you think he allows such a disorderly situation as his affair with Anna comes to fruition? Think about the dichotomies set up by the author with regard to their passionate infidelity.
10. Both Stiva and Karenin are pillars of Russian society, and shown to be very adept at their jobs and in working with people. Is this interesting to you—and if so in what ways? What do you learn about the Russian business/diplomatic world from Karenin and Stiva?
"There were no other eyes in the world like those. There was no other being in the world capable of concentrating for him all the light and meaning of life." (Levin of Kitty)
ReplyDeleteCan I just say, Yow.Zah.
So now I’m 24% of the way through the book…still in part 2…anyone with me on everyone is dealing with a broken heart of some sort?
ReplyDeleteI'm still in part two also. I seemed to have reached a lull and am finding it easy to get distracted. Any suggestions for those parts of the book that can literally put me to sleep faster than a hot toddy and some tylenol pm?!
ReplyDeleteI've just been setting/bookmarking where I'd like to read each day. Also, if I try to really understand or picture what's being described, it seems a little more interesting? Normally I would just become sort of glazed over and my mind would wander. When I found that happening, I would back up and try to visualize what Levin was describing. Otherwise, I guess just push through! :)
ReplyDeleteKeri that’s hilarious! I can’t count the # of times I’ve abruptly woken up while “reading” part 2…Amelie (our 4 year old) thought my snort-to-wake the other day was funnier than Sesame Street. I’ve been just putting it down and trying to come back to it an hour later, but I’m still in part 2 so I wouldn’t take my advice. Good luck to you and happy napping, we will get through it, eventually!
ReplyDeleteI am in chapter 30 of part 3....part 3 has many tedious chapters...I just don't know a better word for them. However, in addition to reading the book, I also listen to the audio cd's while in the car, which for us, is a lot. The narrator is great and he really brings the dialogue to life. It is also a different translation than the one I am reading so that makes it interesting as well.
ReplyDeleteI should also mention that my 2 year old just had surgery today and the before and after of this have been time consuming. Not sure when I will finish part 3.....Although my son's ENT, the surgeon who did his surgery, was an English professor before going to med school so he was very intrigued when he saw that I was reading Tolstoy. He commented on character development, especially in the book, "War and Peace". He said that screenplays used to be written by English profs, or something, and that now, movies stink because there is no good dialogue or character development....so I asked him what the last good movie he saw was and he said, "True Grit" (he is LDS, I might add) so we went to see that and, yes, it was quite good! Some very memorable lines in there.....
ReplyDeleteI like the questions you have posted. I think the topics that have captivated me most, however, have to do with questions 3 and 4, regarding Levin.
ReplyDeleteI do think it is interesting that his brother comes to visit and has all these noble ideas about Levin and his relationship with the peasants and the responsibilities he thinks Levin has toward them..... and yet he finds it odd and even appalling that Levin spends all this time with them, doing the work they do.
At one point there is the description of putting a certain farming technique/philosophy to the test both theoretically AND practically. It seems to me that Levin's brother is all theory, and in a self-righteous way, while Levin really wrestles with the practical application of any theory, especially if it seems, at first, contrary to his own "interest".
What has captivated me the most, however, is the idea initiated by Sviyazhsky, and/or the books he lends Levin....."you have to lower the level of the farming and interest the workers in its success."
This is such an interesting point on so many levels, down to, how do I get my boys to keep their room clean? Well, are they interested in the success of our household and family as a whole? I don't know. If not, how do I get them to be? It comes down to the question of motivation, what motivates individuals to WANT to contribute to the greater good? What drives individuals, no matter what their station, to be devoted to the success of something bigger than themselves?
One more thought about the length and tediousness of this book....wasn't it written during a time when literature did not have to compete with movie theaters and home dvr's? Did folks have more time to delve into a good book without distractions in the form of children's soccer practices or catching up on episodes of "The Office" and "30 rock"?
ReplyDeleteJenn---I want to comment on your comments and great questions and hope to soon. I've been a little under the weather the last few days but am on the mend...
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm sure CERTAIN people had plenty of time to read. Even if they had children, apparently they spent very little time with them. Ahem. I'm looking at you, Anna K.
ReplyDeleteAfter switching translations I have finished part 3. A kind and patient friend gently suggested again that I switch translations… so I finally did and HOLY CRAP it’s like reading a different book!! I highly suggest you check what translation you are reading, especially if you are falling asleep after reading three sentences. You want the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation. Thanks Brooke!
ReplyDeleteI have been collecting sentences and bits I’ve especially enjoyed and rather than explain why they touched me I thought I’d just put a couple out there for you all to enjoy, or possibly enjoy again.
…because Sviyazhsky was unquestionably an honest, kind, intelligent man, who cheerfully, energetically, ceaselessly did things highly appreciated by all around him and most certainly never consciously did or could do anything bad.
And this little gem…
Both morally and physically she had changed for the worse. She had broadened out, and her face, when she spoke of the actress, was distorted by a spiteful expression. He looked at her as a man looks at a faded flower he has plucked, in which he can barely recognize the beauty that had made him pluck and destroy it. And, despite that, he felt that when his love was stronger, he might have torn that love from his heart, had he strongly wished to do so, but now, when it seemed to him, as it did at that moment, that he felt no love for her, he knew that his bond with her could not be broken.
To me, as a first time Tolstoy reader, I see why he is one of The Greats.
War and Peace anyone?
And Brooke I’m in 44% of the way through…finally in part 4.