ANNA KARENINA by LEV TOLSTOY (Article) - 4/28/2016 8:38:48 AM
Your thorough and detailed analysis of why Tolstoy's Anna Karenina has become a classic is most interesting. For most of the people of the world, the life and culture of Russia in the 19th century was relatively unknown until Tolstoy, Chekhov and other Russian authors' works were translated into other languages, most probably French first, followed by English.
A view into this distant and unknown land and its people was most inviting. And, coupled with the social and philosophical underpinnings of the colorful characters and their problems that was the genius of Tolstoy, so well described by you, make the book timeless.
That's why I like historical novels either written from a very good research of the life and times or written in those life and times. In that sense, reality is better than fiction.
Ron
