What an absolutely dogshit ending to an otherwise incredible book. We made it through 800 pages for this?? I still love you Tolstoy but seriously wtf bro.

This discussion covers parts 6, 7, and 8 of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

Anna's unhappy ending: Look how they massacred my girl. Is this a tale of a wanton harlot who got what was coming to her, or a good woman driven mad by society's strictures? What is it exactly that Tolstoy disapproves of about Anna's actions? How much would he hate her revival as a feminist icon? Is Aella the modern Anna K?

Levin's leap of faith: Is there any way this isn't totally unredeemable bullshit that ruins the end of the book? Sadly, no. Nevertheless we explore Levin's 'undefined but significant ideas'. Should we turn our brains off, and disregard reason and philosophy in favour of tradition? Is Christianity the final word in moral progress? Cam is more sympathetic to the leap of faith: if we replace religion, what do we replace it with?

Final thoughts: Jordan Peterson has a line about Dostoevsky being the great psychologist of the 20th century and Tolstoy being the great sociologist. Is he right? Where do we land on this book overall? Would we recommend it wholeheartedly? What are our favourite things about Tolstoy? Do we have to read War and Peace now?

...and, if you can believe it, more

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) hot takes (00:05:30) Anna’s unhappy ending (00:24:26) the feminist reading of Anna vs society (00:29:55) Parallels with the Kitty/Levin arc (00:44:05) Vronsky’s teeth discourse (00:49:35) Levin’s depression and rejection of reason (01:05:40) Cam makes the case for the leap of faith (01:11:43) Dostoevsky vs Tolstoy: who’s the better psychologist? (01:19:12) Would we recommend this book?

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We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• The Library of Babel - Jorge Luis Borges
• Butcher's Crossing - John Williams

Levin is a turbo nerd who runs away from social awkwardness to theorise on agrarian economics or whatever. Sound like anyone you know??

Anyway he finally touches grass and gets the girl.

Meanwhile we are falling out of love with Anna. It feels like something bad is gonna happen? The foreshadowing is very subtle, only experts in Media Literacy will be able to catch it.

On Levin's journey away from intellectualism: Is the peasant life really that appealing? Does doing good need to come from the heart, not from the mind? Rich gets mad about Tolstoy basically shitting on effective altruism; benny offers a partial defence.

Nikolai's gruesome death: Kitty steps up and shows her worth. Is she meant to be the paragon a good Christian, or a good woman? Rich is now terrified of dying and wants to be euthanised.

Anna & Vronsky's empty self-gratification: Tolstoy literally accuses Vronsky of jerking himself off with the whole 'amateur artist in Italy' pose. Anna gives in to passion, abandoning her 8yo child in the process. Seems bad. We notice we are falling out of love with Anna.

Karenin's emotional repression cracks: First he gets big mad and is on the verge of joining the manosphere. Then he has a proper Christian moment and forgives both Anna and Vronsky; a move so powerful that Vronsky attempts to kill himself in shame. Then he backslides a little but it's progress. We are warming up this cold fish.

This discussion covers parts 3, 4, and 5 of the book.

Tune in next week for the finale. Can't wait to see how this ends.

CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) yes I'm mad (00:02:35) Levin's journey from cerebral dork to touching grass (00:11:32) Leave effective altruism alone! (00:22:45) Trouble in paradise for the newlyweds (00:27:45) Nikolai's gruesome death as an argument for euthanasia (00:37:18) Karenin finally gets in touch with his emotions (00:51:48) Anna and Vronsky empty self-gratification spiral (01:03:51) Listener mail: Dawkins on Kafka redux

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We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• Anna Karenina finale: parts 6-8
• The Library of Babel - Jorge Luis Borges

Benny decided it was time for the boys to read Leo Tolstoy's 800 page whopper Anna Karenina. Today we discuss parts 1 and 2 of the novel.

Rich immediately fell in love with all the characters. He wants be Levin, be with Anna, and be... something with that majestic horse Frou Frou.

On the famous opening line: Are happy families alike? Are any of Tolstoy's families happy? Rich argues the line is actually about statistical mechanics.

On Stepan and Dolly: We meet our first unhappy family. Are they meant to be nodes who connect everyone else? Will they stick in there and make the marriage work?

On Levin: Rich identifies with Levin, warts and all. Is this Tolstoy's mary-sue character? How did he fumble the bag so hard with Kitty? Speaking of, why can't Benny bowl without the gutters up?

On Anna: Rich falls in love with Anna almost as quick as a Tolstoy character. Her elegance, intelligence, and her black dress. He loves her even more than Levin but Frou-Frou the horse gives her a run for her money. How does Tolstoy write such likeable characters? Is Anna's burgeoning relationship with Vronsky love? What to think of her cucked bureaucrat husband Alexei Karenin, who's obsessed with propriety? On fiery passion vs duty. CHAPTERS

(00:00:00) AI rates our podcasting skills (00:05:00) Opening line: are all happy families alike? (00:11:58) Benny history snippet: Freeing the serfs (00:13:44) Stepan and Dolly (00:20:10) Meeting the famous Anna Karenina (00:27:15) Levin crushing on the Schchchcherbatskys (00:36:15) Anna and Vronsky (00:50:23) Alexei Karenin in denial (01:01:23) Where's all the sex? (01:14:00) Tolstoy's writing

WRITE US:

We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question.

NEXT ON THE READING LIST:

• Anna Karenina - parts 3-5
• Anna Karenina - parts 6-8
• A new book!