The group discussion about Anna Karenina that flipped my take on Tolstoy

I was at the Maplewood library book club last Tuesday, and we got into this heated debate about Anna leaving her son. I always thought she was selfish, but then Margaret pointed out how the novel shows she had no real choices in 1870s Russia. It hit me that I was judging her by modern standards instead of the world she lived in. Has anyone else had their opinion on a classic totally changed by a group discussion?

2 comments

2 Comments

miam1117d ago

My buddy Rachel had a similar thing happen with "The Great Gatsby." She used to say Gatsby was just a creepy stalker with too much money. Then her book club talked about how the whole story is really about class and the American Dream falling apart. She came out of that meeting saying she felt Sorry for him for the first time. It's wild how a good discussion can flip everything you thought you knew.

cole_robinson17d ago

Your friend Rachel's story hits close to home for me @miam11. I had the exact same thing happen with "1984" back in college. One semester I read it and thought it was just a depressing story about a guy getting crushed by the system. Then a buddy of mine broke down how it's really about language controlling thought and the slow death of truth. It completely changed how I saw the book and even how I look at news headlines now. A good conversation really can turn your whole understanding upside down.