And let the Tolstoy begin...

"All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"

Chances are, even if you discover that you loath Leo Tolstoy, you'll make it to this sentence in Anna Karenina. I think that perhaps Tolstoy himself must have come from an unhappy family to give us this line - it sounds a little bit like an outsider's perspective on familial bliss, doesn't it?

According to NovelGuide.com, AK follows the tribulations and triumphs of three separate families, throughout its bulk (and when I say bulk, I mean BULK. If you have a copy of AK on hold from the library, let me prepare you for a bit of a shock...it's not exactly a light read [sorry, couldn't resist]. But I'm sure we can make it through together...in about 2 months). So, I would expect there should be plenty of opportunities for conversation and debate on AK - and its relevance to today's unhappy families - as we read. (Check in about every week or so for new posts).

My edition is about 850 pages long (I've got the lovely - and easy-to-read - translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, which I highly recommend. You can get it on Amazon.com right now for $6-$11), so I will allow about 20-30 pages daily to finish it in under two months. Every hundred pages or so, I will publish a new post on whatever interests me in the days' reading. Please check in as you read, so you can blog about your own thoughts as you delve into Tolstoy's vision of 19th century Russia. If you have a post of your own that you would like published (other than comments on my posts), or any questions, please e-mail them to me at blogmistress@hotmail.com. For blogging (adding comments on my posts), just click comments at the bottom of each article, and follow the prompts. I believe you can comment anonymously; however, you can follow this blog much more easily by clicking (what else!) follow and using a Google e-mail address. And that should be it! I can't wait to start...