Tough book!?

Question

I'm reading Anna Karenina right now and I think it might be the hardest book I've ever read in my life!!! I'm enjoying it, but it's hard to keep the characters straight because the author calls them by different names several times throughout the book. Have you read the book? Did you find it as difficult as I do? Any tips on getting through it?

Answer 1

I had this difficulty getting through War and Peace. There are about five million characters in it, and they're referred to by different names. I had a notebook where I wrote down all the names, and all versions of the names, and who the characters were. It's a bit more extra work, of course, but it makes it a lot easier and is definitely worth it.

As for names, here's an example of a Russian name and why it has different versions: (made up name)

Alexander Alexeevich Smirnov:

-first name Alexander, or Sasha (short version of the name); if this is a girl, it would be Alexandra, or Sasha for short

-middle name Alexeevich. This means his father's name was Alexei. If this was a girl, it would be Alexeevna

-last name, or surname, Smirnov; a girl would be Smirnova

You generally refer to people by first and middle name, so Alexander Alexeevich, or Alexandra Alexeevna - this is being polite.

Familiar, you would call them Alexander if you are a parent/relative, or Sasha if you're a friend or sibling.

(Today traditions have changed a lot, of course)

Hope that helps.

PS All classical literature books are generally difficult due to a different vocabulary and many characters. A foreign book is even more difficult due to different names, traditions, writing style, etc. So it's ok to have trouble with it, it takes patience, but it's always worth it :)