If Tolstoy had had an iPad, perhaps "Anna Karenina" would never have been written, or at least its first line might have been, "All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family uses iPads."
If Tolstoy had had an iPad, he would have spent his time chatting with Dostoyevsky, reading Turgenev's post, changing his profile picture, and watching YouTube videos. But then again, what if Tolstoy had used his iPad to write his novels? His patient wife Sofya would have been saved from copying the 1,440 pages of "War and Peace" seven times by hand.
But everything happens for a reason, and the reason of this blog is to remind you of this gem of Russian literature, widely considered to be one of the greatest works of literature ever written. "Anna Karenina" is a complex novel in eight parts, with more than a dozen major characters, and spread over more than 800 pages (depending on the translation and publisher), typically contained in two volumes. It deals with themes of betrayal, faith, family, marriage, desire, Imperial Russian society, and rural versus city life.
If 800 pages seem a little too much for you, why not try the 8-part film adaptation? It's all in Russian which adds to its authenticity, and it has English subtitles and plenty of commercials to allow for toilet breaks.
