William Faulkner was asked what the greatest novel ever written was. He said Anna Karenina. He was asked a second time. He said Anna Karenina again. He was asked a third time and said he supposed he meant it, though he'd allow Don Quixote as an alternative.
Anna Karenina is 349,000 words. It is entirely free to read. And Faulkner was probably right.
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What Anna Karenina Is Actually About
The famous opening — "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way" — introduces a novel that is less about one unhappy family than about the relationship between personal happiness and social structure.
Anna Karenina is introduced as a woman of great charm and intelligence, married to a senior government official whom she respects but does not love. When she meets the cavalry officer Vronsky at a train station — the novel is full of trains — both of them understand immediately that something has begun that will not end well.
Anna's affair is not the novel's only subject. Tolstoy runs in parallel the story of Konstantin Levin, a landowner and somewhat awkward intellectual who is in love with the young Princess Kitty Shcherbatsky. Kitty initially rejects him for Vronsky; Vronsky leaves Kitty for Anna. The consequences ripple through both plots across eight parts.
The two storylines are thematically complementary: Anna pursues passion and finds destruction; Levin pursues honest living and finds something quieter but more sustaining. Tolstoy's sympathies are clearly with Levin, but his characterisation of Anna is so empathetic that the novel resists the simple moral the structure suggests.
How Long Is Anna Karenina?
| Reading speed | Time to finish |
|---|---|
| 200 WPM (slow) | ~29.1 hours |
| 250 WPM (average) | ~23.3 hours |
| 350 WPM (practised) | ~16.6 hours |
| 500 WPM (RSVP) | ~11.6 hours |
One hour per day at 350 WPM: seventeen days.
Reading Strategy for Anna Karenina
The Levin sections — many first-time readers skip or skim the chapters following Levin, finding the Anna sections more immediately dramatic. This is a mistake. The Levin sections contain some of Tolstoy's finest characterisation (the mowing scene in Part 3 is one of the most celebrated passages in Russian literature) and are essential to understanding what the novel is arguing. Read them at full attention.
The Anna sections — naturally compelling and easier to stay engaged with. Use warpread's RSVP mode at your comfortable pace here.
Russian names — as with all Russian novels, characters have multiple names (formal, diminutive, patronymic). Take a few minutes at the start to note the main characters: Anna Arkadyevna Karenina (Anna), Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin (her husband), Count Vronsky, Konstantin Levin, Kitty, Stiva Oblonsky (Anna's brother). A printed character list is useful for the first hundred pages.
The ending — read Part Eight at your slowest pace. The final chapters, which resolve Levin's storyline, are among the most philosophically important passages in Tolstoy. Don't rush them.
For the full speed reading technique, see how to read faster.
Where to Read Anna Karenina Free
- warpread library — instant reading, adjustable speed, RSVP mode, no account
- Project Gutenberg — Garnett translation, EPUB and text
- Standard Ebooks — best-formatted free EPUB
After Anna Karenina
Tolstoy's other major novels:
- War and Peace — longer, more epic in scope, equally essential
- The Death of Ivan Ilyich — a short masterpiece by the same author, can be read in an afternoon
For the full list, see the 50 best free classic novels to read online.
Continue Reading
If you enjoyed this guide, here are the best next steps:
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For tips on building reading speed with books like this, see How to Speed Read: 7 Proven Techniques — covering RSVP practice, subvocalisation reduction, and how to track your progress.
If you're looking for more books at a similar level, warpread's free library has 70+ public domain classics ready to read in your browser, organised by author, genre, and difficulty.
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