Anna Karenina Animated Summary

In case you had a hard time getting through all 868 pages of Leo Tolstoy's iconic novel, Anna Karenina (published in 1877), here is an animated summary!
Animation and narration by Chloe Matonis (@HardlyWholesome).
Songs: Russian Winter and The Bogatyr.
I still recommend reading the novel, it's delightful. Enjoy!!

[@clarew3781]

Calls him “Farmer Jesus” but he literally doesn’t believe in God til the second to last chapter......... no joke

[@studyfolia842]

I know right?? He explicitly calls himself an agnostic when he proposed to Kitty :"

[@alantiralarc6198]

She's a total snob ignorant of other cultures. She probably can't even speak French or Russian and yet somehow has an opinion on their cultures

[@mrs_mothra547]

That's what I came here to say lol

[@daria-ioanaalexe2203]

I love that I wanted to write a comment about that, but I see that other people have done their reading as well

[@beareed4293]

ran to the comments for this, did not disappoint levin was literally an athiest for 7 parts

[@LisaDeRose]

can i just say it'd be so fun if you applied this format to other classics! it was so funny and clear at the same time haha

[@ChloeMatonis]

Thank you! I'm working on it! Ethan Frome and Dracula coming soon.

[@FlyingPeluche]

Well, the format is fun but the inaccuracy and misrepresentation of the book is too much

[@ShinyToonMonster]

The author watching this like: 👁👄👁

[@tolerateitbridge]

Let's ask him shall we 🎤⚰️

[@ldryas]

I was going to read this until you said the horse race part is like 200 pages🐸

[@antoniagermanotta3294]

BAHAHHA MEEEEE same...

[@reubenmj]

If you want to read it you read it,you dont talk- Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Tolstoy

[@sydneycunyus3077]

lol it's not. It just may be a boring part to some people but I enjoyed it.

[@thegrimmreader3649]

I loooooved the horse part. It’s actually super dramatic and edge of your seat-ish. As is the scene when Anna almost dies.

[@anthropolis4427]

its not really 200 pages long, that was probably a joke

[@victorialopez3691]

You reduced Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin and his magnanimous character to “stupid Flanders” smh 😂

[@VioletEmerald]

Her husband? Yeah I only know him from seeing the 2012 movie and he was a quite likable character at many points lol...

[@teoyears5939]

3:55 I beg to disagree, to me, Levin’s “illumination” was the part that touched me the most and stuck with me. I loved how insightful his parts were on religion, death and man’s condition. I loved the part when he was working by his men’s side, I felt like I read through it with more pleasure than I did throughout the whole book, because it was so beautiful to see him find himself

[@MagnumBullets47]

But that actually only happens at the very end of the novel.

[@LisaOutrequin]

The Russians really love their peasants. Check out the Idiot, and Love in Chains (on yt, but only 24 of the 48 episodes have English subtitles...)

[@zach6867]

Well yes it’s the uplifting part to Anna’s dragging self destruction which wears you down. If you empathize with characters it’s hard to read Anna’s parts and Levin’s parts are like a nice break

[@cerebrumexcrement]

i remember finding this book so difficult to read back in high school (required, english ap), i dont even know how i bullshitted through my book report. i listened to my classmates discuss the book before class and i was like, okay its about a woman who cheats on her husband and somehow the teacher believed i read it. lmao. thanks for the fantastic breakdown of the novel.

[@ucctgg]

This novel is not primarily a love story, and Anna is not even the main character.

[@CV-iv5sz]

Yeah, Tolstoy just needed an excuse to sell 'his story' somehow.

[@A_Box]

OMG thank you thank you thank you. I would never make it through the first few pages of any of these novels but I always had some curiosity as to what they are about. I especially appreciate the commentary, acting like a guide, you don't just bring up events but let us know what they symbolize. To the extent that a massive text can be summarized in an easy to digest video, you have done a great job.

[@CHarlotte-ro4yi]

Love it! It took me 6 years to get through this book but it really was worth it. Also I really love how Tolstoy made farmer Jesus a progressive philosopher who had quite liberal views considering the time it was written in.

[@eleanorbostick3474]

And he doesn't even like God/ come to terms with him til the very end ;)

[@juneychick]

i am 3/4 through it and ...it's been 14 years. lol i think I stopped after 4 yeears though. book mark is still there. :-)

[@beenrrbenis9378]

read it in 3 weeks :|

[@CHarlotte-ro4yi]

@@beenrrbenis9378 aren’t you amazing?! 😅

[@beenrrbenis9378]

@@CHarlotte-ro4yi Just read for 15 minutes every day. I highly recommend finishing the book

[@adelinas.7335]

I wonder what happened to Anna’s second baby. And did Alexei (stud guy) really love her? Or was she just a conquest to him, and then he was bored? I feel Anna put everything on the line for her lover. But Alexei was not feeling as passionate after she became his conquest. Am I wrong?

[@nchamundi1]

Vronsky truly loved Anna. Anna driven by her ostracization and being an outcast was becoming paranoid. As the book suggests, after Annas death Vronsky was so despaired and distressed he couldn't function normal for few weeks. And then he volunteered for a war in Serbia. He lost his motive to live..

[@lelachilds4306]

Anna’s other baby went with her first husband, Karenin

[@EleanorGrey13]

Yeah in the book they imply that Vronsky wanted to die after she was gone because he loved her so much

[@aizixu6885]

thanks for saving my 800pages of life！good summary

[@ChloeMatonis]

You're welcome! It's a great novel so I do recommend looking at it when you have some time :)

[@komalaarya]

Best summary ever. So so funny and to the point omg

[@ThatMans-anAnimal]

What? It's bad, but that's why tasteless folks like it.

[@Zooropa5000]

I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed at this video! Thank you for your creativity and effort into this.

[@prisci4u940]

Thank you for this synopsis. It was very hilarious. But my favorite character in this novel was Konstantin, "farmer Jesus." And I found his chapters very engaging. More so than Anna's chapters. Deeper and more insightful. Anna's chapters were more colorful but one dimensional in her meditations. Just my opinion:)

[@Kreso191]

Levin's story is so interesting, I can't believe you said it was boring

[@davidschlaefer8078]

It takes a certain intellectual level to find it engaging. Not everything is for everyone.

[@rosegilliland220]

This is so hilarious please I beg you to do a whole series of book reviews like this. My favorite novel is Jane Eyre but I’d love to see you do a review of it like this.

[@ChloeMatonis]

I will when I hit the lottery!! I've been meaning to read Jane Eyre for a while!!

[@TWCH]

This video is insightful, accurate, helpful and totally hysterical. Any you have only 30 subs? WTF? We're doomed. Stobe the Hobo and Ralphie May have hundreds of thousands of subs and they're dead. And they're dead from eating and drinking themselves to death. We are truly doomed.

[@PoserPosse]

Based on the Introduction, 'Farmer Jesus' is based on Leo Tolstoy and I doubt that someone with narcissim would write themselves as so irascibly shy they need someone to guide them through a group of people. This dude is so shy that when he gives his own views he, "spoke as hotly as if someone had spoke out against him." When nobody was bothering with him in that scene. That to me, really doesn't define someone who is so enamored with themselves that they think they're so great. I'd think he was a narcissit if he had based Stepan on himself. But Levin is to Leo in this book.

[@Dan__S]

Here I am, three years after you made this, thinking to myself, maybe I should broaden what I read. Tolstoy is recommended. I get a copy of him and think to myself, maybe a bit of a condensed version will help me through it. So this pops up while I'm driving to the total wine in Albuquerque, and now I will forever have to think of Tolstoy as Mr Potato Jesus as I buy a liter of potato vodka. Somehow, it all connects. Thank you for helping me on my literary journey.

[@uppercutgrandma4425]

Ohh snap, you left out that all the well to do's are corrupt. Also Anna has BPD, her husband isn't leaving her so much as her paranoia is affecting her. Also, Tolstoy wrote as himself during a period of suicidal depression (despite being more than comfortable) so the farmer finding purpose was a cry for deeper understanding in the feilds themselves.

[@TequilaMockingBird91]

She was never married to Vronsky. Therefore, Vronsky was never her “husband”. And while it’s left to the reader’s interpretation, there’s some clues to suggest that Vronsky was indeed unfaithful to Anna.

[@zach6867]

Stop diagnosing characters and you will enjoy meditations on the human condition so much more, you will come to realize people, when you get to know them, are not as simple as disorders.

[@emiliawilson4378]

@@TequilaMockingBird91 WHAT SHE WAS NEVER MARRIED?!?!?! Then why did society condemn her for her lifestyle if she was never married in the first place? This is confusing af 😭😭

[@TequilaMockingBird91]

@@emiliawilson4378 please reread what I said. I said that she was never married to Vronsky. She was married to Alexey. Society condemned Anna because she has committed an affair with Vronsky and has neglected her duties and obligations as a wife and as a mother for a life of passion.

[@josephkoepke1251]

This was 100x more interesting then the book itself. Great job!

[@santiagocamacho6456]

I read the book a year ago, is exactly how I remember it. You just forget when Mr Mc Studman shoot himself when Anna was sick

[@burpeesquad]

This was like the fastest 9 minutes of my life. Stunning explanation

[@TheJosefin123456]

Hey love it, Please do more like this , much appreciated thank you.

[@kimberley9399]

girrrrlllllll, i loved this narration. the tea was hot and you served it with grace.

[@minegerber7487]

Wow this video is great! Can't believe it has almost no likes

[@ChloeMatonis]

haha thank you! I'm a standup comedian who loves making animations on the side. Not too much youtube engagement but you can follow my Instagram @Hardlywholesome if you'd like to support! :)

[@anthropolis4427]

Actually Levin was an atheist (or agnostic) until the very last few chapters of the book.

[@ChloeMatonis]

yes! I originally used the nickname "Farmer Jesus" because my professor told us that Tolstoy was very religious, and he wanted Lenin's character to be allegorical for Jesus. Of course that could just have been my prof's interpretation. If I could go back and change Lenin's nickname I would, since it's confusing in this context. I did not mean to imply that Lenin was deeply religious throughout the novel :)

[@evakostadima3170]

lol I loved every single minute of it !!

[@taizperez3771]

No cause I lost it when you said her debutante was kinda like a quince. Great video!

[@averyace7909]

this is fun! hope you make another videos just like this. thanks for your creativity

[@OLBK]

This was glorious!!!

[@sojournsmythe7627]

very, very funny...thank you. at the ending i felt left high and dry as the fate of voronsky on the turkish front was not revealed. i guess he, as anna, was doomed.

[@jpadilla779]

Thanks for the Cilffnotes! I am ready to read part 2.

[@alpamac1]

More!! That was so much fun!!

[@ChloeMatonis]

Thank you! I'm doing either Pride & Prejudice or Dracula next... If you can imagine, the process is tedious and a bit daunting! 😅

[@alpamac1]

@@ChloeMatonis ❤️🙏

[@iwhomustnotbenamed83]

My favorite book synopsis ever! 😂

[@claudiapcastelblanco24]

I agree with you and so many aspects 👌🏻

[@andrewhoffmann5570]

This is amazing please make more of these

[@vxck1832]

I love how u draw vronsky puahahah

[@salmanshahid8128]

Thank you so much mam. The repetition of farmer Jesus being Tolstoy himself and him being a narcissist totally had me rolling. 😂

[@alyssacook6232]

Summary has about 60%-75% of the book accounted for (though pretty overgeneralized) but misses major themes/the whole point of the novel. If you have to read this book for a class, DO NOT rely just on this summary!!! The novel focuses on psychological/spiritual struggles for meaning in life (esp. Anna's and Levin's) which... are actually pretty important. AND, those 200-page skipped scenes are not 200 pages and are actually important to character growth, fyi. 🤷‍♀️

[@alyssacook6232]

Tbh, even though it's long, there are parts of this book that are absolutely beautiful, and it's worth reading from beginning to end.

[@katie_wishes_you_well]

FARMER JESUS ASKING LITTLE KAT TO MARY HER VIA SCRABBLE WAS ADORABLE I HOW DARE YOU

[@Romcom356]

I am shaking with laughter. That is completely brilliant. Thank you.

[@TruthSayer2007]

Thank you. Saved me from a lotttt of baggage it seems. Lol

[@thomasrowsell116]

I always wondered what happened to count hotty aka mcstud man after Anna aka sexy Anna died? also did mcstud love Anna or was it lust? and was he cheating on her or was it in sexy annas mind?

[@batool2000rox]

In the movie, anna was just paranoid and imagined mcstud cheating. Mcstud eventually gave his daughter to stupid flanders so he (vronsky) can die in the war and hope to reunite with anna again (I heard that - in the book - he didn't speak for about 6 weeks after she died)

[@thomasrowsell116]

@@batool2000rox is it bad that I find what mcsud did so romantic

[@karenshort3880]

LOL You did a wonderful job explaining the book. LOL and You was funny too.

[@user-iv7pn2yu3y]

Kitty is not baby cat, but derived from Ekaterina, her name

[@MyKombucha]

Best. Summary. Ever. THANK YOU! It's getting me through the novel...

[@wiseone1013]

This was helpful I feel enlightened now.

[@howiwonderwhatyouare373]

This was explained so hilariously.. hope to see you get more followers.. your story telling felt unique 😀

[@zarayaneva50]

Giiiiiiirl, you are a legend!!!!! Loooved this soooo much!!!

[@odieb7157]

Thank you. Now I can 99% thank God I was never forced to read this.

[@ashleygonzalez8226]

I don't know if the quincenera thing was a joke or not lol

[@NoNeedtoFeedtheJudge]

Awesome video!

[@lelachilds4306]

Anna actually went back to her husband after surviving her ailment and Vronsky tried to kill himself because of that. THIS IS A MOVIE SUMMARY NOT A BOOK SUMMARY.

[@HeartbreakEsh]

Thanks for making this

[@madisonranta]

This video is incredible! Love it

[@nigrumaqua5429]

It was very fun to watch. Loved it.

[@laurennewman616]

And now I have to deep dive everything you’ve made.

[@wwren5780]

this is amazing

[@Ola-ye2yd]

How painting could ever be boring? Art thread is probably reason why I'm going to read this book.

[@darkhorse1185]

Always wanted to know the story of anna karenina... Couldn't find amy better explanation than this 😂❤❤

[@maryamlethome4530]

Life saver!

[@constanito]

THAT'S MY FAVOURITE VIDEO ON KZbin. OHMYILOVEYOU HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@PeterParker-vn2hv]

After finishing the book today all I can say is DAMN I WISH I WATCHED YOUR VIDEO FIRST

[@PeterParker-vn2hv]

Also, Dostoyevsky > Tolstoy

[@luislopez6315]

That was amazing!!!

[@kiandavebucol7167]

never thought that i'd hear the walking putin music

[@lelachilds4306]

Cant even pronounce Anna’s last name🤦‍♀️Its not “Anna Karena”, its Anna Karenina.

[@LisaDeRose]

I LOVE THIS SM

[@tiyamikemwathunga8982]

His has saved me from reading an 800 page book with irrelevant scenes

[@gitarman666]

Haaaaaaaaa now I can stop at page 574 Cause I loves me a happy ending! Yes, both kinds

[@MsAlien911]

I loved it. Thank you.

[@lelachilds4306]

Woah inaccurate calling Levin “farmer Jesus” when a huge part of his character arc is that he is not a believer in God for over 700 of the 800 pages 😕😕 He never “talked to God” after being rejected smh

[@helenaschair]

this is a masterpiece

[@TheRobinRedbreast]

OUTSTANDING!

[@morgsmorgmorgs]

Tolstoi was like: "how can i do this novel be about me?" *girlypop voice*

[@Gaburierairuze]

I got to the part where Anna survives, and the dude was like "omg, I know I just said I wish she'd die, but I actually love her again" and I had to look up a summary cause I was just fyckinf lost at that point

[@adabekee4964]

I actually enjoyed reading Levin's (farmer Jesus) parts of the book.

[@LisaOutrequin]

Man, now I get it !! Do I still have to read it? Niet. Ochin sposeba.

[@emilyhogan5939]

This was brilliant.

[@paradoxinmotion]

you rock. thank you on point

[@travist7777]

Well done, Snarky Smarty Kat, well done.

[@twelvethousandths1698]

Amazing storytelling!

[@dilaracoban5402]

This was so so so good

[@jacinta4847]

That was beautiful

[@SuperJvolt]

You definitely earned a subscriber

[@cassius5526]

THIS IS ICONIC.

[@priscilapaez3304]

wide putin ending tho

[@EnglishRain]

Absolutely best summary ever, well done! Puts Thug Notes to shame. But yeah in a word, super boring is the best metaphor for this book.

[@gulnarniazi]

I need more summaries like this 🤣🤣🤣

[@WrubleskiB]

Your amazing at this.

[@jerene6804]

Make more videos like this😁

[@marelaine]

“Not friendly for freshman” I READ THIS IN 8TH GRADE INTO 9TH GRADE BAHAHAHA

[@margolynn5]

thank you!

[@Theturtleowl]

Still no sign of an answer for the question what potato is.....

[@chamodiwaidyathilaka265]

LOVE THISSSS

[@StopThenGoAgain]

I disagreed so much w the takes but loved the vid so much anyway. A+ would watch again.

[@BluZingara]

Love this!

[@reneeratliff1937]

This is so cool

[@EnglishRain]

Your are soooo good!