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Originally Posted by Severian

So much of the book feels so nihilistic, but there’s a tenderness to the way it wraps up. So many people seem to find it so depressing, but to me it ended on a positive note (possibly because I was convinced tragedy would strike more characters, up to the very last page I was afraid of more deaths!)

eh?? the book is anything but nihilistic. maybe levin's "bad thinking"? but the "bad thinking" is thoroughly refuted by the entire novel. tolstoy was a christian and ended up as i recall founding a religion or a cult or a theology or something...

it's a depressing book for anna, but in spite of the title she's not the main character, she's the... cautionary tale? this is levin's story, who is tolstoy's alter ego, after all

then again like count vronski tolstoy was a count and an officer (he was involved in the crimean war) and a young degenerate. so maybe anna is the life that he gave up

for more on tolstoy's moral/moralistic approach, i'd recommend a couple of shorter narratives: the kreutzer sonata (a "nervous" novella), and ivan the fool (a very funny fable, i read it as a child)