# Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

10 Hacker News commenters recommended Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a great work of art, with a striking opening line and vivid characters; one critic found the Garnett translation weaker than newer versions.

## Why people recommend it

- Striking, gripping opening line (2 comments): "so beautiful and heavy about the how frank and pithy the opening line" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48913583)) "Gripping from the opening line" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49595427))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140262997?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780140262995) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy", https://hackerapproved.com/p/anna-karenina/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).