Whichever book we placed at the top of our list will no doubt attract plenty of debate and opposition, but this list was compiled purely from the personal preference of the author. There are thousands of fantastic books available, so trying to make a definitive top ten is an impossible task- however I think that most readers would agree that the books upon this list are excellent, and Anna Karenina is my personal favourite.

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”- this is the opening line of the book, hinting at the twin stories of scandal and the pursuit of contentment within. Anna Karenina is a married, wealthy Russian lady who falls in love with an army officer, Count Vronsky and pursues an affair with him. In contrast to the scandals that Anna causes is the story of Levin, a man determined to find happiness and contentment in his more Spartan lifestyle.

The book was finished by Count Leo Tolstoy in 1877, and he regarded it as his first true novel. He had already written War and Peace in 1869, another very famous work of his, which is also well worth a read.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot of the story itself, as part of the enjoyment of reading any book is finding out the twists and turns for yourself. I think what made me enjoy the book so much was the depth in which each characters emotions are portrayed. Novels that are told from a single characters perspective allow you to get to know a single character, yet in Anna Karenina you understand the emotions and feelings of the main characters in extraordinary depth. It is also a really great book to read if you are interested in Russian history- I think it gives a really interesting insight into some of the social conventions that were around years ago.

The book was originally written in Russian, but there are plenty of English translations available- your local bookshop will probably have a copy and the internet certainly will. As you can tell, I really enjoyed this book and I hope that you do to- if you have read Anna Karenina, please leave some feedback for other readers, using our voting tool at the top left of the page and the comments section below.