Rachel,I am very sure that Anna Karenina is worth reading. And I am confident that if you finish it you will not say, "I wish I hadn't read that."
But I also think there's a chemistry between a book and a reader. Sometimes it's not the right time. What might grip you at another time just eludes you. Your responses are not in sync with the book. Or it's just not, as they say in the HR biz, a "good match." Millions love it, but it leaves you cold. The author's magic is falling flat with you. Ditch it! say I. Don't slog on if it is painful. Let it go. Without guilt.
(Aside: This does not apply if it is a school assignment. Do your own school assignments, kids, even if you find yourself hating a book you would have loved otherwise. And try to find it in your heart to forgive your teacher for destroying the experience for you. In the end it will do you no harm.)
I offer my credentials as a lifelong reader, and, I believe, a competent one; a degreed English major; a publications professional with a career of nearly thirty years behind me; an experienced editor of numerous publications of a wide range of types; and a practicing writer. As such, I say, halfway is enough. If you get halfway through a book and it just doesn't do it for you no matter how hard you try, drop it. It isn't going to get better.
The world is full of books. You aren't going to live long enough to read your way through all the classics, let alone the best of contemporary literature too. More good stories are being published every year than any of us can keep up with. Multitudes of obscure little literary magazines deserve a reading. Promising gems appear free online because they can't find a market in print. People of your acquaintance are probably dying for someone to look at their manuscripts. Stories of your own are waiting to be wrapped in words. Don't waste any more of your time on a reading experience that is not proving to be rewarding. Put this book out of sight and get on with the next phase of your life.
Maybe in ten years or twenty you'll pick it up again. You'll think back to it, see the Garbo movie first, read something else that leads you to it, take a class, hear someone discuss it, read the Classics Comics-equivalent edition, or just on impulse try a different translation, and it will be an entirely different experience. But not now. Now just give yourself the freedom to abandon it and take up one of ten thousand other titles that leap up for your attention. Go with the chemistry that works for you. Why, after all, not?
SapphireMoon
