This is a great book. And it is very well written. We get to know not only what is spoken between people, but also what they think when they say speak. In that way we learn everything about the main characters. The story is about love and marriage in the Russia before the revolution. One can hardly say more about the storylines without giving too much away. We follow three couples quite extensively, and we learn what they think about married life. Not the slightest mentioning of sex, but nevertheless with a high erotic value at times. This too is brilliant. Modern authors could learn from this! Because the thoughts of the characters is so extensively described, the story is a bit slow at times, but just at times. Tolstoy keeps our attention throughout the book. The only criticism I could give, is that some parts (about hunting and farming) have little to do with the story, and did not interest me much, but where they are mentioned, they are of great importance to the main characters, and should be mentioned for that reason. Anyway, a great novel by a brilliant writer.