I always feel bad about myself when I don't like a "classic," although in this case, I think the deck was stacked against me from the outset. It was the first Russian literature I've read and one of the few classics I read outside of school. I think I would have benefitted from some historical, social, and political context (although the footnotes went a long way to clearing up that confusion). 
 My main problem was the length. Chapter upon chapter about harvesting wheat? I get it, we needed the internal monologues and psychological focus, but come on already. It began to feel repetitive and long after a while. Also, Levin was one of the dullest characters I've ever read, although he was clearly the winner in the story. 
 There were, however, many parts I enjoyed. Anna herself was fascinating, and most of her sections were enjoyable. Kitty was also a great character who seemed to grow a lot throughout the story. Actually, it would be fair to say I enjoyed reading about the women and didn't care to read about the men, except maybe Vronsky. (I wonder if that says something about my personality.) 
 The characters' periodic emotional outbursts completely took me by surprise, and they kind of endeared the story to me. In some ways these people were like civilized versions of the cast from Wuthering Heights. Okay, not many ways, but they certainly had the drama factor. And they could really treat each other badly. 
 I'm not upset that I read this book or that it was a huge time investment (it probably took me three months of scheduled reading time to finish it). It was worth my time, I would say. But I won't be reading it again.