Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Epub)

Description

Described by William Faulkner as the best novel ever written and by Fyodor Dostoevsky as “flawless,” Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and thereby exposes herself to the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel’s seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness.

While previous versions have softened the robust and sometimes shocking qualities of Tolstoy’s writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This authoritative edition, which received the PEN Translation Prize and was an Oprah Book Club™ selection, also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for fans of the film and generations to come. This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition also features French flaps and deckle-edged paper.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

User’s Reviews

Amazon.com Review Some people say Anna Karenina is the single greatest novel ever written, which makes about as much sense to me as trying to determine the world’s greatest color. But there is no doubt that Anna Karenina, generally considered Tolstoy’s best book, is definitely one ripping great read. Anna, miserable in her loveless marriage, does the barely thinkable and succumbs to her desires for the dashing Vronsky. I don’t want to give away the ending, but I will say that 19th-century Russia doesn’t take well to that sort of thing. Review “I finally finished Anna Karenina recently, in a translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I think I can say without controversy that it’s a great book.” —Sally Rooney, The New York Times Book Review

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ They tell you the ending in the introduction! Seriously ruined the book for me.

⭐ First and foremost, the novel is beautiful in it’s appearance. I purchased the paperback Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition by Pevear and Volokhonsky. The book has a stunning cover with a dust jacket and deckle edge, all of which make the book that much more expensive and beautiful. My pictures definitely don’t do it justice, but I’ve included a few for reference.WARNING: save the introduction until after you complete the novel to avoid spoilers. It contains a few important plot details concerning the fates of several characters. That being said, the introduction is a beautifully written insight into Tolstoy’s journey to write Anna Karenina, including the influences from his real life that inspired many of the novel’s characters and events.”All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” WOW! The first sentence alone was is masterfully written that you know you’re in for an incredible journey.This translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky is beautifully written in such a way that the text is readable (and doesn’t come across as being outdated) but maintains the author’s authentic voice without any commentary on the part of the translators. Additionally, the translators included an especially helpful character list detailing the names and familial relations of the main characters as well as a section of notes that explain specific plot details regarding Russian society and history.I tried to pace myself through the book, originally committing to only about 50 pages per night before bed. But when I started reading I couldn’t stop, I was so enraptured by the novel that I couldn’t put it down, and read all 800+ pages in less than a week. This story is truly timeless. My only complaint (if you can even call it that) is that I expected more closure…maybe a more complete picture regarding the characters’ lives (particularly Vronsky and Karenin) outside of their relationships with Anna. However, those uncertainties amplify the tragic elements and provide a sense of realism. An incredible addition to my bookcase.

⭐ I am absolutely in love with Leo T! This book has taken me on an emotional rollercoaster. I just finished reading the entire book. I hated when I got to the end. I wanted the story to continue forever. It has entertained me on every chapter and I am going to purchase more of his work. Awesome book and writer, I can’t say enough of how good this book is. I have always stayed away from old clasics like this, because I thought they were too dated to enjoy. I was very wrong!!!!!

⭐ I was amazed by how deeply Tolstoy describes his characters. His character’s appearances, emotions, introspection, and development are extremely well-defined, and really sucked me into the novel and invested me into the characters. Some characters would treat another character badly, and I’d hate them. Other characters would do things and I’d cheer for them. It was quite a ride, and a long one at that, but definitely not a book you’ll regret reading. I’m currently reading War and Peace, and though it is good, I think Tolstoy’s development of characters, as well as the readability of the text in general, are much more well done in Anna Karenina than in War and Peace. Compared to Dostoevsky (my favorite of the two authors), I think Tolstoy’s novels move more slowly and are a bit more distant in their descriptions. Nonetheless, Anna Karenina is read over a century later for a reason. You’ll likely enjoy it, especially if you like a novel with good character development.

⭐ ****MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS****If I could summarize this book in a quote in regards to Anna and Vronsky it would be this one:”I know no peace and cannot give you any…And I do not see any possibility of peace ahead either for me or for you. I see the possibility of despair, of unhappiness…or I see the possibility of happiness.”That pretty much sums up their love affair and even though these words were spoken by Vronsky in the beginning of the novel, it served as a foreshadow of what was to come between him and Anna. I want to star by saying Im more of an emotional reader, although I do love analyzing classic books for meaning and being scholarly, I mostly go by my heart and the type of emotional response I get by learning about these characters and how their story unfolds. So my emotional side wants to give this story a solid 3 stars. I DO NOT LIKE READING BOOKS ABOUT CHEATING but made one of the rare exceptions with this book as my dear friend recommended it to me. I felt Anna and Vronsky were being selfish and I just couldn’t sympathize with them. I know Karenin, Annas husband, was not exactly a cinnamon roll or the most passionate person on earth but at least he took care of her and their son. I do agree he wasn’t emotionally available to Anna and she longed to be and feel loved and in a passionate relationship, but that passionate relationship is what ultimately unraveled her and sent her down a dark path. I do believe Anna suffered from a mental illness and I did feel pity for her in that sense. She was the product and consequence of the society she lived in who sadly was not kind to women in Annas position. This is why I gave the book a 5 star, Tolstoy had a way of making me hate her but pity her at the same time and even understand her. The raw human emotions expressed in this novel were truly wonderful. I felt what they felt and as I was reading it and I found myself thinking of the story even when I wasn’t reading it. When a book can do that to me thats how I know I will remember it always and will have a lasting impact on me.I personally hated Vronsky, I guess what he felt for Anna was “love” but I honestly didn’t see it. Anna loved him way more than he did and towards the end he only thought of himself.However, Kitty and Levins story served as a contrast to Anna and Vronskys story and I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!! Levin, faults and all, was a wonderful character to read and Kitty was a delight. There is a scene/part of the book where Levin dosnt want to take Kitty with him to see his dying brother but she’s like Im going anyway (go Kitty!) and we get to see how amazing Kitty is. She took charge of the situation that Levin realized how valuable Kitty is. Another great part was when they confess their feeling for each other!!! That was super cute and romantic.There are a lot of more characters that I didn’t mention but added substance to the story but those two couples were the standouts.Would I recommend it? Yes, although its a long book and deals with cheating/adultery everyone should read it once and if you can get the audio version with Maggie Gyllenhaal that would make your reading/listening experience even better.There is a lot of themes and lessons we learn from this book but other reviewers, I feel, can cover this much better than I, but still wanted to share my thoughts. If you decide to embark on this journey that is Anna Karenina I wish you the best. I will definitely read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy now that I have a taste for his writing 🙂

⭐ This book is fantastic – this is my second reading and I like it better than the first. I love reading books like this on the Kindle as the interaction allows me to quickly look up words and historical figures. The only criticism would be the illustrations – they’re haphazardly thrown about the book – but I don’t read a novel for the pictures. A timeless story and worth your efforts – don’t be scared by the size – just think of it as two or three smaller novels

⭐ I absolutely loved this book. I read it in high school 45 years ago. I recall really liking it, but arguably I had less appreciation for great literature at 15 or 16 years old. I decided to reread it after reading A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles (which I loved!) because there is discussion in that novel about great Russian writers such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. The character development is really good and very descriptive. You will know and picture all of these people while reading the book. I just loved it! I do not recall which translation I read back then, but I had no issues with this translation, though I wouldn’t really be able to comment on that. You really don’t want to stop reading this book. I never got to the point where I wanted it to end. I plan to reread The Brothers Karamazov at some point and will tackle War and Peace.

⭐ Basically I picked the translation by Pevear and Volokhonsky based on its opening line: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”—I liked their version’s phrasing and punctuation, as well as the opening sentence of the second paragraph. I imagine that in any version, which must be an interpretation and approximation of his Russian style, Tolstoy’s graciousness and wisdom survive.Tolstoy can do anything as a writer, and he wants to do a lot. I was most excited and touched and impressed by the way he traces shifting human emotions, shows how people get embarrassed, get angry, change their minds, rise above ego and fall to it. Side note: People BLUSH a lot! I imagine this is historically accurate, and makes me realize one way we’ve changed, though the conflict between ego and modesty, pride and shame, is unchanged. Anna is a tragic figure but a very human one; among the things the novel does of course is indict social mores and hypocrisy, showing how it plays out in a highly stratified patriarchal society. The novel’s religion theme fascinated me. Everyone’s a nonbeliever, at least privately; then one character’s religious yearning and his breakthrough to belief in Christian goodness without having true faith impressed me deeply.Tolstoy’s digressions into civil service, farming, and politics can lose a reader briefly, but he handles even them so well that they remain readable even if you are not interested in the topic.

⭐ I started reading an old Popular Library copy. There are lots of italicize foreign expressions and references to things I didn’t get. I also noted a constant reference to ‘lilacs’. I googled the lilac reference and found it was important..When the book arrived, I noticed the lilacs on the cover.. nice touch. AND there were footnotes for the foreign expressions. There was also items numbered. In the rear you could find out what the numbered item is. This is great. I wish I had known.Interesting thing. I compared the text of the Modern Library (not Popular) to the text of the book I am reviewing. They are not identical but essentially the same meaning. More modern thought. I noted that the translators are highly respected

⭐ This is one of my all time favorite books, and this production from Penguin is beautifully made. The paper has a nice thick-cut quality, with rough edges which makes it easier to thumb the pages (also no paper cuts). And the font size is just right, not too small (I didn’t used to care about that but it’s become more important in recent years). I would suggest ordering from Target as the shipment is much better (they still ship in cardboard which protects the book, whereas Amazon uses loose bags that get damaged). The book looks beautiful on a bookshelf, too.

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