Anna Karenina (Penguin Classics) by Leo Tolstoy (EPUB)

Description

One of the greatest love stories in world literature’ Vladimir NabokovThe heroine of Tolstoy’s epic of love and self-destruction, Anna Karenina has beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son, but feels that her life is empty until she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike, and brings jealousy and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life – and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. This award-winning translation has been acclaimed as the definitive English version of Tolstoy’s masterpiece.Translated by RICHARD PEVEAR and LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY with a Preface by JOHN BAYLEY

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Reading translations has always seemed to lessen my engagement with a book mainly because I am hyper-aware of the fact that unless I learn the original language of the story I will never 100% read the actual story the way it was meant to be read. In rating a book like Anna Karenina I don’t think I’m rating Leo Tolstoy as much as I’m rating Richard Peaver and Larissa Volokhonsky. One can make the same claim for any given spiritual text. How can I say things like “this book is too long” when I am ignorant not only of the source material but also in the challenges that were faced in translating the spirit of the work into a completely different language? The answers is that I can’t. Although many characters seem to feel things “in the depths of their souls” (an expression I grew tired of in the book) I wondered if that is what Tolstoy actually wrote in Russian or if he used expressions that have no equivalent in English. This is one example of what I mean. Did Tolstoy overuse expressions or did the translators have no other way of putting it? Who am I really critiquing?I will say that the characters, in one way or another, were relatable and touched my mind and heart in ways I was not expecting. All the characters reflected something in me that I had experienced in one way or another in myself. Levin was perhaps the most relatable and, speaking for myself, is what makes this story work.I will say, however, translation or not, the length still felt excessively long and given that War and Peace is regarded as an extremely long book and in need of a trim, I suspect the length is more of a Tolstoy thing. Much like I’ve heard of Dickens, this book has moments of long sentences that seem to take you on an odyssey to arrive at an idea or expression that didn’t seem to be worth the trip. It doesn’t hurt the overall work but sometimes one can almost lose the rhythm and pacing of the narrative. Also, not knowing much of Russian politics some aspects can seem boring. I dont know if it is due to my ignorance as a reader or the age of the work and the challenges at translating ideas.Overall I can say that I loved the overall work and look forward to reading more translations of Russian literature. I can’t say if this is the best translation but for me it was quite enjoyable. I would highly recommend it with a heads-up on certain aspects of the book that could feel a bit overdone (“in the depths of his soul”) or certain sentences that seem to lose narrative flow.

⭐****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 🙂

⭐Please note, I will not be reviewing the substance of Tolstoy’s work, merely the quality of this copy. If you want comprehensive reviews of books go to GoodReads, not amazon.This book aesthetically is extremely pleasant. I had been reading the book prior on my phone and because I was enjoying it so must decided to invest in a physical copy. The text is rather small but this is most likely due to the fact it is an extremely dense novel. However, personally I do not like the translation as I think they have really taken away from the charm of Tolstoy’s writing. See this sentence that struck me for comparison:This book – “Her face glowed with a bright glow; but this glow was not happy – it was like the terrible glow of a fire on a dark night”My online version – “Her face was brilliant and glowing; but this glow was not one of brightness, it suggested the fearful glow of a conflagration in the midst of a dark night”Personally I much prefer the latter as it is more visually rich, and therefore I actually would not recommend this book other than for the fact it’s cover looks nice. If you wish to have the language dulled down so as to make for a somewhat quicker read, then perhaps this version would best suit you.

⭐I was in my early twenties the first time I read this book and I just didn’t get it. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters and I only finished the book by dogged determination. The next time I read it I was in my forties. My father-in-law was dying of cancer. I was better able to appreciate the feelings and actions of some of the characters.I’m not saying that you need to be middle-aged and married, with a seriously ill relative to enjoy this book. But if you don’t get it the first time you read it, leave it for a while. When you go back to it, take your time. Think about the characters and why they behave as they do. The book is of its time. Try not to judge nineteenth century people by twenty first century standards. And if you still don’t get it, don’t worry about it. This book may be regarded as a classic, but that doesn’t mean you *have to* read it.

⭐After reading War and Peace last year, I though this would be a walk in the park. How wrong was I? There are many similar themes running through the 2 books; a loving family, a passionate unrequited first love, a young man struggling to find his meaning in life; a love of nature and observations about the fascinating minutiae of Russian society.But heavens this book is dense. I found an hour’s reading yielded 25 pages or so. And in those pages was a substantial amount of detail. Consider how many thoughts you have in one single day. How they veer around like a drunken bumper car. How, if you’ve had a knotty problem or an issue with someone that every action, reaction and course of action will be considered and ascribed meaning. Now put all that into a novel and you will understand just how dense this novel is.If I never learn the many ways of harvesting hay, it will be too soon. At times this was more agricultural text book than ‘The Archers’ and I was bored.Of course there are some wonderful moments – we see Russian society at its most political, it’s bitchiest in its response to Anna. Anna, herself, is a wonderful character, beautiful and intelligent who eventually tears herself apart in considering the ways that Vronsky doesn’t love her, ignoring that in fact he clearly does adore her.But there are other elements of Anna’s character that are not fleshed out – why does she pay no attention to her daughter? What causes self-possessed Anna to have such a crisis of confidence? This for me was never explained.Instead Tolstoy chooses to focus on Levin, apparently a self-portrait and a man who thinks too damn much! Consider having won Kitty’s affections and about to be married, has an introspective melt-down about the right shirt not being available and nearly calls the whole thing off. Thankfully he comes to his senses and spares the reader some 400 pages of soul-searching.Sometimes books lose their hold on you as the years pass. For me the spell of Anna Karenina has been well and truly broken.

⭐I know it’s a classic – I’ve seen “Anna Karenina” plays, movies, ballet, opera and loved them all but this is just tedious and boring writing despite the gripping subject matter. It has not stood the test of time and the references to Russian struggles of the society at the time are largely lost as it contains no footnotes to explain the political situation and terminology to a 21-century reader. I couldn’t finish it.

⭐Anna Karenina, what a testing individual… Very difficult to like or admire. As perhaps true of many of the characters in the novel – chiefly, pampered aristocrats and landowners indulging their petty urges. It’s an uncompromising study of character and personality; all human pride, vanity and frailty exposed in forensic detail to the faintest thought and gesture. Written with the candour and insight of a privileged insider.There are a number of universal personality types on display, which immediately offer the reader easy access. Oblonsky: superficial, fun-loving, sentimental, morally bankrupt; Vronsky: dashing army officer, successful, loved and admired, fatefully lovestruck; Karenin: serious, austere, respected bureaucrat, cuckold (emotionally stunted then traumatised); Koznyshev: the high-minded scholar, unsentimental, insular; Levin: the common man, often selfish and small-minded, beset by spiritual questions, socially awkward – yet, perhaps the most decent… And that’s just the men.The novel principally revolves around two romantic storylines, that of Levin/Kitty and Anna/Vronsky. It’s emotionally charged throughout. The emotion is not always happy but it does feel authentic, if sometimes unremitting. Having said that, there are some deeply moving passages which do warrant all the attention Tolstoy lavishes on them: Nikolai Dmitrich’s slow death; Levin and Kitty’s wedding, for instance. I confess that I did find some sections a little laboured and surplus, such as the workings of Levin’s farm – the threshing season. Also, the provincial Marshal elections Vronsky attends. I guess it’s all part of the epic depiction of Russian life across the class divides though.Ultimately, a highly readable, engaging novel. For such an epic it’s strangely intimate. You really get inside the characters, especially the evolving ones (Levin, Karenin, Anna). And in Anna Karenina herself, Tolstoy has created a truly perplexing, infuriating and mysterious heroine.

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