Product Description

Acclaimed by many as the world's greatest novel, ANNA KARENINA (1874-76) is the story of a woman who abandons her empty existence as the wife of Petersburg government minister for a passionate relationship with a young officer, Count Vronsky. The novel also offers Tolstoy's most complete self-portrait, in the character Levin and the moral and religious crisis he suffers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #625543 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-06
• Original language: Russian
• Binding: Paperback
• 864 pages

About the Author
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), the Russian prose writer, is chiefly remembered for his novels, War and Peace and Anna Karenina. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky have translated Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita for Penguin and have produced acclaimed translations of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Gogol. Their translation of The Brothers Karamazov won the 1991 PEN Book of the Month Club Translation Prize and was judged to "set a new standard in the translation of canonical works".

Customer Reviews

A novel of towering stature
Having read 'War and Peace', I bought this book with the expectation that it would be a worthwhile slog, full of wisdom but no page turner. I was wrong: it was very difficult to put down and I enjoyed it immensely. Happily though, I was right about the wisdom bit, and it has supplied plenty of material now fermenting in the brain. This is without doubt up there with the best books I've read.

The story is very large in scale, dealing with many characters (the main ones are listed in the front) over a period of some years. The main narrative drive comes from the relationships of two couples, one an extra-marital affair. As the novel progresses, these relationships follow divergent trajectories, one doomed, the other blessed. Tolstoy is therefore able to turn the illuminating spotlight of his compassionate insight on large areas of human experience. The story is a compelling one, well paced and absorbing, and with a natural, snapshot-of-life, feel as opposed to being contrived in a Dickensian way.

The characters themselves are a bit larger than life, though very human. Tolstoy handles each one with understanding and compassion, and clearly has great love for them all. He frequently switches from one character's point of view to another's, and we are always able to understand and to sympathise with their motivation, noble or otherwise. The four main characters in particular are utterly convincing, and you feel for them very much.

As in 'War and Peace', Tolstoy uses the novel to express some of his philosophical and political ideas. The central character, Levin, who you feel is closely related to the writer himself, is constantly battling with very large ideas, presumeably reflecting Tolstoy's own mental life at the time. The existence of God, the inevitability of death, and the value of reason are all dealt with in depth. Tolstoy clearly believes that logical argument is futile and unpersuasive, and seeks, through Levin, to hint at the truths he can see plainly. Some of this is very convincing, and it is partly, perhaps, this philosophical ability that sets Tolstoy apart as one of the truly great writers.

As far as this edition in particular is concerned, I didn't bother with the introduction (I rarely do, as editors almost always miss the point of an +intro+duction, it seems to me, by assuming that you have read the book already - this was no exception), but the notes were in general quite pertinent and informative, particulalry about Russian history. The prose flowed quite nicely, and the language was modern but not to a gimmicky extent. The fact that it was a translation didn't seem to get in the way too much as it sometimes can, though I haven't read any other translations of 'AK' so I'm in no position to recommend this one over any others.

Don't be afraid to take this wonderful book on, it really is a fantastic read. My advice is to take it on holiday with you as I did, or at least wait until you've got a lot of reading time, because I think it might get more difficult (e.g. with the very confusing plethora of interchangeable names) if you let the momentum drop. You will be rewarded with a life-enriching experience, and a whole new perspective on the enigma that is life.

A great love story
This remarkable story by one of the few mega-novelists of all times is an ageless story that is more real than fiction. I decided to read a copy of this book on my way to vacation last the summer and ended up spending most of my first week being glued to the book. Though it is a Russian story of a century and a half ago, its essence still resonates today.

Anna who is married to the wealthy and older Karenin lives a life of comfort without any excitement, a life that is full of routines and no zest. It is a life she had become used to until she meets the elegant Vronsky and falls in love. Now she must pay the price of adultery or seek marital stability and forgo the echoes of her heart, a soul searching trial that destabilizes the life of her family and that of her lover. In essence she abandons the meaning for her life and pursues the zest of life.

On the other hand is Levine who is in search of the meaning of life and abandons the zest of life for a purposeful life that includes a family, ideas on the advancement of humanism, being at peace with ones world and hard work in is farm and being at peace with God.

In a way, both Levine and Anna can not be blamed for opting considering one choice above the other. They all wanted happiness without having evil intentions and found a balance between the zest of life and the search of its meaning in their own different ways, hurting and find love in the process and in the end, enriching and destroying themselves in their different ways. A highly recommended read and the most insightful love story I have ever read.UNION MOUJIK,DR ZHIVAGO, EUGENE ONEGIN are some of the other books set in Russia that I enjoyed alongside ANNA KARENINA.

It isn't as difficult as you might think
I was apprehensive about reading this book. I have no idea why but I was. I'd had this book on my shelves for 5 years and a friend said they had a copy - why didn't we read it together. So we did. It helped knowing someone was reading it with me, however I didn't need it as support in the end but I thoroughly enjoyed our discussions. This book is marvellous and I can't believe I have left it so long to read it. I would even consider reading it again at some point and I would love to watch a film version of it. It was marvellous!

I think the length was what initially put me off, plus it's a 'classic' and aren't they meant to be boring and not much fun? Not this one. It is a good job though that Tolstoy is such a good writer though, as the print is very challenging - it's quite condensed, making an already lengthy novel seem even more difficult. Enough is known about this novel, I think, to not go into the plot but in case you don't know about it; there is a helpful list of characters at the front of the novel. Combine this with an excellent notes section at the back and you are in for a compelling read.

There were a few sections where I was itching for something else to happen, I wasn't as interested in the farming sections as some might be but they were equally as well written. His description of the characters is excellent, they are so vividly portrayed that they are they right in front of you. Cleverly written, with hidden details that you have to search for this novel will not disappoint. I will definitely go on to read more Tolstoy, preferrably with the same translators as I feel this had a huge impact on my enjoyment.

I enjoyed doing a little research as I was reading - I did find the Oprah site useful for futher information as it had been one of her reading group reads. It was interesting to see how much of Tolstoy himself and his life appears in the plot and characters.