Anna Karenina (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction, in a gorgeous new clothbound edition from Penguin Classics. Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction 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 acclaimed modern translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky won the PEN/ Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2001. Their translation is accompanied in this edition by an introduction by Richard Pevear and a preface by John Bayley 'The new and brilliantly witty translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a must' - Lisa Appignanesi, Independent, Books of the Year 'Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English, and their superb rendering allows us, as perhaps never before, to grasp the palpability of Tolstoy's "characters, acts, situations"' - James Wood, New Yorker
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Community Reviews
So. I’ve done it. After 6 years, I have read Anna Karenina, and I absolutely loved it! There are so many reviews, already, that I don’t know what I could add, other than that is one the best books that I have ever read, and I highly recommend this translation.
Book #52: Kelly's pick for our 10th Anniversary meeting, to discuss a classic. The meeting was to take place in Tallman State Park as COVID lockdown rules had lifted. The meeting never took place.
What is love? Can it be the same for partners or lovers? What if expectations are different, but the path is the same?
Leo Tolstoy beautifully captures all the emotions, contradictions and simplicity in the complex life of Anna, firstly as a wife then as a lover.
I bought a copy of this during a trip to Seattle, and later found an identical one in my book collection! I assume I got it from a little free library and forgot about it. It's a classic for a reason, although the untranslated French dialogue was cumbersome for me because I sadly don't speak French. I see what Pevear and Volokhonsky were trying to do, but you almost need to be bilingual to read their translations efficiently. Still a good read.
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