Anna Karenina (Penguin Clothbound Classics)
Description
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 YorkerShow more
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Community Reviews
My review of this could've ranged from 1 to 5 stars so probably safe I stay in the middle.
Positive:
Levin - only redeemable character in the book. I appreciated his philosophising, his critical thought, complexity and uncertainty. The last few chapters where he is grappling with the meaning of life and the existence of God was the only point in this book that I could actually say I enjoyed reading it.
Characterisation - Tolstoy's characters, like ...read more
Positive:
Levin - only redeemable character in the book. I appreciated his philosophising, his critical thought, complexity and uncertainty. The last few chapters where he is grappling with the meaning of life and the existence of God was the only point in this book that I could actually say I enjoyed reading it.
Characterisation - Tolstoy's characters, like ...read more
Anna karenina is very strange book, I wanted to read it after I read War and peace and it gave me a mixed feeling. But I was not attached to the characters to be honest. Anna character seems very selfish, people making excuses for her as if she was a child or teenager, she was an adult who made a decision. And I don't think that if karnin was more loving or affectionate it would change anything, her world would change when she meets voronsky an...read more
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