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    Anna Karenina
    Anna Karenina
    Anna Karenina
    Audiobook (abridged)5 hours

    Anna Karenina

    Written by Leo Tolstoy

    Narrated by Laura Paton

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Anna Karenina has been described as the perfect Russian novel. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Anna Karenina is defenceless against the power of her passions once they are unleashed by the adoration of Count Vronsky. Having defied the rules of nineteenth-century Russian society, Anna is forced to pay a heavy price. Human nature, with all its failings, is the fabric of which this great and passionate work is composed. Translated by Aylmer and Louise Maude.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateJun 29, 1996
    ISBN9789629545697
    Author

    Leo Tolstoy

    Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is the author of War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Family Happiness, and other classics of Russian literature.

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    Reviews for Anna Karenina

    4/5

    358 ratings273 reviews

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    • 5/5
      It's hard to say anything original about a classic, but I would just say this is about lots of things besides romance, although that's in there. The major theme that interested me was the idea of self-centeredness and its destructive effects on relationships.
    • 2/5
      It was hard to read, I couldn't keep up with all the names and it finally started getting better by the time I was about 3/4 into the book ...
    • 3/5
      I read the Barnes & Noble "abridged edition". Judge me if you will, but,this is one of those books that it's impossible to evaluate on its own terms. I think I liked it, but a voice nags at me: would any of that positivity remain if it had been unceremoniously plopped onto my desk with no context, without endorsements of it’s Greatest of Great Novels, and it's Greatest of Great Authors?

    • 4/5
      This could be seen as my first foray into classic Russian literature and all in all, I would say it's not a bad introduction.

      The book is wordy but not callenging. In fact I found the style surprisingly simple. I'm not sure if this was due to the translation I read, or Tolstoy just isn't as daunting as I'd built him up to be!

      What the book is, is long, but actually it works. You are fully immersed in this world and the pages fly by.

      I was also surprised at how little Anna Karenina and Vronsky are actually in this book. I found I was more drawn to the story of Levin and Kitty.

      All in all I was surprised and delighted with this book. Perhaps it won't take me so long to pick up my next Russian classic.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful story, beautiful edition. Some people like Tolstoy, some do not. I find his characters and settings to be natural (given the social conditions of the time as I know it) and as I read his stories, I can often relate them to people I know. Despite the title and the films, there are actually two stories in parallel: Anna Karenina's fall and "Kostya" Levin's redemption. Most people like Anna's story best; I like Levin's story best. Perhaps because I have seen others, through one bad decision after another, follow her trajectory it can be infuriating to read. Many people in life, say "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" and yet are surprised when they are hit and their ship starts sinking. She is one of them.Although their families and social circles are intertwined, the two characters rarely interact. At the start, we see Anna at her height of graciousness and beauty at a train station. Through the novel, Anna finds the pillars that had supported her world removed one by one as her continued bad decisions alienate those around her until all of her hope is lost. She descends into such pettiness that the lover who adored her could hardly stand her and she is alone, a social outcast. Her story ends "with a whisper" at a train station. Levin starts as an awkward and angry loner, but through a good marriage and conscientious efforts at managing his estate, he finds comfort and happiness. Levin's conscientious seeking for truth leads him to through the moments of crisis he encounters in his life. Through each crisis, he becomes a better man and he better appreciates the blessings in his life. Finally, threatened with the loss of these blessings at a moment of crisis, he finds the faith in God that he has argued and fought against through much of the book. Levin's conscientious seeking for truth leads him to be the best that he can be.One thing I appreciate about writers of the period is that each chapter represents one scene and one point of view. Each book is well organized. Modern writers often merely insert an extra line when switching perspectives or settings, if they bother with that courtesy.
    • 4/5
      Angus and Robertson Top 100 (2006 - 2008) Book #82.I was surprised when I read this book and enjoyed reading it. I did not anticipate liking this book. I never liked the character of Anna within the story, but there were plenty of other characters throughout the story that I did like. Tolstoy did lose my interest briefly when the story was lost sight of, to include information regarding politics of the time, but this was brief. Overall, it was an interesting novel to read.
    • 4/5
      With the updated film version of this story already in production by Director, Joe Wright, Anna Karenina, the book, is bound to enjoy a revival — not that it has ever gone out of print or out of fashion. It’s simply too big a meal even for people who still have an appetite for books.

      Anna Karenina, is a good story — no doubt about it. And while I’ll insert here the disclaimer that: (1) I’ve not yet read War and Peace; and (2) the version of Anna Karenina I read was a translation, I don’t share the literary world’s opinion that this may be one of the top five novels ever written.

      Even discounting for some of the histrionics that may have been more peculiar both to the Russian aristocracy and to the pre-revolutionary times about which Tolstoy wrote, I think Tolstoy himself is a less than careful writer. Couple some sloppy prose with a questionable translation from the woman who was considered the doyenne of Russian-English translation at the time (also in Tolstoy’s time…they were acquainted), Constance Garnett, and you have, I think, a recipe for disaster.

      If you’re going to venture forth with Anna Karenina anyway, do yourself a favor and get the more recent (and much better-executed) translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. This is a pair (he, American; she, Russian) who take the matter of translating the Russian classics very seriously.

      RRB
      04/16/11
      Brooklyn, NY, USA
    • 5/5
      This is a great book. And it is very well written. We get to know not only what is spoken between people, but also what they think when they say speak. In that way we learn everything about the main characters.
      The story is about love and marriage in the Russia before the revolution. One can hardly say more about the storylines without giving too much away. We follow three couples quite extensively, and we learn what they think about married life. Not the slightest mentioning of sex, but nevertheless with a high erotic value at times. This too is brilliant. Modern authors could learn from this!
      Because the thoughts of the characters is so extensively described, the story is a bit slow at times, but just at times. Tolstoy keeps our attention throughout the book. The only criticism I could give, is that some parts (about hunting and farming) have little to do with the story, and did not interest me much, but where they are mentioned, they are of great importance to the main characters, and should be mentioned for that reason. Anyway, a great novel by a brilliant writer.
    • 5/5
      Reading this book made me understand why Tolstoy is such a great writer. He understood history and psychology to write a classic.
    • 4/5
      Once this story actually got going, it was like a Russian soap opera. I quite liked it, although I'm pretty sure it could have been at least 100 - 200 pages shorter. The contrast between Levin's family and the mess that was the Kerenin/Vronsky family was essential, but sometimes, I think there were too many superfluous moments and details that really didn't contribute much to the story. Also, this WAS (to my understanding) supposed to be predominantly about Anna, and yet, at the end,It's all about Levin and his religious epiphany. Nothing is said of what happens to the Kerenins, although Vronsky and the rest are wrapped up rather nicely. There are SO many points where this story could end, and yet it doesn't! Tolstoy keeps most of it interesting, but it really drags in parts, and when I say drags, I'm talking a snail's pace.

      One thing I will say in the negative, and this is nothing against Tolstoy personally. It's more of a comment on all classic Russian novelists... pick one name, maybe two for the main characters, if someone uses a pet name or something, and STICK WITH IT! That's always bugged me about Russian literature. Levin, for example. Sometimes, they refer to him as Levin. Others, it's Konstantin Dmitrievitch; others still, it's Kostya or just Konstantin. I think there was another name used to address or reference him, but I can't remember. It's quite confusing and it drives me bananas! *end rant*
    • 4/5
      Good book. I couldn't help but think how some of this would have played out today. The divorce would have been much easier to get. There might not have been some of the shame heaped on Anna as there was back then. The ending left me a little disappointed. It was mostly about Levin and his philisophical bent. The aftermath of Anna's death was mentioned, but quickly glossed over. I have the DVD of this. I was waiting to finish the book first before I saw the movie.
    • 4/5
      Oh, so very, very, long, but one mostly doesn't notice until the final third of the book or so, even if one does wonder why it is called "Anna Karenina" and not "Konstantin Levin" or "Kitty Shcherbatskaya" or after any of a number of equally important characters.Perhaps it is because Anna is so fascinating? So... real? As one who has suffered from depression and anxiety, Anna's internal workings were eerily familiar, and a little uncomfortable to observe.Meanwhile, the contrast that the relationships of Kitty and Levin (a more ideal picture of marriage) and the Oblonskys (an exemplar of the difference between how society treats male infidelity versus female infidelity) could not be more perfect.However, somewhere toward the end of the novel, Levin's spiritual quest begins to drag on and on and on and suddenly one realizes, "Heavens what a long novel this is!" And then, rather abruptly, it ends. Oh well, little can be perfect in this world, but Anna Karenina is quite close to it.
    • 5/5
      Sometimes I had a feeling that I was reading about myself... Brilliant book, just brilliant.
    • 5/5
      I read this many, many years ago and always wanted to re-visit it. Suspecting there were too many other books ahead on my list I chose to download the audio version from my library. Upon first reading I was fascinated by the intricacies of social life as described by Tolstoy. This time around what impressed me was the timelessness of his writing. The characters seem as real as those in any modern novel. The social conventions and political discussions were still interesting but it was the characters lives that remained front and center this time around.
    • 2/5
      READ IN DUTCH

      On Ezzulia, a Dutch Bookcommunity, we had decide to read Anna Karenina in anticipation to the - then - upcoming movie. Bravely I started reading, but it wasn't what I had expected it to be.

      First, Anna was a bitch. I didn't like reading about her, and her story was only a little part of the book.
      Second, I was not all that interested in 19th century Russian agriculture.

      I like my classic every now and then, but I thought this one was quite boring. I had to push myself to finish reading it, after about three months (!).
      It reminded me of Couperus' book Eline Vere.
    • 3/5
      I need some time to fully digest this one before a review... not that my review means anything!
    • 5/5
      I can say a lot about Anna Karenina, but I like to keep my reviews short and simple, when I bother to include them at all.

      This book has some of the best writing about character's thought lives and how relationships work I've come across. The prose in my translation (Pevear and Volokhonsky) is also excellent. I recommend it very much.

      Many segments of this book are among my favorite segments in literature. There are parts I want to remove, but they're quite good too. I simply didn't want to read as much economic philosophy as the book has in it. Levin's thought life, while politically important, was not interesting to _me_. Someone else might love that part of the book.
    • 4/5
      One of the best things about being a Russian aristocrat has got to be that you can just stop your carriage alongside any field and yell at a random peasant and they will drop whatever dumb peasant job they’re doing and run off to do whatever thing you yell at them to do. “You there! You! Run ahead to the manor and inform the Count’s groom that I wish him to make ready the stables.”“Riiiight. And just who the hell are you?”But they never say that! They just run ahead to make sure the stables are ready. Fantastic.Reading Anna Karenina was part of my reinvigorated program to grab something on my shelf that I’d been meaning to read and just read the bastard, fifty pages a day until it’s done. It's sublime.This is the mastery of Tolstoy: In a thousand pages of interpersonal failures, slights, feuds, marriages, love affairs, elections, engagements, spa treatments, farming, and philosophical banter, with every human virtue and vice on display, he never once tips his hand and telegraphs what we are supposed to think about a character. They are fully-realized human figures, and all you can do is experience and feel with them. If you’re going to judge them for good or ill, you do it on your own. He doesn’t do any of that for you.
    • 3/5
      Audiobook performed by Nadia May


      “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

      Thus begins Tolstoy’s great novel of one particularly unhappy family: Alexei Alexandrovich Karenin, his wife Anna, and her lover Count Alexei Vronsky. Most modern readers have seen one or more movie versions of this story, but the novel includes much more than the movies I’ve seen. Several other couples’ lives are explored: Prince Stepan Oblonsky (Anna’s brother) and his wife Princess Darya Alexandrovna (a/k/a Dolly); Konstantin Levin and his love Princess Ekaterina Shcherbatsky (a/k/a Kitty, sister of Dolly). Additionally Tolstoy includes long treatises on the political and social changes occurring in mid-19th century Russia.

      But I just wanted to read about the tragic love story. And then there is the ending.

      I already knew what would happen, but I have to admit that I was completely caught up in Tolstoy’s telling of the events immediately leading to ____________ (I won’t say, in case there’s someone out there who doesn’t already know). Oh, how I wish he had quit there. But he gives us Part 8, and nineteen more chapters of exploring how each unhappy family is uniquely miserable.

      Nadia May does an okay job of narrating the audio version. She does tend to “read” rather than perform but her pacing was good and her diction clear.
    • 5/5
      Another must read for high school or college, or us older adults. A beautiful novel, makes me understand the devastating influence of culture on human freedom, and admire much of Russian culture, while there's also much ugliness
    • 3/5
      There were moments when I read pages that brilliantly summarized things I had felt in the past, but would never have been able to put into words, and there were struggles and ideas in the story that we can all identify with. Unfortunately, those moments are hundreds of pages apart. The length is the only thing that bothered me about this book. There are sometimes several pages of material that I had trouble paying attention to, because I felt they didn't add much to the overall story. The moments of brilliance are worth a read though, and you'll definitely feel like an accomplished reader when you get through this book.
    • 4/5
      I saw the movie and thought I would listen to the book. Very enjoyable as an audiobook although very long so it was great for painting my walls. The narrator does a fantastic job with the emotions of the characters. A very good classic.
    • 5/5
      I wish I had time to read this again. It was a remarkable story about love, life, family, truth, dignity, status, and society. It was, for me both a book about nothing and a book about everything. Seinfeld for the 19th century.
    • 4/5
      By the end I was thinking that the book should have been named Kostya Levin instead of Anna Karenina, since it seemed like Tolstoy had more sympathy for that second main character really. It sprawls with the best of nineteenth century novels, not the way books are constructed nowadays, but in its leisure it is able to hit all the lovely telling scenes that might be missed if it were more straightforward about getting to the point.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. It was boring only a couple of times, but the short chapters made it easy to read.
    • 4/5
      Another that I don't have that much to say about, others have already said pretty much anything there is to say.Anna is an enjoyable read. It went a bit quicker than I anticipated given its length and age, but Tolstoy has written wonderful "real" characters, and while the nuances & laws may have changed somewhat over time, the experiences are still essentially the same. There's not really much plot, it's all about the people - the romances and heartbreaks, living life, contemplating life. I was slightly underwhelmed with the very end, I guess I was expecting something a bit more ...final, but after sleeping on it I'm a bit more content; it does make sense, given the nature of the entire book. It's good, easily recommended for those who like character-driven novels and/or Russian classics.
    • 2/5
      Just because you can take 800 pages to say something about the human condition doesn't mean you should.I'd rather be reading Chekhov.
    • 4/5
      (After caught cheating on his wife)"What had happened to him at that moment was what happens to people when they are unexpectedly caught in something very shameful. He had not managed to prepare his face for the position he found himself in with regard to his wife now that his guilt had been revealed. Instead of being offended, of denying, justifying, asking forgiveness, even remaining indifferent — any of which would have been better than what he did! — his face quite involuntarily (`reflexes of the brain', thought Stepan Arkadyich, who liked physiology) smiled all at once its habitual, kind and therefore stupid smile. That stupid smile he could not forgive himself. Seeing that smile, Dolly had winced as if from physical pain, burst with her typical vehemence into a torrent of cruel words, and rushed from the room. Since then she had refused to see her husband. `That stupid smile is to blame for it all,' thought Stepan Arkadyich."Anna Karenina has been on my bookshelf for such a long time, but its size and reputation were a little intimidating. The last section of the first chapter quoted above is the part that won me over. I was not expecting the humorous parts and I knew at that point it would definitely not be a dull, lifeless read!Tolstoy's characters really are the greatest. They are fully formed individuals who make mistakes, have regrets and conflicting thoughts and develop naturally (for better or worse). I really felt like I was in the character's heads. When Kitty feels heartbroken, I feel heartbroken. When Levin is in the midst of the best time of his life, I feel elated too. Stepan (Mr. "If I knew it would bother her, I would have been more discreet!" and Anna's brother) can be a completely ridiculous at times, but you can't help but laugh at his antics and perceptions. I am still cracking up at Stepan's love of sending drunk telegrams! Tolstoy even slips into the "minds" of inanimate objects and dogs and it seems completely natural! The novel really delves into the complexities of love and marriage.I was a bit surprised that there was less of the actual Anna Karenina in "Anna Karenina" than I expected. I expected at least 80% AK, but it couldn't have been more than 50%. It goes back and forth between the Kitty/Levin storylines and the Anna/Vronsky storyline, with a little bit of Stepan and Darya mixed in. I actually preferred the Levin story, because Anna Karenina (the character) can be so insufferable at times. She had incredibly difficult and unfair societal rules to deal with, but she also made some of the most frustrating choices! I am wondering what my opinion of Anna and Vronsky would have been if I had read this book when I was younger.I deducted the one star because there are sections that I found really boring and those sections kept me from completely loving the book. Farming & Russian politics; I'm looking at you Levin! I did find the "boring" sections less of an issue than I did in War & Peace. The digressions do get irritating, but Tolstoy uses such short chapters. If I can just power through those difficult chapters, I know that I will eventually get to an interesting part again. For the difficult sections, I will usually read chapter summaries online before I read the actual text. If I have some context, it is much easier to read.Overall, it was a wonderful book and the characters will stay with me.___________________________________________________One of my favorite parts was watching Levin and Kitty evolve, because I found them especially relatable.Levin returning home disappointed and heartbroken decides that he is going to give up on love and focus on farming issues (short-lived of course):‘The study was slowly lit up by the candle that was brought. Familiar details emerged: deer’s antlers, shelves of books, the back of the stove with a vent that had long been in need of repair, his father’s sofa, the big desk, an open book on the desk, a broken ashtray, a notebook with his handwriting. When he saw it all, he was overcome by a momentary doubt of the possibility of setting up that new life he had dreamed of on the way. All these traces of his life seemed to seize hold of him and say to him: ‘No, you won’t escape us and be different you’ll be the same as you were with doubts, with an eternal dissatisfaction with yourself, vain attempts to improve, and failures, and an eternal expectation of the happiness that has eluded you and is not possible for you.’But that was how his things talked, while another voice in his soul said that he must not submit to the past and it was possible to do anything with oneself.’ (Part 1, Chapter 26, 93)Who hasn't set out with big plans to become a better person, but moments later been doubtful of their ability to do so?Levin's maturation at the end: "This new feeling hasn’t changed me, hasn’t made me happy or suddenly enlightened, as I dreamed – just like the feeling for my son. Nor was there any surprise. And faith or not faith – I don’t know what it is – but this feeling has entered into me just as imperceptibly through suffering and has firmly lodged itself in my soul.I'll get angry in the same way with the coachman Ivan, argue in the same way, speak my mind inappropriately, there will be the same wall between my soul's holy of holies and other people, even my wife, I'll accuse her in the same way of my own fear and then regret it, I'll fail in the same way to understand with my reason why I pray, and yet I will pray--but my life now, my whole life, regardless of all that may happen to me, every minute of it, is not only not meaningless, as it was before, but has the unquestionable meaning of the good which it is in my power to put into it!” (Part 1, Chapter 19, 817)
    • 5/5
      My husband bought this edition. It is a wonderful translation. I like it much better than the one that I read about 20 years ago. I read it in preparation for a trip to Russia in August 2014.
    • 4/5
      I found the main plot absolutely gripping, though I got a bit weary of Levin, the character who represents Tolstoy himself.