Anna Karenina Audio CD – Unabridged, June 30, 2010

’The place where she stood seemed to him a holy shrine, unapproachable, and there was one moment when he was almost retreating, so overwhelmed was he with terror. He had to make an effort to master himself, and to remind himself that people of all sorts were moving about her, and that he too might come there to skate. He walked down, for a long while avoiding looking at her as at the sun, but seeing her, as one does the sun, without looking.’It is with the same trepidation that I wandered into the first pages of reading Anna Karenina. In awe of this piece of literature that has stood the test of time, read for generations by so many seems, well, intimidating. And it was, at least to me, until I began reading it. And then I fell completely under the spell, which was rarely broken.It shouldn’t surprise me, so many people that I know have loved this, but it did surprise me that I grew to care so much for the people in this story, in spite of how badly they behaved. It’s one thing to be told of the things they have done, but then Tolstoy allows us to know them, understand them, the things that drive them to such despicable lengths - and yet still feel compassion for them. Their behavior isn’t always reprehensible, if so there would be no love there to drive this love story forward, there are moments of love and appreciation of beauty in the ins and outs of their lives. Nature, the freedom and beauty of labouring under the sun and losing oneself in that labour, and in the beauty of nature, as well as the nature of love.’...for him all the girls in the world were divided into two classes: one class--all the girls in the world except her.’While this is a love story, it is so much more. An epic story for all, exploring many various aspects of life. Farming, faith, politics, hunting, despair, faith, and a sense of reverence for this life and the desire to leave behind something lasting, if only in the memories of those who knew us. It is filled with passion, a passion for this wild and precious life we have been given, and to honor it by living it fully with an appreciation for this gift.’All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.’Originally published in 1877, there is so much to this story that seems more relevant today than I could have imagined before reading this. It offers a view of society and human nature which seems relatively unchanged regardless of place, and time. While the story takes place in Imperial Russia in 1874, it is a timeless story of the goodness of people, and the division of people by their status. But underneath it all, it feels like Tolstoy is reminding us, beseeching us to take the time to truly observe not only the people in our lives, but the way we are living our lives, and our stewardship of this world.

When I started this book I had heard a lot about it being an amazing novel. Four pages in I was ready to throw in the towel. I made myself keep reading, and three fourths of the way through I had a hard time putting it down. I don’t think I will ever read it again mainly because I don’t have time, but I’ll think about it and dwell on it for years.

I enjoy collecting classics of world literature in different editions and I was pleased to come across this beautiful cloth-bound 1952 Heritage Press edition of "Anna Karenina". The translation is by Constance Garnett, which I find more than adequate in appreciating this classic of Russian literature. In addition, the text has been edited and revised by Gustavus Spett, and the translation revised by Bernard Guilbert Guerney. The edition I purchased also came with the prized Sandglass pamphlet (this particular pamphlet had me yearning to travel back in time to 1934 so that I could visit Bumpus Bookshop in London!).The story of Anna Karenina, the doomed adulteress whose consuming passion for the handsome young cavalry officer, Count Vronsky, and the resulting tragic fall-out, is a classic that has withstood the test of time. Over the years, I find myself revisiting this story, knowing the outcome by now, but still drawn to this tragic yet compelling tale that explores the Russian feudal system, the issues of gender, morality, and religion, all beautifully told by Tolstoy. My only regret is that having no knowledge of the Russian language, I will never be able to read Tolstoy's words as he wrote them, but must content myself with translations instead. In this respect, Constance Garnett's translation gets the job done.Another highlight of this Heritage Press edition is the beautiful illustrations consisting of lithographs by Barnett Freedman (and the story of how Mr. Freedman came to illustrate this book is wonderfully narrated in the pamphlet). The lithographs also adorn the front and back cover of the book. This handsome edition of "Anna Karenina" will delight any book collector and lover of Russian literature.

This book of course deserves its reputation. It is a fantastic piece of literature.The binding itself is quite well done and something of a work of art. However it is very small and consequently the volume has a very thick and the print quite small. It’s hard to hold such a compact thick book for the hours needed to read it and anyone over 40 will definitely have to pull out their reading glasses.

Why this was a favorite book of my daughter’s particularly since she read it when she was much younger. There is so much theoretical argument and philosophical too. I wonder if she read it in an abridged version or she read a different translation. I read an almost free kindle book and I compared two different ones but couldn’t see a difference; they seemed the same and did not acknowledge the translator. Other kindle renditions were more expensive. Anyway I had a really hard time with arguments and discussions and the personalities too, finding it very difficult to keep the people and their relationships and their nicknames and their full names clear in my head.

There have been many adaptations of Anna Karenina, but they are all pale reflections of the novel. What was Tolstoy's intention? To emphasise the inherent dangers of grand passions? To extol the virtues of deep, quiet relationships. To record the quest for faith? To assert the values of the countryside over the city? To prefigure Post-Modernism? All of these and more? But for me his descriptions are supreme; and engage and captivate the unwary reader!

As a collectors edition, this should have been in better condition. I just hope the book lover I got it for doesn’t mind too much! I bought 6 different books from this collection and this is 1 of 4 that’s arrived with imperfections/damage. This one had a manufacturing error with 3 pages. Surely this should have been taken off the sale line??

In the beginning when the characters were new to me I found the book easy to follow. Beyond that I had difficulty following the relationship between those characters difficult to follow. Anna's fate was easily foreseen, also the fate of Kitty and Levin. The book is extremely long and in my opinion a failure to intrigue or enjoy

This is pocket size something I did not immediately gather from the advertisement. The quality of paper is also terrible, but probably because this is pocket size. Surely will be impossible to read and therefore I am going to have to repurchase again. But not from Amazon. What a waste of money. Don’t buy.

Possibly the wooden translation didn't help, nor the feeling that several different people had translated it,e.g. The change from roubles to pounds half way through.There were several very odd uses of ordinary English phrases, idioms and sayings which were inappropriate and stilted. I was overwhelmed by a feeling that nothing has changed in Russia, something I found on reading a biography of Pushkin.I have always found 'War and Peace' difficult to enjoy in any sense, so perhaps it's just that I don't like Tolstoy or the people he writes about. They seem to be mostly self-obsessed hysterics who feel that thinking 'great thoughts' about 'great subjects' is more important than really living a responsible life, looking after your family and not living beyond your means so that your unpaid bills reduce some poor tradesman to poverty. They are extremely emotionaly immature and seem unable to empathise with anyone at all.Probably won't read it again. Though if I found a better translation I might enjoy it more.