Anna Karenina (Penguin Classics)

By Leo Tolstoy

Book Overview

'One of the greatest love stories in world literature' Vladimir Nabokov

The heroine of Tolstoy's epic of love and self-destruction, Anna Karenina has beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son, but feels that her life is empty until she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike, and brings jealousy and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this 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 award-winning translation has been acclaimed as the definitive English version of Tolstoy's masterpiece.

Translated by RICHARD PEVEAR and LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY with a Preface by JOHN BAYLEY

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140449175
• ISBN13: 9780140449174
• Release Date: December 2002
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 880 Pages
• Weight: 1.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 1.9" x 5.2"

Customer Reviews

Hardcover Problems...

Like others here, I barely started reading the book, really like 3 chapters in and I noticed that the pages are falling off. Had to return it. Very disappointed, as the condition of the book was supposed to be new.

Terrible condition

Received this book today and haven’t started it but I was very disappointed in it’s condition. When ordering it was stated this was “good” condition and it’s not ! Several pages are torn almost completely from the binding, several ripped in half. Have not had an issue before with books coming in this condition so surprised a book would be sent out like this. Should have been thrown in the trash.

I ordered a hardcover, definitely didn't get that!

I ordered and paid for a hardcover of Anna Karenina. I definitely got a softcover. Extremely disappointed!

One of my favorites

This is a must read for everyone. Tolstoy captures your thoughts and immerses you into the setting he creates. You love Anna but you’re also frustrated with her. The book is moving and makes you wonder what tricks love can truly play on the mind.

psychological master piece

Hofstadter writes that people are patterns. From that perspective, Tolstoy birthed whole families that feel realer and more intimately familiar to me than some of my own siblings. Because it is so long (be prepared to dedicate a habit to this book if you hope to finish it), you have the opportunity to get to know them, to grow with them, and learn their lessons second hand. The story has been described as two independent plots, but as such it is rife with parallels and mirroring events where the reader can connect one plot to the other and transfer the lessons learned, seeing how the same stressors affect different characters. Honestly, I see this book as the human psyche cracked open and prodded with a stick to see how it reacts. You will not regret delving into this.

Enthralling

Let your imagination run free

Greatest Novel Ever Written

I read this book in 1993, and I still remember the experience. It has been called the greatest novel ever written and I agree. It is a very long book: I read a few chapters a day over a long period of time. Over time the feeling developed that the characters, and Tolstoy himself (in Levin), were people I knew -- people with whom I spent some time each day. The philosophy was mind-expanding; I'm sure my views were affected. For me, the important thing in reading this book was not to try to "get through" it, but to "visit" it as I would visit congenial neighbors. When I finished, I felt loneliness over loss of contact with the characters. I'm going to read it again some day.

Excellent on so many levels

Don't go through life without reading "Anna Karenina." This novel is excellent on so many levels that you can read it again and again, as I have, and still thoroughly enjoy it. Tolstoy skillfully tells two different stories simultaneously, based on the same theme: How does one find true happiness? Anna makes a choice and tries to bravely see it through, trying all the while to persuade herself that she's found happiness, but you can feel the strain build as the novel nears its climax. Levin nearly drives himself insane in his mental tug-of-war over where his place in life should be, but eventually comes full circle. In their journeys, Anna and Levin cross paths, with fascinating results. I can't stress enough that this book is a must-read. Be prepared to be thoughtful, depressed, elated and emotionally drained.

Quite simply, The Novel

"Anna Karenina" is why the novel was invented. It is a colossal achievement that fully exploits the possibilities inherent in the literary form. The purpose of the 19th-century novel was to explore character and to critique society, and Tolstoy here has achieved the quintessence of both aims. The thing about Tolstoy is that you can trust him -- he is utterly honest. He doesn't revise, or simplify, or sugar-coat. He presents the human mind, in its various guises, precisely as it is. Levin, to my mind, rivals Hamlet as the most vivid, fully living character in literature, and he is probably much more self-consistent than the Melancholy Dane. Anna's story, which is more melodramatic and plot-heavy, might strike some as a flaw in comparison to Levin's. And maybe it is a flaw. But one must talk about flaws in "Anna Karenina" as one talks about flaws in Beethoven's 9th Symphony -- blemishes on a masterpiece which, if it errs, errs only in striving further than the art form is supposed to go.Tolstoy's genius at depicting character and psychology is matched by his ability to construct vivid, memorable setpieces. No one who has read "Anna Karenina" can ever forget the hay-mowing, or Vronksy's horse race, or the heartbreaking scenes of Levin's sickly brother.Even Dickens, with all his glorious phantasmagoria, never achieved what Tolstoy has done here. Tolstoy caught lightning in a bottle: homo sapiens, captured in 800-odd pages. There are only a handful of comparable achievements in all of Western art.

Thrilling and packed with tragedy!

Essentially, Anna Karenina is an amorous novel that describes two epic tales of people's quests for love. Levin and Anna, the two characters who are central to these individual stories, never meet but this is entirely intentional. Instead, they allow Tolstoy to write both a tragic and cheerful ending which had never been achieved before. But what can we learn about love from this classic novel? Firstly, one must look in detail at the polarised fates of both Levin and Anna and then ask how, despite their similar personalities, did they both finish in completely different circumstances. One of Tolstoy's greatest talents is describing characters; even after a few pages of the book Oblonksy comes to life to the reader. Levin, who is an image of Tolstoy himself, is depicted in an extremely pleasant manner and his views are well ahead of his time. For example, he was the only farmer who cared for the wellbeing of his serfs. However, he is not conveyed as a romantic person but he does fall deeply in love with Kitty. Levin met her at one of the formal soirees that were so common during the aristocracy of Russia at the time. Unfortunately, he was confronted by a disapproving mother who disliked him because he was not as popular or respected as Count Vronksy. After this, and even more embarrassingly, Kitty refused Levin's proposal. Levin then retreated to his country estate where he returned to nature and his most ideal surroundings. This scenario teaches or sets the examples of one of the most renowned incidents about love. What one wishes to believe or read into a fictitious situation is entirely independent; however, there are useful lessons that can be drawn from these examples, which have extracted from reality. Firstly, Levin's approach towards Kitty is conveyed as nervous and not wholehearted. This is deliberately done in order to show that an unconfident advance is more likely to cause damage than conclude in a positive ending. Levin's life, however, is gradually rebuilt through the honest interest he has in his inefficient farm and Oblonksy, his childhood friend. Oblonksy, who has already suffered marital problems, visits him and acts as a go-between bringing information about Kitty, who falls dramatically ill and finally goes abroad. Oblonksy's own marriage perhaps brings one of the most important aspects of matrimony to the forefront. Oblonksy, who leads an aristocratic lifestyle despite his financial problems, betrays his wife, Dolly, leaving her devastated. This causes constant problems for the first fifty pages of the novel as he tries to regain her trust and faith. The point that Tolstoy wishes to convey here is that love can change and will do so if precious attention is not continually given to strengthen the relationship. The remainder of the family, including the servants, also suffers and this is well described by the author and is reflected in Oblonksy's carefree approach to life. Anna also exp