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Some people say Anna Karenina is the single greatest novel ever written, which makes about as much sense to me as trying to determine the world's greatest color. But there is no doubt that Anna Karenina, generally considered Tolstoy's best book, is definitely one ripping great read. Anna, miserable in her loveless marriage, does the barely thinkable and succumbs to her desires for the dashing Vronsky. I don't want to give away the ending, but I will say that 19th-century Russia doesn't take well to that sort of thing.
Book Description
Anna Karenina tells of the doomed love affair between the sensuous and rebellious Anna and the dashing officer, Count Vronsky. Tragedy unfolds as Anna rejects her passionless marriage and must endure the hypocrisies of society. Set against a vast and richly textured canvas of nineteenth-century Russia, the novel's seven major characters create a dynamic imbalance, playing out the contrasts of city and country life and all the variations on love and family happiness. While previous versions have softened the robust, and sometimes shocking, quality of Tolstoy's writing, Pevear and Volokhonsky have produced a translation true to his powerful voice. This award-winning team's authoritative edition also includes an illuminating introduction and explanatory notes. Beautiful, vigorous, and eminently readable, this Anna Karenina will be the definitive text for generations to come.
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Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club)
- Paperback: 864 pages (2004-05-31)
- Publisher: Penguin Classics; 2004-05
- Label: Penguin Classics
- Studio: Penguin Classics
- ISBN: 0143035002
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 170 reviews
- Sales Rank in Books: #2585
Avg. Customer Review:
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Indifference? NOT HERE! 2008-08-29
Comment: I haven't had/made time to read other translations of this Great work, but IMHO, Anna Karenina 'Must Be' in the top five list of all-time Greatest Romances...
(trying NOT to be selfish): Reading Anna Karenina has enriched my life; It has INCREASED my love, devotion, & respect for-to my wife, my respect & care for my children & grand-children.
I hope it does the same for you & your family...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Masterful 2008-08-28
Comment: Leo Tolstoy's immortal novel about love and morality is an intricate, flawlessly conceived work of literary realism. Tolstoy's magnificent application of temporality imbues this epic with an almost unparalleled sense of verisimilitude. Using a dialectic between Anna and Vronsky, and Levin and Kitty, Tolstoy unfolds one of the most remarkable novels about human relationships in the canon. Anna is a beautiful but doomed woman, whose love affair with Count Vronsky sets her life into a chain of inevitable disasters. Tolstoy's blend of politics, social satire, and quiet meditations on country life in 19th century Russia mark this novel as one of the richest and most eternal of works of art. Tolstoy sought to use art as a vessel for his moral opinions about life, death, and Christianity, but fortunately his art triumphed over his message in this incomparable masterpiece.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Ehhhh.. 2008-07-31
Comment: I just finished this book, in a weeks time. The first, maybe 300 pages, were extremely intriguing and I couldn't put the book down. But this was mainly because I loved the story between Anna and Vronosky. I must admit, the main reason I purchased this book was because it was said to be one of the greatest love stories of all time, and I highly enjoy reading love stories. After awhile, I realized that this book didn't revolve around Anna, like I had thought. And one of the greatest love stories of all times? Absolutely not. Actually, I barely saw any kind of "love story" in this entire novel. There was Anna and Vronosky, but could you even consider what they had to be a love story? Maybe for about 50 pages, but after that, it was annoying. To be honest, I don't think love even existed between the two of them, more like infatuation turned into obsession. Anna constantly complaining about how she felt unloved. She convinced herself that he no longer loved her, which drove her to insanity. And the way she left her son, completely unforgivable.
Then we had Levin and Kitty's love story. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't bring myself to feel the love between them when Levin wasn't even her first choice. It seemed to me that she settled for Levin because she was unwanted. However, I felt she did come to love him eventually, after they had married, which made their story enjoyable.
As many others have stated, I think Stiva was the most enjoyable character in this entire book, and yet he wasn't any better than the rest.
I enjoyed Alexia Karenina, and I feel as if he was actually a good man that was unable to express his emotions. Notice the pattern; Anna was "repulsed" by him, felt as if he didn't care about her and no longer loved her. After a little while with Vronosky, she felt the same exact way towards him. The problem wasn't with these two men, it was Anna's own insecurities. Which is ironic, because such a "beauty" as she was, being envied by all, she was so strangely insecure.
Should I mention Levin and the hundreds of pages wasted on his thoughts about farming, hunting, and philosophy? I admit, some of it was interesting. But after awhile, it became repetitive and I struggled to get through it.
But even despite my negative opinions, I still gave the book 3 stars. Why? Because there were parts of the book that were entertaining, that did keep me turning the page, and for the most part, it was an easy read. I'd recommend it, but definitely not to someone whose looking for a love story or a fun read.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: A deeply human book that repays many re-readings 2008-07-28
Comment: Why on earth would anyone bother to write another review of so famous and exhaustively-studied a book as "Anna Karenina"?
The world has changed immensely since the book was written in the late 19th century.
Reviews have probably also changed over the years, reflecting the times in which they were written - and the changing nature of reviews themselves. In fact, it would be an interesting academic exercise to read how reviews of the book have changed since its publication.
Each new review provides new interpretations, new insights to add to those of former times.
Sometimes we are put off from reading classic writers such as Tolstoy because we think their works must be too intellectual, too boring, - or set in social and political contexts that have long-vanished and become difficult for modern readers to empathise with.
I have often felt that way myself, and have put off reading "Anna Karenina" until now. Yet I can say, after reading Tolstoy's masterpiece, that the book is enjoyable and accessible to modern readers.
Of course, only the greatest of literature survives the passage of time. The world of pre-revolutionary Russia has been swept away, but "Anna Karenina" tells us of fundamental human drives that will always engage the human spirit and imagination.
Tolstoy's human portraits and his psychological insights are the outstanding features of this book. One of the pleasures of such excellent characterisations lies in reflecting on one's own life and motivations, one's dreams and failures.
Tolstoy's characters also remind us of people we know - and of ourselves. It is very pleasant to slide into reflections of this nature as one reads passages in the book. The book becomes a trigger for our own reveries. It is a deeply human book.
Not only is Tolstoy an excellent depicter of character, he is also gifted in his descriptions of country life, farming and nature. Passages describing cutting hay and the rural life of Russian peasants are simply beautiful.
There is a wonderful episode in which Levin finally gets a "Yes" from the girl he loves (but had tried to ignore following an earlier rejection). Levin goes about in a daze, all is wonderful in the world, everyone he meets is intelligent and kind, even strangers seem to know all about his acceptance (so he thinks in his fog of joy) and he feels they vie with one another to be kind to him! Every man who has ever loved deeply and won his lady will instantly empathise with the situation that Tolstoy describes so well and wittily.
There are wonderful portrayals of family life. Not in a cloying, saccharine sense, but in a very natural and moving way and in a deeply human sense, as true today as in Tolstoy's time.
There are so many beautiful scenes in this book. Every reader will have their own favourites. Some can be read many times with equal enjoyment.
For the philosophical and spiritual reader, there are many passages that have an almost religious significance, as if this were a holy book and not a work of fiction.
Time is not explicitly spelt out and one has no precise idea of the exact timescale of the book while one is reading. Durations and periods of elapsed time are given, but there is a certain timelessness and agelessness about the book that is very apt.
Read this book. You will not be disappointed and will find much to love.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Human emotions and relationships -- a literary masterpiece! 2008-06-29
Comment: It took me several months to read all 817 pages of this amazing novel which was published in segments between 1873 and 1877 in a Russian periodical. Every time I picked it up it transported me to a time and a place and a way of life that is long since gone. That it not what makes this novel great, however. What makes it great is the human relationships and emotions which are just as real today as they were in that long ago time. Here we see life and death and love and jealousy and ambition. Here we meet people who were developed so deeply and thoroughly that I did more than just understand them - I felt I was really inside of them, sharing their lives and their feelings.
I reacted with horror to the social conditions of the time that forced one of the characters into a tragic decision. I was moved my emotion by a death scene which brought all the nuances of a fading life for the person dying as well as his loved ones. I was filled with joy at a happy marriage between two people who were kept apart for a while because of pride. I learned about life in the Russian countryside and the details a landowner must deal with in dealing with the newly freed serfs and the land - and in one scene even felt that I was present during the seasonal mowing. I learned about the social restrictions on even the most aristocratic women and emerging discussions about womens' education. And, even though I would have personally liked a few more details of what went on behind bedroom doors, I bow to the conventions of the times, and used my imagination.
Anna Karenina is a married woman who dares to have a romance outside her marriage with Count Vronsky leading to tragedy. Levin is a rich countryside landowner who is at first rejected by the love of his life, Kitty. These are the main characters but they intersect with dozens of others. They are all aristocrats and all have privileged lives. And they are all very real people who are easy to identify with. This novel is a masterpiece and well worth the time and effort to read. It touches nerves in the way that only great writing can do.
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