Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club)

Don't assume for a moment that Anna Karenina hasn't been dazzled with a more complete set of stars because I am another audacious reader who thinks that Anna is a glorified soap opera, far from the truth. Anna Karenina is lovelier than English itself (which is precisely why it was written in Russian), and this translation does an excellent job reminding me that I am reading a translation, and a very bad one at that. This translation takes away all of the texture of the text with small schoolboy words the Count would have taken offense to, rotten rubbish. I recall someone else making mention of the superiority of the Constance Garnett translation to this, a translation I own and have read, and I would agree that even the seven dollar Barnes and Noble edition translated by Constance Garnett has a far better translation then this.

The best translations you can get into filthy English are ones based on the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation, which preserves the texture of the text. The Norton critical edition is my favorite, all of the annotations, notes, and other fidget-friendly details, but the current Oxford world classics edition is just as good. George Gibian does the revised Norton translation, and I don't remember the name of the editor of the Oxford classics, but both translations are based on the Maude translation. Avoid this blasphemous rendering.

Although I first read this book many years ago, I have gone back and read it 2 more times since then. I love this book because it has so many different facets to it. I enjoyed learning about Russian society in that time period and found Levin's commentaries about farming to be another way of examining Russian life. I thought it was suspenseful and had no trouble at all following the plot line or the characters. I especially enjoyed the dialogue between Vronsky and Anna that was written with first letters only. It was so clever of Tolstoy to write the scene that way and I found that I could understand all of their conversation. I still find this book fascinating!

I debated whether to give this book 3 or 4 stars, but finally decided on the latter. Here's why: While it true that this book is long -- an understatement, really -- it does have some passages that are just breathtakingly beautiful. There were many times during the book that I found myself rather bored, especially when long sections dealt with hunting, farming, or political mumbo-jumbo. At the time this novel was written, it may have been meaningful. For me, however, it was tedious. I found myself really disengaging from the story at these moments, but was quickly drawn back in by the romance and fascinating characters. I really do not know why Tolstoy called this "Anna Karenina," when in reality she is only one of several "main" characters. I found each to be real, sympathetic, and intriguing. Tolstoy really captured the complexities of human relationships so well. I definitely would recommend this novel to others, but not the typical Oprah Book Clubbers or any casual readers. This is serious literature for those who can handle it! Lit majors, proceed...

Well, it was a long, long time ago and I wanted to get a great Russian Novel under my belt. War and Peace was too darn long, so I thought I'd try this one.
It took me about a month to get Count Veronski separate from Prince Rodonkski. And then there was Colonel Radzinokovek and Captain Chaknoskonovick. Hey who can spell Checkoslovakia?
By the time I got all the names straight I forgot what the story was all about. Basically it is about this rich broad who cheats on her husband, becomes a big disgrace at the Palace and then gets run over by a horse and carriage.
I finished it. I know I should read War and Peace. It is a classic you know. But I think that I would rather read the Encyclopedia Bertanica. Right now I'm reading Crime and Punishment. I think that I have been reading this one for three years now. I am on page 73. Raskolnikov is in this book also. This book has 564 pages. Don't wait for my review. It will probably be a while. But I am determined. After all I finished Anna Karenina didn't I!

Anna Karenina is a mighty undertaking, but well worth it.

I was especially pleased by how intricately the main characters were created and molded into deep thoughtful beings. I thought Levin was the most interesting character.

How he and Anna both reason their paths shapes the novel.

Like many reviewers, I too found Anna Karenina to be a pompous princess, bent on selfish happiness, with a husband deliriously lost and looking to grasp onto anything he could to steady himself to; each needy and extreme in their own way. The strange morphing of each of these characters showed how thoughts, feelings and actions can be swayed when poor decisions are made. While I disagreed with Anna, I enjoyed understanding why she thought what she did was justified. It helped me to understand human nature.

This time period also marked a transition into faith for many in Russia and I think readers will like (or may not like) how Levin tackled and came to understand his beliefs.