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Title details for Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - Wait list

Anna Karenina

by Leo Tolstoy
Miranda Pleasence
Audiobook
0 of 4 copies available
Wait time: About 8 weeks
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0 of 4 copies available
Wait time: About 8 weeks

Brought to you by Penguin.
This Penguin Classic is performed by Miranda Pleasence, the stage and television actress best known for her roles in Notes on a Scandal, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Affair of the Necklace. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Richard Pevear.
Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction.
Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction 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 acclaimed modern translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky won the PEN/ Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2001.
'The new and brilliantly witty translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a must' - Lisa Appignanesi, Independent, Books of the Year
'Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English, and their superb rendering allows us, as perhaps never before, to grasp the palpability of Tolstoy's "characters, acts, situations"' - James Wood, New Yorker
Translation copyright © Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky 2003 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 30, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780241487877
      • File size: 1065337 KB
      • Duration: 36:59:27

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 790
    • Text Difficulty: 3-4

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Released to coincide with a new film version and featuring one of its stars, this recording compresses the original a little too much. We get the entire story of Anna's tragic adultery and the subplot of Levin's search for meaningful love and work. But the distinctive thematic material and Russian character are sacrificed. On the plus side, Molina reads well indeed. His impersonations have great depth. He can leap into their full emotional intensity from a dead stop, thus elevating the audio considerably above the level of "Cliffs Notes." Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Davina Porter's performance of Tolstoy's dauntingly long and involved world classic makes one feel grateful not to have to make this difficult literary journey alone. Porter's voice is pleasant, expressive and versatile; her Russian pronunciations impressive; and her understanding of the work excellent. In an unhurried and confident fashion, Porter reveals the twisting social and personal tensions that ensnare a very mortal married woman who falls into illicit love. Porter's interpretation gives a warmth and consistency to this demanding novel which silent readers would be hard-pressed to approach, let alone duplicate. This is an outstanding example of performance literature. P.W. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Tolstoy's great novel portrays a tragic love affair against a backdrop of nineteenth-century Russian high society and country life. Kate Lock's treatment shows impressive range and facility, at times achieving remarkable power and poignancy. She skillfully provides a wide variety of voices--often indicating men just by changing intonation and pitch--and manages to convey Anna's loveliness by voice alone, giving her a kind of bell-like throatiness. Unfortunately, some of her male voices--indicated by roughening or straining her voice--are unconvincing. But any flaws are swallowed up by the magnitude of the work--Tolstoy's and hers--and by her predominant talent and deft touch. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Maggie Gyllenhaal lends her husky voice to Tolstoy's challenging morality tale of forbidden love in a repressive society. Anna, married with a child and deeply unhappy, meets and falls in love with dashing, handsome, well-respected Count Vronsky. Unable to resist her feelings, Anna leaves her husband and son for Vronsky. In order to be with Anna, Vronsky gives up his spotless reputation. Their public defiance of society's norms has tragic results. Gyllenhaal glides smoothly over the many Russian names and juggles all the convoluted subplots and complex characters handily. Her reading is intelligent and coolly detached, although the objective distance may be a little understated for such passionate, emotional material. Even if you've read this classic literary treasure, listening makes it even better. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:790
  • Text Difficulty:3-4

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