Anna Karenina
Introduction by - Richard Pevear
Translator - Richard Pevear
Penguin Classics
Paperback
: 30 Jan 2003
£9.99
Synopsis
‘Everything is finished. I have nothing but you now. Remember that’
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 new translation of Anna Karenina has been acclaimed as the definitive version of Tolstoy’s masterpiece. It also contains an introduction by Richard Pevear and a preface by John Bayley.
Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is available as an eBook.
Special editions:
Tolstoy's Anna Karenina is also available as a (Penguin Classics)RED Edition.
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Reviews
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'William Faulkner, it's said, was once asked to name the three best novels ever. He replied: "Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina." If you don't recall why, rush to buy a fine new translation by Richard Pavear and Larissa Volkhonsky' Boyd Tonkin, Independent
‘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'
'If there's such a thing as a definitive translation, this might be it' Jean Dubail, Cleveland Plain Dealer
'All happy families will receive a copy of this new translation this Christmas; each unhappy family will want one' Eric Griffiths, Evening Standard
'The newest English-language translation by Ricahrd Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a significant achievement...They have applied their hands-off, no-nonsense idea of translation...the shining result is that Tolstoy's book reads as if it could have been written yesterday' Ingrid Lunden, San Francisco Chronicle
Tolstoy's greatness lies in not turning the story into sentimental tragedy...His world is huge and vast, filled with complex family lives and great social events. His characters are well-rounded presences. They have complete passions: a desire for love, but also an inner moral depth' Malcolm Bradbury, Mail on Sunday
'It's so fantastic that it can be read over and over again...I don't know any other writer who is so adept at peopling their pages' Maggie O'Farrell, Daily Mail, Desert Island Books
'Battered and beloved old copies, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina stands on my shelf beside War and Peace, my companions on so many holidays and winter nights. They should just about last till I die.’
Claire Tomalin
