J. J. E. Mekes

Very nice stories.

I liked how different stories from different Russian authors were included, that way you get a nice taste of what Russian literature has to offer.

Yes, I quite like his narration. I do have one qualm: his female voices sound unnaturally high-pitched, almost as if in post production they raised the pitch (I don't know if this is the case or not).

Russian literature is, for me, always packed with emotion. I didn't exactly laugh or cry outright, but I did feel the emotion in the stories.

The music adds a nice touch.

Kafka manages to pack a lot of emotion and powerful imagery into a reasonably short story. It really makes the reader think about how they relate to the characters, and how they think about others, especially the

I haven't read anything like it myself. The concept of a man turning into an insect is just incredibly unique, and Kafka wrote it all down very well.

I haven't, but I have played The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, in which Cosham voiced several characters. If you're familiar with his voice work, you'll know what to expect. I think he has a very pleasant voice to listen to, despite (or perhaps thanks to?) a slight lisp. He enunciates very well, speaking the words and phrases carefully and deliberately, but without it turning monotonous.

That's a tough one... I'm not sure you could capture the idea of the story in a catchphrase, but perhaps something like

Absolutely. Particularly if said friend was thinking of getting married. Tolstoy does a tremendously good job writing about all aspects of love and human interaction.

The grand life events. Without wanting to spoil anything, events like birth, marriage, and death are the ones where Tolstoy really shines here. He takes his time describing not only the events themselves, but also the effects they have on the people involved in them.

I really liked how the narrator acted out the emotional scenes. Horovitch is particularly good in bringing dialogue alive. The narration itself is a bit dull at times, but perhaps Tolstoy's slow and deliberate prose is at fault there (though it's not really a fault, it's just the way it's intended). One minor thing: the narrator's French, while good, isn't perfect, but that's easily overlooked (or should I say overlistened?).

Not really. Anna Karenina is a book that's best enjoyed like a fine wine: take a few sips at a time. Apart from practical difficulties (the book is just too long to listen to in one go), you'd just get overwhelmed with emotion if you wanted to listen to too much at a time.

One thing to keep in mind is that this book is ultimately not about Anna Karenina. It features her heavily, yes, but ultimately the main character is a man called Levin. If you don't realize this, part 5 of the book may seem a bit redundant, but once you get that Tolstoy first and foremost wanted to tell a story of self-discovery and faith, it all makes sense.