Anna Karenina

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Davina Porter

Length: 36 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Tolstoy's masterpiece begins, "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

This is the story of the unhappy family of Anna Karenina. The novel contains much concerning Tolstoy's spiritual crisis and his search for the meaning of life. But it is also chiefly about marriage, and the growth and death of love.

The touching picture of Anna Aarkadyevna Karenina's slow disintegration has fascinated readers for well over a century. Beautiful and charming, Anna lives in a splendid world of her own making. She smokes, rides horseback, plays tennis, takes opium, practices birth control, and (although she is already married) falls in love with a handsome army officer.

Anna's life is played out against a backdrop of dazzling balls and the vastness of Russia's landscape. It is a magnificent story that shimmers with the intensity of intelligence and passion, especially through this superb narration by Davina Porter.

Public Domain (P)1990 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"Porter reads magnificently." (Los Angeles Times)

gotta love the passion of a russian

This may be the earliest book I've ever found with a Hollywood ending. I seemed like a great build up to a legendary duel but was really just about and opium whore VS a good farmer man.
There is some cool philosophy and drama in it though so I would still recommend it but it's no War and Peace.

One of the greatest works of literature

Maybe the greatest of literary masterpieces, it touches on all the existential issues of life, as timely today as in 19th century Russia. Superbly performed the audio experience is a great compliment to the written one.

Intelligent and tender

This novel is a remarkable achievement. It is like looking at an intricately pieced quilt, one in which every thread has been braided by hand and dipped in liquid gold. Rarely have I read a novel in which even minor characters have rich, fully realized pasts and deep interior lives. The story is long, but Tolstoy is not wasteful with words. Every sentence tells. The narrator is lively, with a pleasant, soothing voice. I worried whether I would be able to stick with five 7-plus-hour takes, but I was sorry to see it end.

Enjoyable

I really enjoyed this book. While the unabridged version is long and a bit wordy at times, I can't imagine the abridged version could possibly do justice to the complexed stories and character development. If you enjoy light, airy stories that get to the point quickly, this is not the book for you. If you like to really get into the characters, enjoy a developing story and just love to sit back and listen, this is a perfect choice.

Glad I listened

I listened to this audiobook because I had heard that some consider "Anna Karenina" to be the greatest novel ever written. It was beautifully narrated, very pleasant and engaging. Some parts were absolutely enthralling. Tolstoy has a genius for describing deep, inner human drives and motives. A couple of parts were tedious (perhaps inevitable in any work this length). On the whole, it was beautiful, and I enjoyed the unexpected ending of the whole story.

Amazing character development and reading

I read this book for the first time recently, having managed to avoid it earlier in life. Reading it as an adult gave each character a side to which I could relate and certainly each one displayed facets I have seen either in myself or in others. While earlier in life one was likely to have picked sides, now I felt like I understood each character for their own situation as brilliantly developed by Tolstoy. By the end of the book you feel that you have endured the ups and downs with the characters and in some ways, they are your familiar companions. It was certainly sad to end the book and lose such new friends.

The reading by Davina Porter was great and I have few complaints. Yes, the names can be a bit cumbersome but that is easily avoided by taking a few notes at the outset with a brief description of each character. In any case, Davina Porter does a good job of clear pronounciation as well as effecting distinctly the specific "voice" of the book characters.

A solid read of an unforgettable book. Highly recommended.

Beautifully written and unforgettable!

What did you like about this audiobook?

This book would most definitely be in my top ten. I know the lenth of it is intimidating to some but don't miss out.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I think it's a mixture between Tess of the D'Ubervilles and the Outlander series. Maybe I'm crazy for thinking that but it's much more exciting than Tess and gripping like Outlander. I couldn't stop listening. Tolstoy is such a beautiful writer, I found myself making notes the entire time. He educates his readers while telling a very interesting story.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

I'm in love with Davina Porter's voice so it's fair to say I'm biased when it comes to her skills as a narrator. This book is so much more because of her.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

I can't say without spoiling the read for you. However when you get to the part you will most certainly know.

Do you have any additional comments?

I wish audiobooks had been so readily available while I was in highschool. A talented narrator can turn a drab book into something you can tear yourself away from.

Stays with you

Davina does a fantastic job reading this Tolstoy classic. My only complaint is that there are quotes from the book that are in French and she reads them in French without an English translation. I listened to this audio along with the book (Penguin), which is a slightly different translation, but it was very helpful to read the footnotes in the book and also the listing of character names, since Russian names can be tricky, especially when the same character can have up to four versions of a name. Good story, read very well, and stays with you for a long time afterwards.

Surprised by really bad names

If you care at all about the pronunciation of Russian names, then this otherwise perfect English narrator will drive you absolutely NUTS, putting emphases on wrong syllables and otherwise murdering all names all the time.. In this book the names and patronymics are probably one tenth of the body of text, so it does matter! The "Shish-cher-batskis" - that's Kitty's family - are particularly problematic.

Just Perfect

Perfect story telling investigates the depth of personality in the characters. It is easy to get involved in a beautiful story with main characters who are beautiful but human and flawed like everyone else. One of my favourite books of all time.