Anna Karenina

Kate Lock gives a wonderful, passionate reading of Tolstoy's novel. In contrast to another reviewer here, I found her variety of voices enthralling, and the heights of emotional intensity she reaches at times simply stunning.

My only problem with this version is that sometimes the narration is very, very soft, and sometimes the dialogue is very, very loud. I don't know if this is a British thing; at least I've found it to a problem more often with British productions than American. This isn't Kate Lock's fault, and if you can find the right volume setting (or don't mind changing it occasionally as the need arises), this can be a deep and rewarding listen.

.....and again, and again; if there is enough time in my life.

Firstly, this is a remarkable story, written in great depth, with such understanding AND in the 19th century.

Secondly, the issues within it are relevant to each of us, not all the issues to every one of us, but there will be something(s) that will speak to you if you are willing to listen.

Thirdly, it is much, much bigger than its title suggests and encompasses many more people and relationships than Anna and Vronsky.

As was true when I listened to 'War and Peace', I liked the way in which Tolstoy combines philosophy with a good story. No - a great story.

Kate Lock was magnificent - and that very pleasantly surprised me. She enacted every character with her voice, including the minor and insignificant ones.

That would actually be impossible because of the length - 41+ hours. But I was always sorry to have to take a break.

My understanding is that Tolstoy considered this his greatest novel and that Levin was very loosely based on himself.

Even with more than 100 years gap, there is a freshness and aliveness that drew me into the book.

I appreciated so much more of all the main characters and what they had to 'say' about living life than I was able to do when I read it (not listened to it) as a much younger woman myself.I was challenged and fascinated and delighted and saddened - the gamut of human emotions - as the story moved along.......but do not expect it to move fast - there is far too much philosophical reflection and internal dialogue for that.

Sit back, stay alert and hear the voice of Tolstoy speaking to you through his characters brought to life by the sound of Kate Lock's voice.Enjoy!

The narration was fine when she was reading with her own voice, but when she used different voices for the characters, she REALLY did sound constipated. Her character voices were extremely over the top and...just...weird. It was bearable for the first few chapters, but got very annoying and hard to listen to after a while. It's a LONG book, and I don't know if I'm going to be able to finish it listening to this narration for that long! Is it really that hard to sound like a normal human being?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narrator was excellent and everyday I looked forward to listening. I wished it would never end.

Probably not for a while! The full story is LONG!

The period piece. The story is about relationships, unfortunately relationships that have gone bad. However, though our times have changed our dysfunctional relationships with each other have not!

Great voice, easy to listen to and loved her how she made characters come alive.

Anna herself

I am still listening to Anna Karenina, but the narrator is excellent and keeps me actively involved in the story.

The reader is amazing in how she is able to portray many character's voices.

My favourite was Leavin. He seemed like such a good man, just trying to get by.

I am not sure.

Learning that these characters want for something, then when they get it they are still unhappy. It is amazing that this book was written in 1870 as nothing has really changed with humanity.

I found Kate Lock's subtle and nuanced reading fascinating. I will definitely look for more of her narrations.

The reading part is good, but every character sounds the same: constipated (seriously). Its really difficult to listen to this hour after hour. Ill have to buy another version with a different reader.