Why it’s essential
Widely considered one of the greatest works of literature to date, Anna Karenina explores universal themes of human struggle.
What is Anna Karenina about?
This classic novel follows Anna Karenina, a young woman who is unfulfilled in her marriage, as she meets and falls in love with a young bachelor. Her life unravels as she risks everything to taste what she believes to be love in its purest form.
Editor's review
Editor Madeline loves memoir, literary fiction that tackles the existential, and all the sapphic stories she can get her hands on.
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, commonly known to Western readers as Leo Tolstoy, is revered as being one of the greatest writers of all time. His books—especially War and Peace and The Kingdom of God Is Within You—have had massive cultural impact and were known to have been held in high esteem by such pivotal figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
One of Tolstoy’s most celebrated novels, Anna Karenina has less to do with politics and more to do with the love life of one woman. Or at least, that’s what the title will have you believe. To really get into it, a reader has to accept the enormous undertaking of either the 864-page print edition, or the 35-hour-and-35-minute-long audio version. It was when I learned that one of my favorite actresses, Maggie Gyllenhaal, was cast as narrator of the great classic that I finally thought, "challenge accepted." I knew it was time, at last, to check this masterwork off my "to be listened" list, and that if anyone could get me through this epic, it was Maggie.
As I walked the streets of my Brooklyn neighborhood, did chores in my apartment, and trained into the city, I was thrown into elite Russian society and found myself wanting to live there. Far from "getting me through" this mammoth book, Maggie unleashed a whole new world for me to exist inside—one I could not get enough of and was sad to see dissolve as the 35 hour and 35 minute recording finally rolled its production credits. Gyllenhaal’s passion for the material comes through clearly, and I was not at all surprised when I read the following quote from the actress herself, on her experience of narration:
"Anna Karenina is one of my favorite books. But when I agreed to read it for Audible, I had no idea how much work it would be, how intense it would be, and how deeply I would fall in love with it. I feel like performing this novel is one of the major accomplishments of my work life—it was so challenging and so deep, a real pleasure."
The infamously lengthy story follows title character Anna, who is unhappily married to a man 20 years her senior. She dutifully attends parties, gives birth to his child, and behaves in all the many ways a woman of her age and class was taught to behave. Anna doesn’t worry about finances, is well-kept, and has no obvious outward battles. But as the famous novel reminds us, happiness is not equal to the realization of desires. Her struggle of feeling trapped by the circumstances of her life is so normal, so deliciously ordinary, that one mustn’t be in 1800’s Russia to understand.
What I love most about this novel is its ability to hold a mirror up to life itself. Tolstoy does not tell us what to think, does not even nudge us in either direction. He simply says—look, see, and do not judge. This is the stuff of life itself. Through the trials and tribulations of Anna, Tolstoy details his thoughts on romantic love—jealousy can ruin what is, when left alone, precious and beautiful; everyone is flawed; and love itself is not the answer to all of life's many problems.
While Anna’s character is, of course, central to the story, Anna Karenina is not only about her love affairs and the people who course through her life. It is a time capsule of 1870’s Russia and a meditation on faith told through the lens of a farmer, Levin, who questions whether or not he believes throughout the entirety of the novel.
By the end of the marathon that is this classic piece of literature, the listener starts to understand the deep truth that eludes Anna Karenina line after line—a change in geography or lovers is not the key to happiness. In both Tolstoy's fiction and the real world, there is no "happily ever after" unless you have found it within yourself.
Did you know?
Tolstoy was inspired to start writing Anna Karenina in 1873 after reading the opening sentence in a story by Russian author Alexander Pushkin—which jumped straight into the action rather than starting by describing the characters and setting.
The plot of Anna Karenina was inspired by the story of a real woman—the mistress of one of Tolstoy's friends who, after learning that her lover had been neglecting her for another woman, threw herself in front of a freight train.
The character of Anna was inspired by Alexander Pushkin's daughter, Maria Hartung. Meeting the young woman at a ball, Tolstoy was struck by her beauty and, after engaging in a conversation, also by her bold opinions on literature and art.
What listeners said
"Tolstoy is such a literary genius and in my opinion, there is no excuse for postponing this journey into this masterpiece." –Jody, Audible listener
"Look, I knew this was a long book before I started, and I was in it for the long haul when Maggie began narrating. She does more than narrate. She performs the piece and makes it dance. The inflection and sharpness of her pronunciation of the French and Russian phrasing is flawless. You will enjoy this classic because she delivers it with exquisite perfection." —K. Johnson, Audible listener
"I didn't want it to be over and I know I will listen to this again." —J. Stirling, Audible listener
Quotes from Anna Karenina
"All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
"He stepped down, trying not to look long at her, as if she were the sun, yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking."
"I think... if it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, then there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts."
"Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be."
"If you look for perfection, you'll never be content."
Adaptations
Anna Karenina has been adapted for the screen multiple times—most notably, in 1935 for a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film starring Greta Garbo and, most recently, in 2012 for a British film starring Keira Knightley.
About the author
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, commonly known as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909. His books include the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, novellas such as Hadji Murad and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and nonfiction works such as The Kingdom of God Is Within Us and Confession. His writing has influenced philosophers, social reformers, pacifists, and vegetarians around the world. Born into Russian nobility on August 28, 1828, Tolstoy died of pneumonia on November 20, 1910, at the age of 82.
About the performer
Maggie Gyllenhaal is an American actress and filmmaker. After receiving critical acclaim for her leading performances in Secretary (2002) and Sherrybaby (2006), she gained wider recognition for playing Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight (2008) and garnered an Academy Award nomination for her performance as a single mother in Crazy Heart (2009). Her other roles include a Secret Service agent in the action-thriller White House Down (2013), a musician in Frank (2014), and the title role in the drama The Kindergarten Teacher (2018). In 2021, Gyllenhaal made her writing and directing debut with the psychological drama The Lost Daughter, for which she won the Venice International Film Festival's Best Screenplay Award. She has also appeared in five stage productions since 2000, including her Broadway debut in the revival of The Real Thing, and starred in the BBC miniseries The Honourable Woman, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. In addition to Anna Karenina, her audiobook performances include Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar and Mayhem: A Memoir by Sigrid Rausing.
