Anna Karenina

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." This is the famous opening sentence of Tolstoi's epic love story between Anna Arkadyevna Karenina and her Count Vronsky. Anna Karenina (1877) by Leo Tolstoy is a classic story of love and tragedy against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary Russia. The extravagant and dramatic story of Anna Karenina who risks everything for passion is intertwined with the quiet story of Levin (an autobiographical character) and his own quest for true love and personal fulfillment. This psychological masterpiece is considered to be one of the greatest novels of world literature.(P)1990 Recorded Books

Spectacular Book by Tolstoy with A+ reading

Anna Karenina is possibly the best book I have ever enjoyed. The reading of this book by Davina Porter was perfect, she has an amazing ability to do justice to male, female, old, and young characters. I walk every day and listen to books. This Tolstoy novel and the way it was presented by Porter made all my walks special. I will buy other books like Madame Bovary by Porter.

Well Worth the Effort

I FINALLY finished listening to this book today, all 36 hours and 8 minutes of it, and I have to say it was worth it. This is a long, involved, 19th century novel by one of the greatest novelists in history. It took some work on my part to stick with it and understand it. I followed the story along on sparknotes, which made it much easier, because when I got lost in the detail, or didn't know or remember who a character was, I could consult this website and get those questions answered.

This book is a juxtaposition of two stories, the sad story of Anna Karenina, and the happy story of Konstantin Levin. The book has been analyzed to death over the last 200 years so it is futile to try to do that. I will just give my impressions. When I finished this book, I wanted to cry, not because I was sad, not because I had a feeling of losing something of value, or losing contact with good friends as I sometimes have at the end of a good book, but I think it was because I saw Levin come around to an understanding of who he was, and what his place was in the world. He realized the most valuable things to him were his wife and son. It was like the sun coming out. It made me happy after the tragic story of Anna and her messed up life. In any case, I loved the whole book. I knew it would be long and involved and contain a lot of detail that is not germane to the story. Do not read this book if you don't want to put up with that aspect of the novel. It is a rewarding story with much food for thought and lessons for life. Makes me happy I have made the good decisions I have made, and helps me understand the poor ones. BTW, Davina Porter is about the best narrator of all times. I could listen to her all day . . . and I DID for several days!

Not bad, but not great

Originally, I chose this version of Tolstoy's classic because I am so fond of Davina Porter's narration, and she did (once again) magnificently. I try to stay away from abridged versions of anything, not wanting to miss any detail the author deemed important. Having said this, I'm not sure I could handle reading any more of Tolstoy unabridged. Holy crow, the man goes on and on at times! There were times when his writing was magical and I felt the emotion of it so powerfully, it overwhelmed me. However, I think you can take description too far, like exaggerated montages on agricultural processes or political maneuvers. If you dislike contention, do not attempt this book. From what I gathered of Tolstoy's perspective, until the last few pages anyways, all that the intellectual people do when they are together is argue. I couldn't help but wish I could have shared my prescription Zoloft with Anna and Levin on many occasions; if those two aren't perfect candidates for anti-anxiety medication, I don't know who is. In Levin, his overactive mind and self-reflection seemed, in the end, to bring him to a peaceful place, but he nearly drove me insane getting there. And, I'll be honest, Anna's descent into madness near the end got more and more difficult for me to listen to; as another reviewer mentioned, I, too, couldn't wait for her to off herself so I could get out of her painfully warped mind. She was so pitiful! I am curious about the lack of closure for many of the important characters, and why Tolstoy didn't tie things up at the end for several of the people critical to the story. Overall, it was worth listening to, even though I am exhausted and relieved it is finally over. I'm not sure I would recommend it to others as highly as many reviewers have, but if you've got over forty hours in which you'd like to indulge in some excessively lengthy and serious Tolstoy reflections, then by all means, go for it.

Intense read

I don’t believe I could have read this book, but it was so wonderfully narrated. Tolstoy’s characters are so rich and their lives so intertwined. What a though provoking ending. Very deep.

Brilliant rendition

I owned this version as a CD set and sought it out when I joined Audible. Divina Porter renders the story with beauty and sensitivity. Truly one of the greatest of all novels.