Anna Karenina

Penguin Classics

By: Leo Tolstoy, Richard Pevear - translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator

Narrated by: Miranda Pleasence

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Miranda Pleasence, the stage and television actress best known for her roles in Notes on a Scandal, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and The Affair of the Necklace. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Richard Pevear.

Tolstoy's epic novel of love, destiny and self-destruction.

Anna Karenina seems to have everything - beauty, wealth, popularity and an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society and family alike and soon brings jealously and bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love and self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Levin, a man striving to find contentment and a meaning to his life - and also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself.

This acclaimed modern translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky won the PEN/Book of the Month Club Translation Prize in 2001.

©2003 Translation: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The new and brilliantly witty translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a must." (Lisa Appignanesi, Independent, Books of the Year)

"Pevear and Volokhonsky are at once scrupulous translators and vivid stylists of English, and their superb rendering allows us, as perhaps never before, to grasp the palpability of Tolstoy's characters, acts, situations." (James Wood, New Yorker)

Loved the translation and narration

Fantastic edition. Glad I finally got around to it! I recommend doing a co-read of the same edition in print.

Fantastic!

Absolutely wonderful story and narration. Yes, it is a long read but it’s worth the effort of completing it!

Love this JOINT!

I'm already planning a reread of this great classic Russian novel! "On to War and Peace ..."

A Near-Spiritual Experience!

How was this different from other versions?
Both the narrator & newly translated text add a modern feel to the language, especially that of the novel's inner narrator, expelling many of the 'Thus', Thy', & other non-modern language.
Above all, I found this new text to be both life changing & life affirming all at once. This is possibly the only novel I've ever read to portray life's actual pace and keep me absolutely riveted at the same time.
Once the novel really got going, I literally could not put it down. I'd tell any and all literary-minded adults to read or listen. One of my college professor once called this novel the Holy Bible of Literature and I can't help but finally agreeing in full!

Fantastic rendition with few quibbles

I vastly prefer this recording on the Pevear-Volokonsky translation over that voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Ms. Pleasance creates wonderful characterizations and keeps the pace brisk (aside from speeding the narration). There's a real sense that Ms. Pleasance is superbly aware of the hierarchy of social classes in Russia in the time the novel is set, which I deeply appreciate. Ms. Pleasance does have a slight lisp, which some might have a quarrel with, but I did not. I can't say that I caught any other mistakes, but on p. 602 Ms. Pleasance flubs the translated text and substitutes "Vronsky" for "Veslovsky".

I very much enjoyed the novel itself, the translation, and the narration, but I'm not yet an Anna Karenina partisan. There are some chapters on hunting and farming that leave me cold, and the central love affair in the beginning is rushed as is the dénouement at the end.

love this so much

This was narrated by Miranda Pleasance and was very pretty. She was very wonderful

Strong performance of a classic.

From our modern perspective, it's easy to overlook just how ground-breaking this novel was in Russia at the time of it's writing. I found the narration to be exceptional throughout.

Outstanding narration of a classic !

The performance is riveting and amazingly well done for such a large number of different characters , bravo !!

Great Book

The depth of the characters and getting to be in their thoughts was interesting. Enjoyed the book.

Has a payoff but needlessly long for my taste

Far better narration than Gyllenhaal.
Long but reconciles beautifully. I considered quitting at many points but glad I didn't. Although I remark on it's length Tolstoys brilliance is demonstrated in his deep understanding of his characters and his accute understanding of people and human emotions. No one is a villain though there is one character that shows himself to be the hero by the end. I personally could butcher it to half it's length and likely be satisfied but there is a grace as it nears the end and characters that (by then) you know so well start to converge. I've read of at least one person recommending being able to walk away from the novel and come back to it. as I've finished it I think this is doable. the events aren't so tightly wound that you need to drive straight through. with the story taking place over (at least) over 2 years it actually seems appropriate to listen to it in parts with time to contemplate in-between sections. all in all a great book (if trying on one's patience)