Anna Karenina

Trying to adapt a novel so rich in character and detail as 'Anna Karenina' in such a short compass is a daunting task, and inevitably there must be omissions. The secondary plot line of Levin and the Princess Kitty was chosen, and they are referred to only briefly on the third disc. This is a pity, as their relationship makes an important contrast to that of Anna and Vronsky. However, the adaptation successfully tells the central story of three essentially good people, Anna, Vronsky and Karenin, who become victims of a repressive social order that enshrines propriety and honour, and yet employs double standards to judge the behaviour of men and women. It uses Tolstoy's own technique of using multiple narrators providing different perpectives on the actions of the main characters, while linking together the various short scenes that make up the story. I would single out Alison Pettit's portrayal of the maid Annushka, a warm and sympathetic commentator on her mistress's plight. Turning to the three main characters, Teresa Gallagher has the dramatic range to move from peacemaker to her sister in law Dolly and her husband on the first disc to the woman driven to the depths of despair in the last disc. The last fifteen minutes of the recording are dramatically and brilliantly realised. Toby Stephens' presentation of Vronsky catches the complexity of the character suggested by Tolstoy; he is far from being the typical army officer. But it is Nicholas Farrell who emerges as the star in his portrayal of the conscientious but emotionally detached Karenin, labouring to create the new Russia in a period of repid change. To these principals I would add Cartolyn Jones' Princess Lydia, exhibiting the disngenuous piety of someone determined to do good, and the brittle nature of the sophisticated aristocratic milieu represented by Janet Maw's Princess Betsy. Credit should be given to Ed Thomasonm for including not just Tolstoy's remark about happy and unhappy families, but his observations about marriage relationships and the nature of Russian society, and indeed in conveying the esence of the novel in such a short space. I was minded to award four stars when Levin did not make an appearance, but the quality of the performance on disc has inclined me to give five stars.

This book was my first foray into Russian literature, and I could not have had a better introduction. Tolstoy has a way of phrasing the thoughts and feelings of the characters that is so insightful, precise and identifiable that it easily transcends the innumerable differences between a modern reader and the selection of people he focuses on living in nineteenth century Russia. They are all incredibly psychologically developed and I felt as if I knew them all personally and could predict how they might react in any given situation. Tolstoy also colours his narrative so that it is seen through the eyes of the different characters, giving the reader many different viewpoints from which to perceive events and settings and so making the novel very rich. A scene from the perspective of Oblonsky, for example, is light, frivolous and faintly cynical, whereas the same situation seen through Levin's eyes is thoughtful and earnest.Unfortunately, while the human drama of the novel has stood the test of time admirably, much of Tolstoy's social commentary has not fared so well. The sections on social economy, agriculture and political systems may have ben fascinating to a contemporary Russian reader but I found them lengthy, tedious, unnecessary and, dare I say it, dull. However, I'm more than willing to ignore the effect of these passages in light of the sheer brilliance of the rest of the book.This particular translation (Penguin, 1954, this edition 2000) by Rosemary Edmonds is fantastic. Her prose is readable and appropriate, so that the book does not read like translated literature at all, but like any other nineteenth century novel. The illusion was so well-executed that the only time I was made aware that I wasn't reading original language literature was when characters discussed which pronouns to use to refer to one another, an aspect of language which is absent from modern English. Both the translation and the original writing make this a thoroughly excellent book.

...I read Anna Karenina as a teenager and have not picked it up again since. The recent release of the Movie will somewhat revive this wonderful tale I'm sure and this audio version will certainly do renewed interest no harm. Across 3 CD's, the story is told through the melodious voices of perfectly chosen actors and I found it had a dreamy quality to it that made for easy listening. The narrative is no less powerful in this version and it made a lovely change to be 'read to'. The best part of my reviewing this product though for me is that I will most certainly be picking up the novel for another read.A tragic tale of love and loss - either on paper or on CD...

How can you audio-ize a full length Russian classic on to 3 cds? Well, simply you can't. But what you can do is adapt, translate, summarize and get the main parts of the story over. And this full-cast adaptation does a grand job. It's like a "Brodies notes" or "Karenina for Dummies" and it works really well. I read the book 30 years ago and ploughed my way through it, page by slow page, and I didn't get the sense of fun and excitement that this audiobook oozes with.Great in-car entertainment. Highly recommended by this audiobook fan.

Having already read and loved this book, I would highly recommend this to anyone. However, the original copy I ordered from this supplier arrived severely bashed and scraped. They kindly offered to replace the item, but unfortunately this arrived in a similar state. I would recommend finding another version of this book to read.