Anna Karenina (Penguin Classics)

Rating:
Summary: A classic for a reason
Review: I'm usually reluctant to read long books originally written in a foreign language because so many translations sound stilted or else make everyone sound like an Englishman. This translation by Richard Peavar and Larissa Volokhonsky is natural sounding and evocative of the time period without being archaic. It uses standard American English without being slangy. The only British-ism I found in the whole book was when a character goes to the theatre and sits in the "stalls." (I'll bet a lot of Americans don't know that the "stalls" means the orchestra section.) But that is being really nitpicky. This translation is outstanding. I saw both of the old movies based on ANNA KARENINA (the Garbo version and the Lupe Velez version), so the book was far more interesting than I was expecting it to be. Anna herself is only one of many intricately delineated characters. Her story is only a part of it. Tolstoy is pondering bigger issues than an ill-fated love affair. He presents a whole society. His psychological insight is really remarkable. I loved the scenes in which he depicted what people were thinking and feeling toward each other while outwardly having a mundane conversation. I'm a middle-aged man. The book probably means something different to me than it would to a teenage girl, but Tolstoy has something for everyone. This is a great and powerful novel that is a classic for a good reason. This terrific translation makes it accessible to a whole new generation of Anglophones.

Rating:
Summary: A classic for a reason
Review: I'm usually reluctant to read long books originally written in a foreign language because so many translations sound stilted or else make everyone sound like an Englishman. This translation by Richard Peavar and Larissa Volokhonsky is natural sounding and evocative of the time period without being archaic. It uses standard American English without being slangy. The only British-ism I found in the whole book was when a character goes to the theatre and sits in the "stalls." (I'll bet a lot of Americans don't know that the "stalls" means the orchestra section.) But that is being really nitpicky. This translation is outstanding. I saw both of the old movies based on ANNA KARENINA (the Garbo version and the Lupe Velez version), so the book was far more interesting than I was expecting it to be. Anna herself is only one of many intricately delineated characters. Her story is only a part of it. Tolstoy is pondering bigger issues than an ill-fated love affair. He presents a whole society. His psychological insight is really remarkable. I loved the scenes in which he depicted what people were thinking and feeling toward each other while outwardly having a mundane conversation. I'm a middle-aged man. The book probably means something different to me than it would to a teenage girl, but Tolstoy has something for everyone. This is a great and powerful novel that is a classic for a good reason. This terrific translation makes it accessible to a whole new generation of Anglophones.