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Anna Karenina
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Editorial Reviews
Editors Select, September 2016 - July 2016 - Something magical happens when a great performer narrates something he or she truly loves, as is the case with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who told us before recording that Anna Karenina is one of her all-time favorite novels. (It also happens to be a huge favorite of pretty much the entire world, being named the "greatest book ever written" in a recent poll of leading contemporary authors, as well as a personal favorite of Nabokov and Faulkner.) However, despite my love of the classics, I hadn't tackled this one until picking up Gyllenhaal's marvelous rendition, and now I can't imagine experiencing it any other way. She conveys the pulse-racing breathlessness of consuming love and the sighing breathiness of a bored aristocracy with equal precision, and she untangles Russian names that my reader's eye might have struggled to articulate. She takes great care with this great work, delivering one of the best performances I've ever heard. Emily, Audible Editor
Publisher's Summary
Winner: Audible's Best of 2016 - Classic
"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. There were places where I thought 'if I don't give Alexey Alexandrovitch the respect that he deserves in my reading of this scene, a critical part of the book will be ruined. If I don't give EVERYONE the utmost respect and understanding, I'm not doing justice to this brilliantly compassionate book.' But at the same time, I also wanted to have a light touch in the way I played the different characters, so that the magnificence of the novel could shine through. 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." (Narrator Maggie Gyllenhaal)
Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky. Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, The Honourable Woman) cites Tolstoy's epic as one of her favorite books of all time, and her love for the literature permeates her performance. Anna Karenina is a masterpiece not only because of the unforgettable woman at its core and the stark drama of her fate but also because it explores and illuminates the deepest questions about how to live a fulfilled life.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Brookethechicken
- 11-10-2016
The best way to experience Anna Karenina
There's no denying that Anna Karenina is a masterpiece, but like all masterpieces, it can also be a hard read. It's long. There are lots of people with confusing names. There are parts about politics that drag on and you have no idea why you're still reading. And did I mention it's long?
Though this has been one of my favorite books for a long time, I'm so glad I decided to listen to the audio version as I think it clarifies some of the things that can be missed in the reading of it. The names for one thing become a lot clearer when you hear someone else say them correctly.
Maggie Gyllenhaal does an outstanding job of the reading and is able to portray the characters and the feeling of each scene in such a perfect way. Some might wonder at the ability to carry off so many male voices without them all blending into one or not seeming masculine enough but she both articulates the individuals and expresses the male characters wonderfully.
Whether you have previously read the book or it's a new work of fiction for you, I highly recommend listening to this version of Anna Karenina.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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- RCF
- 21-09-2016
Stunning and faultless reading of this classic
I've read and loved this book before but Maggie G's exquisite, intuitive, sophisticated reading gave this powerful story new depths. I highly recommend this to fans of Tolstoy and searchers of the perfect narrator. You've found her. Look no further.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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- Jodie Baker
- 29-09-2016
Long but worth it
I'm not sure I would have ever picked up Tolstoy in another format, but the performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal (particularly when she finds her rhythm a few chapters into the book) make this story not just digestible but utterly delightful. Unquestionably Tolstoy was a master of human insight, and his articulation of such diverse characters and their struggles ensure his observations transcend both time and culture.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Lauren
- 26-03-2019
Returning due to the narrator
By the 9th chapter I was almost asleep. While having a very smooth voice, there was very little emotion in the reading, and absolutely no distinction between character voices. This was confusing as the many character names are complex and tricky to follow on their own if it is your first time, as it is mine. I'm going to try a different narrator and hope for a more dramatic reading.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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- Clau
- 09-03-2019
Worth it
Having tried and failed to read a different 'classic' long ago and taking into account how much I enjoyed M.G.'s narration of another (much shorter ) book, I decided to purchase this.
It took a while to get into, around the end of part 3 is where it got much easier to 'read' for me.
In spite of not loving most of the Levin chapters(honestly wondered why this wasn't named Konstantin Levin/Anna Karenina multiple times), I would still recommend this book.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 04-03-2019
Lovely voice
I love Maggie’s voice she can speak French beautifully but her German was unrehearsed and awful! Story is classic.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Droo
- 27-02-2019
Perfection!
I have tried to read this book at least three times but could never get into it. It was only when it was read to me by the talented Maggie Gyllenhaal that I finally started enjoying and appreciating this book. M Gyllenhaal conveys the meaning that I was missing left to my own devices. If I did not find this audible version I doubt I would have ever read or appreciated this book,
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 10-10-2019
Fell asleep and couldn't get back into the story
Performance was great, but I could not stay focused on the story. Only for fans I think.
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- Anonymous User
- 17-09-2019
Brilliant narration
Love story, strong characters, political and social commentary, history, philosophy, theology. Really interesting book! Fascinating snapshot of an era.
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- Kelly Hamilton
- 11-08-2019
best narrator ever
Perfect narration. loved the book. the characters had depth. I thought I wouldn't relate to the story or characters, but could.
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- J. Stirling
- 02-08-2016
Not to be rushed but to be savored
This is not the dull endless drama I read in college. Maggie Gyllenhaal brings every word to life. Tolstoy in spite my youthful opinion many years ago, created characters that are exciting, brilliant, often frustrating, selfish, funny and in many ways just like our own family members. I didn't want it to be over and I know I will listen to this again. Right now I wish I could talk to other readers to share all the deep thoughts and feelings this book awakens.
128 of 132 people found this review helpful
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- L. Kerr
- 22-07-2016
Top Notch Performance
I've listened to several audiobook recordings of this classic novel. This one may be the best.
The narrator is a famous American actress who obviously devoted a lot of time and effort. I admire her because audiobook narrators are famously underpaid. I'm sure she didn't do this just for the money. You can tell she loves this story, which in my opinion is the greatest love story in novel form.
One of the unique aspects of this version is that most of the other narrators are British. This narrator has a naturally clear and seamless American delivery. It caused me to pick up subtleties that I didn't feel listening to the Brits (though I thoroughly enjoyed them).
This audiobook is worth your money. I plan to re-listen to it in a few months.
A note on this translation:
This is the famous Constance Garnett translation, which, for many years, was the gold standard and the one beloved by so many great writers such as Faulkner and Hemmingway. There are several recent translations, most of which I've read. This and all translations are very good. I wish there were audiobook versions of the recent translations, but I understand that Audible and other recording companies probably can't afford to pay the translators so they use this and other old translations whose copyrights have expired. This is another reason why this narrator has done such an admirable job. Her performance makes this version, which was written in 1901, sound relevant and fresh.
177 of 187 people found this review helpful
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- Charles B
- 27-08-2018
Need to Disclose and Highlight Name of Translator
If you disclosed Constance Garnett as the translator of this version of Anna Karenina, where did you do so? I didn't catch it. This is important information that needs to be highlighted. Vladimir Nabokov, a master of the Russian and English languages, thought that Garnett's translation was a "complete disaster." Whether Nabokov was right or not, there certainly is a real controversy about the translation.
I beg you, in the future please disclose the translator's name routinely, and as prominently as the name of the author. Thank you.
143 of 152 people found this review helpful
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- Stevon
- 16-01-2017
excellent classic, the only way to describe it
First time author for me. If you are like me, every once in a while it's a good change of pace to take on a long classic. You have to be in the right frame of mind but something clicks about a story and you go for it. For me, in this instance, it was narrator Maggie Gyllenhaal the actress. And, she did a great job. But in researching the story while listening I learned that this being a classic, Audible has seven full length versions of this audiobook, all with different narrators. How do you know which one to listen to? There are even two Russian version, one Italian, one Spanish plus abridged versions. I guess this is what happens when a book is a true classic.
At times it seemed that the title of the book is a misnomer. Yes, the doomed love story of Anna is central to the story but there is much more to it. There is the farmer Levin who is questioning his faith the entire story, trying to decide if he's a Believer or Unbeliever. But it's also a time piece of Russian history. Tolstoy wrote this in the 1870's and writes about many facets of Russian life at the time. The Serfs of Russia, most of the people, had been freed from serfdom which was basically slavery. They were now called peasants and had to be paid a wage for their work. Under serfdom Russian agriculture had been a profitable venture for the elite of Russian but now with freedom productivity had gone down and profitability was out the window. The term communism was already being used so the coming revolution wasn't something that dropped onto Russia out of the sky. There was much discussion on the equitable distribution of all things for the good of the people. In many ways these issues still exist in current day Russia.
Tolstoy himself was born into the aristocracy of Russia. Since he touched on so many subjects you had to wonder if he wasn't one of those questioning the status quo. He apparently embraced religion and spirituality later in life and it seemed he may have been espousing his questions and views on the subject a he devotes quite a bit of the story to this topic.
All in all, this is a great classic. When the time is right take the challenge and good luck on deciding which narrator to listen to. I don't know that I have a second listening in me just to try out a second narrator. But it is interesting to see how different narrators can put a different perspective on a story.
67 of 71 people found this review helpful
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- LolaD3
- 06-08-2018
I can't believe I finished the whole thing!
Maggie Gyllenhaal is one of my favorite actresses of all time. When I saw that Anna Karenina was on sale a few weeks ago and that Maggie was the narrator, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. I not only enjoyed her narrations but the story was interesting as well. It took me a while to finish the entire book but I did. This surprised me because I have been getting into a habit of not finishing books after becoming bored with them. This historical fiction classic was sad, funny and entertaining up to the end. I was surprised at how relative the characters are to modern society. I found Maggie Gyllenhaal's voice to be really relaxing and soothing. It makes the experience very enjoyable.
21 of 22 people found this review helpful
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- K. Johnson
- 11-08-2018
Maggie Gyllenhaal is exquisite perfection
I am an avid audiobooks listener and seldom do I write a review, but my experience needs to be shared. Maggie Gyllenhaal delivers a flawless - I mean flawless - performance of this, at times, burdensome story. 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.
20 of 21 people found this review helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-08-2016
Really stunning
The voice of the actress is full of emotion but subdued,just like Tolstoy's prose. Beautiful production!!!
28 of 30 people found this review helpful
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- brieanna
- 19-08-2018
Audio book A+
I'm so glad I bought this in audio. It's so good from Maggie Gyllenhaal. I feel like this book is a difficult, and long read \listen but it is so worth it! I'm so excited to check this off my list.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful
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- Mary Herold
- 01-08-2016
Struggles of life
This is the story of human struggle to understand love and hate, good and evil, doubt and fear, responsibilities and consequences, and mans very existence while living through the pains of living. Tolstoy is a master story teller and has an understanding of the inner thoughts of men and women. Excellent.
16 of 19 people found this review helpful
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- dskalzzz
- 10-08-2016
Maggie Gyllenhaal was Outstanding!
Beautiful Narration of a deep, melancholy story. So much emotion, so much pain, so human.
17 of 21 people found this review helpful
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- S. Perry
- 22-04-2017
A book for reading
After listening to a few books, I realise that there are books that a great to listen to and books that are better to read (another example of one not to listen to Mrs Dalloway) because the language is so dense. Ci think this is one of those. I struggled to remember who the different names belonged to, and to keep attention to the plot. Tolstoy is an accomplished writer for sure, but I was thinking get to the point.
I don't think Maggie Gyllenhaal was the right reader, I found her a little monotonous and failed to keep my attention.
There was a lot I enjoyed about the book, but I did feel that Anna Karenina needed to get a grip and lacked empathy for her as a character at times.
29 of 30 people found this review helpful
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- L. russell
- 30-07-2016
a dissapointment
I was really hoping for a riveting listen after reading audibles hype of this performance by Maggie Gyllenhall.
I fancied listening to another classic after becoming bored with crime and thriller reads that all began to sound the same.
My last classic listen was The Woman in White which I thoroughly enjoyed and had high hopes for the praise given to Gyllenhalls interpretation of this classic novel.
I d love to say I made it past chapter 12 but for me it just turned into one long sentence. It was read but not with any gusto or giving any difference to the characters. I found it a woefully dull rendition and returned it.
33 of 39 people found this review helpful
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- lizzie
- 29-09-2017
I loved this book and the narrator
I loved everything about this. The story is amazing, I love the way Tolstoy seems to see the world from all the characters points of view and sympathise with all of them. At first I found it odd that Maggie Gyllenhall doesn't put on accents for the different characters - she just reads them all in her voice - but after a while I liked it and it has the advantage that she doesn't shape your perspective on the character; whereas other narrators can really shape how you see a character, e.g. by reading them in a shrill or silly voice. Thank you Maggie for a beautiful performance that will stay with me.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful
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- jean fuller
- 02-04-2018
Flat narration of complex novel
Intersecting stories woven round doomed love affair but disappointingly passionless narration scattered with irritating mispronounciations
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
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- Mr. John Mcknight
- 19-06-2019
Absolutely fantastic book.
I was in two minds about this book and reader due to previous reviews but bought it anyway. I am so glad I did. The story is wonderful and Maggie Gyllenhaal is in my opinion the best choice of reader. Her voice flowed through the book. I was in every room, every house with each character. It was like standing at the edge of the room listening in.32hrs is nothing for this kind of book. I was devastated when it ended. I will listen to this book many times. My next buy will be War and Peace. Can't wait.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- platosdunce
- 29-12-2018
Excellent reading of classic novel
The reading is very well done, the story justly famous, the narrator distinguishes well between the characters and is particularly on form in conveying the pathos of Anna herself, the reality of love's imagined failure crossing into the romantic mania for grand statement and that burden of loss and guilt that remains for the survivor. For some British listeners the accent might become too severe but I didn't find it so. So if you want the feminine take this is to be recommended, if you prefer the male voice then the Horovitch version is also excellent.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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- MVG
- 12-11-2016
So long
The OCD in me made me finish this even though it was nearly 40 hours. Maggie is cool and I like her so much I picked this book but even she can not make pages and pages on farming methods interesting and her French pronunciation is jarring.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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- Dominika Komender
- 22-11-2019
Scandalously bad production preparation
It is beyond me how, clearly investing a lot in this production, no-one cared to make sure Ms Gyllenhaal pronounces words in languages she doesn't speak correctly. French doesn't sound great but German? Her German is an absolutely atrocious, offensive farce. When I first heard it I had to check twice whether the character was actually German or if it was an English-speaking character attempting to speak in German and failing miserably for comedic value. But no. Hearing that hurt.
I'm sure an actress of such class can easily repeat phrases said to her correctly. Too bad no-one ever bothered to give her a hint of what German actually sounds like (and it's nothing like what can be heard in this audiobook). I am honestly shocked. It's not enough to splurge on big names to read amazing books. You have to prepare them, too.
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- Aliciami
- 19-10-2019
Magnificent performance by Maggie gyllenhaal
The most beautiful story with lots of sub plots and different dimensions. Maggie Gyllenhaal gave a stellar performance, and I look forward to hearing more of her narrations
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- Pauline O Connell
- 24-09-2019
A masterpiece
An incredible book, as relevant now as when it was written.
Beautiful language used about intricate details.