Anna Karenina: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Absolute classic. Now I know why Tolstoy is considered such a great writer. Worth keeping it.

Amazing book. The page quality is brilliant, but I received it with frayed and jagged edges. Doesn't hamper the reading or the quality, but feels unrefined.

Esta edición es preciosa, la calidad del papel en que está impreso es superior. Los acabados de las páginas como si estuvieran cortadas a mano dan un plus, pero es comprensible que no se el estilo de todos, da un abadado mas bien rústico.

الكتاب وصلني بصفحات غير متساوية ومتشققة وبعضها متلاصق

This is a sweeping, interwoven story of many characters, variously related, struggling to find meaning and happiness. It is a romance in the old sense - not of happy endings, but of hopeless passions, adventures, and morally weighted choices. It is also a very human quest for meaning, with realistic setbacks and insights, inspirations and vexations. The narration delightfully, and sometimes ominously, includes internal monologues of characters' distractions and petty self-interest as well as their courage, determination, and flaws. This is a nice translation, in that includes much of the "feel" of contemporary fiction (with its phrases of French and other languages scattered in), but stoops to explain some of the more obscure/untranslatable elements within the text. It can be confusing for non-Russians to follow the patronymic names. When a characters' father is Ivan, their middle names will be Ivanovich (m) or Ivanovna (f). Using the full first name plus patronymic (father-name) is a somewhat formal address, emphasizing their relationship to the parent or as brother and sister. When the author switches between the main language and French, occasionally German or Italian, or Latin, the degree of the readers education determines how well you can follow the petty secrets, gossip, or philosophical concepts being discussed. A person not educated in modern languages gets a realistic sense of what it would be like for you sitting at that dinner table, or perhaps serving in that house, being deliberately left out by the fancy people. However, the digital Kindle version has the convenience of being able to highlight and translate these phrases as you go. Modern English really doesn't have formal and informal address anymore, but other languages still use these forms routinely (Russian, French, Spanish, etc.). This translation goes ahead and explains in-text what the forms mean, as for example when a character chooses the degree of intimacy when speaking; readers of historic romances will know that a first-name basis implies intimacy not always socially prudent for unmarried young ladies and gentlemen. We English readers inevitably miss a lot of this variation in intimacy in the dialogue, but this translation does a bit of subtle coaching to help us recognize other indicators of acknowledged relationship. Nicknames and the intimate Russian "thou," patronymics and the French singular or plural, titles and honorifics and the formal Russian plural (the more distant "you") are mentioned in detail to give us clues to the drama of developing or receding intimacy. Reading Tolstoy in the original Russian may still be a challenge for non-native speakers, more so as the historic period and vocabulary recede from memory. This translated edition keeps the vividness of the characters, foreshadowing and atmospheric detail, natural and character-driven plot twists, while being a pleasure to read.

As I have found after reading War and Peace, Tolstoy draws the reader into his novels very cleverly. I have found this edition to be easy to read with chapters which are not overly long. Tolstoy writes in such a way that the reader receives a very clear picture of a character. Even entering into the inner thoughts and temperament of the character. Some are infuriating, but that's life. I find his writing almost cinematic. It is easy to picture the circumstances and situations he describes. The themes surrounding Anna Karenina are very adult and quite advanced. A recommended read which can be done in easy stages.

This book has the worst quality! the edge of papers are rough and made the book look very cheap, however I cared about the content more than the shape, but i do not recommend to buy it from this seller since they do not have any quality control over their products.