Not good dramatization but an ok reading

This is one of those "must read" novels because Tolstoy was onto the beginnings of the modern, psychological novel. He creates a wonderful picture of the frothy, frivolous life of Imperial Russian aristocracy and you can see the germs of the Russian Revolution in the political talk among the characters, which is very interesting; the Bolsheviks didn't just jump out of the landscape on October of 1917; the ideas were being discussed long before.

The reading by Lorna Raver, who is generally a very good narrator, has one flaw and that is she tries to dramatize the characters by using a gruff voice to indicate some of the male characters. It sounds utterly stupid. She'd have done better to simply lighten or darken her voice slightly and not try to sound like Papa Bear. It detracts from an otherwise excellent reading.

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Simply a masterpiece

The best book I've ever read or listen to. Beautify read. A true masterpiece and a timeless classic. Colourful portrait of the Russian nobility at the turn of the last century.

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Narration at its best.

Narrator has given heart and soul to the book compared to other narrators.GOD bless you.

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This reads like an Us Weekly puff piece

I love Classic Lit and specifically many Russian classics. Goncharov and Turgenev produced some of the greatest works of all time and are severely underrated. Despite its acclaim, Anna Karenina is unreadable trash. For so many years, I thought I was missing out--this is not worth the read/listen.

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Worth the effort

I was ready to poke my eyes out by the end of the second-to-last hour, and if Lorna Raver wasn’t utterly fantastic with the voices I’d have lost who was who along with the will to live. But the final hour made up for the hard slog, and was a fantastic finish to an epic that I look forward to having my kids read and discuss in a few years. By then I might even manage a re-read, simply for the joy of rich material woven into a tale of human nature searching for the meaning of life.

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Masterpiece

Tolstoy was brilliant. His ability to paint a picture with words is nearly unrivaled. Amazing!

One of the Greatest

I plan on listening to this book again. In some internet listings, this book was rated as the greatest book of all time. Clearly weaving several complicated personalities into a story, Leo Tolstoy defines fundamental truths in matches of morality—primarily sharing the story of a specific woman’s rationalizations and convolution, as he attempts to explain the purpose and function of society, and ultimately, the meaning of life.

Story Fell Short for Me

Obviously, I need to give up on Russian Lit, or at least Tolstoy. I enjoyed this more than War & Peace but this was still lacking.

Tolstoy did a much better job with depth of character in this one. They were quirky and entertaining for the most part but I ended up getting bored with them after a while. They just went round and round without ever really accomplishing anything.

I was hoping for more from Anna. She started out such a strong woman. Of course, in the 1870s writing about a strong woman wouldn't fly so he caved to popular opinion and crushed her.

It's a classic so it's on that must read eventually list but it wasn't my favorite.

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way too long. "overworte"

What did you like best about Anna Karenina? What did you like least?

the long length. and detail to arguemnts on political and religious ideas and not much time spent on detaiiing what was going on in the story.

this story could have been lots better. the plot was not bad. just the way it was presented.

What did you like best about this story?

that i could listen in audio form. i could never read a book like this. i did enjoy the story,

Which scene was your favorite?

the scene at the ball in the beginning. and the last part when ann was consdering breaking with vronsky (for the thousandth time).

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

yes id would.

Any additional comments?

found anna to be a self absorbed person. i liked levin and dolly and her husband stephen. i found men in this book to be more likable. women to be very frivilous.

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Could it get any longer?

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Yes, if they were into the classics.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

It is being made into a movie and that is why I purchased it.

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