- 1961: Signet Classic edition, translated by David Magarshack
- 1997: Spanish Ediciones B edition, translated by Leoncio Sureda and Alfredo Santiago
- 2004: Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
- 2007: Spanish Editorial Juventud edition
- 2018: Nook Press edition
- 2020: Standard Ebooks edition, translated by Constance Garnett
- 2023: Editorial Presença Portuguese edition, translated by Nina Guerra and Filipe Guerra
Anna Karenina
A love story with no easy way back.
Overview
Anna Karenina follows two troubled paths through imperial Russia. Anna enters a love affair that puts her marriage and place in society at risk. In the country, Konstantin Levin looks for love, useful work, and a reason to live well.
This is a romance, but it is also a family novel with a sharp eye for money, gossip, children, dinner tables, and the rules that bend for men but not for women. Tolstoy moves between railway stations, grand houses, farms, and crowded rooms. He makes even a small talk or a bad meal matter because it changes how people see each other.
It is long, and its two main stories take time to meet in the reader’s mind. The city scenes can feel tense and close. Levin’s pages about farming and faith may slow you down. Read steadily, and keep a list of names nearby if Russian names are new to you.
Is This Book for You?
Yes, if...
- You want a big, intimate novel about marriage, desire, family life, and the cost of being watched.
- You enjoy switching between glittering city rooms and the work of life in the country.
- You can give a long book time to build its people, arguments, and small daily scenes.
No, if...
- You want one brisk plot with a single point of view.
- You need a romance that protects its lovers from shame, doubt, and social pressure.
- You dislike long conversations about farming, faith, work, and how a person should live.
Summary
Notable Quotables
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” — translation: Constance Garnett
“I think ... of so many men, so many minds, certainly so many hearts, so many kinds of love.” — translation: Constance Garnett
“All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow.” — translation: Constance Garnett