# Ok, who else is reading Anna Karenina before the movie comes out?



## RhondaRN (Dec 27, 2009)

Well, Anna Karenina has always been way in the back of my mind of something to read for a long time, but Tolstoy always seemed so daunting, and the book is so huge.  Not really thinking seriously of reading it for awhile, when a couple weeks ago, my husband and I visited our youngest to take her out to eat and go to the movies.  (Atlas Shrugged).  When lo and behold, before it started, a preview of Anna Karenina came on! And what a wonderful preview it was!!  What a beautiful film this could be!!  I was hopelessly intrigued.  I came home, looked on my list of downloaded Kindle books, and yes, there it was, the FREE book Anna Karenina there waiting for me!!  I downloaded it probably 2 years ago and have never read it.

I started reading it and it instantly pulled me in.  Far from being a stuffy old book, it began with a man hopelessly perplexed and confused that his wife was so upset about catching him with the children's nanny, and what he should do about it.  (this was not the main character, but part of the story of the lives this book encompasses).  Then into the really juicy part about how Anna, a married well to do woman with everything, met a dashing young calvary officer and the fireworks began!!  How anyone can be bored with this book is beyond me!  Every day I can't wait to get back to it and read of the goings on with these people.  Yes, there may be areas where it's not so exciting, like when Levin is at his farm and it goes on and on about the farming of the land and how to better manage it, but it's worth it just to get back to the good parts!!

Anyway, I'm just almost halfway into the book so please don't give the ending away to me!    I just wanted to come here and express to everyone how much I love it (though I know some do not, in a great way).  I do now have mixed feelings about the movie since I read that it centers the movie on a stage and not at the real locations in Russia (which I would think would be better).  And the theater thing sounds odd to me).  But the previews looked so good, I may just go see it after I read the book.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

I read it a number of years ago and loved it as well.  It really is a page-turner, filled with suspense, and not at all stuffy.  Everyone forgets (or simply doesn't know) that Anna is really only 50% of the story, there's the Levin story as well.  I didn't mind his story too much.  And the way Tolstoy structures the novel, leaving Anna always on a cliffhanger as he transitions to Levin, just keeps you ploughing through to find out what happens.

The new movie sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but maybe they managed to pull it off.  We'll see.  I have low hopes because I hated this director's "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightley.


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## Sapphire (Apr 24, 2012)

I read it about 18 months ago due to my pledge to read, or re-read as the case may be, at least 2 classics a year.  It was a long, slow read, a great story with way too many words!


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## bordercollielady (Nov 21, 2008)

I read the book about 45 years ago... and loved it.  I actually have bought it for Kindle  - altho haven't reread it yet.    I do mean to do that soon!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

You know. . . I think I started this once in HS and, for whatever reason, never finished it -- at least, I can't really remember the story.

Perhaps I'll give it another go.


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## Christopher Bunn (Oct 26, 2010)

Wonderful, amazing book. Definitely in my top twenty best-ever reads. It's a heart-breaking story, but Tolstoy also manages (not just manages, but pulls off in a superbly, profoundly elegant fashion) to affirm so much of what is good in life at the same time.

I'm planning on seeing the movie, but I'm skeptical that it can communicate the same depth. There's too much in the book that's interior and of the soul. That sort of writing is always difficult to retell in visuals.


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## Miriam Minger (Nov 27, 2010)

I've read Anna Karenina many times over the years; absolutely love this book.

Miriam Minger


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## hummingbird_206 (Jan 16, 2009)

I read it several years ago when it was one of Oprah's book club choices and really enjoyed it.  The version used was a great translation IMO.  I had tried other versions before and always got frustrated and lost by what I later discovered were issues with the translation.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

I've never read it, or seen a movie. But I know how it ends. Out of curiosity I asked a couple friends. They'd never read it, but know how it ends. I guess I just thought it was common knowledge. This thread gives me the idea I may read it. I read a great translation of War and Peace a few years ago. To me the translation means a lot. It can make the difference between reading and enjoying or just slogging through it. 

I don't have my contacts in yet. I hope I don't have to many typos.


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## ymccoll (Nov 5, 2012)

One of my all-time favourite novels. I couldn't watch the Keira Knightly film with Vronksy played by what looked like a teenager with a sparse moustache.


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## laa0325 (Feb 21, 2010)

Thanks! You've inspired me to finally read the book. 

I just spent 20 minutes on Amazon trying to decide between the different translations. I settled on the Maude translation. I'd be interested in hearing others' opinions.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

My favorite is the Audible version. 
deb


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

laa0325 said:


> Thanks! You've inspired me to finally read the book.
> 
> I just spent 20 minutes on Amazon trying to decide between the different translations. I settled on the Maude translation. I'd be interested in hearing others' opinions.


I'm Russian born and raised and am fluent in the language. So I can get a bit snotty about translations!  I'm actually not familiar with Maude's translations, so I can't comment specifically on that one. I can urge people to always avoid Constance Garnet, who not so much translated Russian writers as adapted them to her own moral sensibility. For example, in "Crime and Punishment" there is a female character who is nicknamed "Vonyuchka," which translated into English is a very nasty way of saying that someone smells bad. Garnet thought it was immoral to call a woman that, so she left that part out. Of the modern translators, the husband/wife team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are by far the best, though some people don't like them. One thing Pevear/Volokhonsky do (and it was their translation of "Anna Karenina" that Oprah had on her book club) is try to stay as close to the Russian language in rhythm and style as possible, sometimes at the expense of English language elegance. On Amazon recently someone posted complaints about their translation of "Crime and Punishment" saying some part of it made absolutely no sense and giving examples of how other translators were superior because their translation was cleaner. Well, it might have been cleaner, but it was not accurate. This was part of the original complaint:



> I don't understand why there are so many rave reviews about this translation. I will give you three irritating examples of poor translation within the first twelve pages.
> 
> On page seven, we read "The furniture, all very old and of yellow wood, consisted of ... a round table of an oval shape in front of the sofa ..."
> 
> ...


And this was my reply demonstrating that, in fact, Pevear/Volokhonsky are 100% accurate:



> As far as the round vs. oval table - well, I hate to break it to you, but that is exactly what Dostoyevsky wrote:
> 
> "Мебель, вся очень старая; и из желтого дерева, состояла из дивана с огромною выгнутою деревянною спинкой, *круглого* стола *овальной* формы перед диваном,"
> 
> ...


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

I've only seen the Vivian Leigh version. It ended dramatically, and I'm sure wouldn't have been so effective if they had included the rest of Vronsky's story.



DYB said:


> The new movie sounds like a bit of a gimmick, but maybe they managed to pull it off. We'll see. I have low hopes because I hated this director's "Pride and Prejudice" with Keira Knightley.


So agree about this. Mrs. Bennett came across as an alcoholic, and Lizzie as a flighty teenager. The only thing worse was the Greer Garson version with totally inaccurate costumes meant to compete with Gone With the Wind and again, not at all true to Lizzie's character. I expected Lizzie to burst into a _fiddle-dee-dee_ throughout the whole movie, or as much of it as I could bear to watch.


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## laa0325 (Feb 21, 2010)

DYB - Thank you for all that wonderful information.  The Maudes (husband and wife) supposedly knew Tolstoy. Some say he approved their translation, and others say that isn't true. I'll just read it with my fingers crossed.


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## Fantasma (Aug 25, 2012)

Jude Law is a good Karenin, though, isn't he?


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## lvhiggins (Aug 1, 2012)

What a great idea!  I love Tolstoy.  When you're finished, tackle War and Peace, one of my favorite books.  Worth every minute.


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## NancyHerkness (Aug 1, 2012)

I have to admit: I struggled to finish ANNA KARENINA when I read it many years ago.  As a result, I probably won't go to the movie, although the costumes look fabulous in the trailer. (Yes, I am shallow that way; beautiful clothes make me happy.)

AK does have one of the great opening lines in literature: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."


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## RhondaRN (Dec 27, 2009)

Upon looking at an extended preview of the new Anna Karenina movie, I'm not so sure it's going to be all that good. I don't know, there's just something about it. The dialog I did watch I'm sure didn't come from the book. But maybe it's just because I have a hard time believing any movie could touch this magnificent book. However, when it does come here, my oldest daughter and I will go see it. Hopefully it will be good. Since I originally posted this thread, I have since completed the book and it left me very moved. Never in my life have I read a book that made me think about it as much as I have it. I found on Youtube a montage movie clip from an old Anna Karenina movie that I thought was really good. She seems to fit the mental image I have of Anna more than any other.


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

I read it about a year ago - a good read (the bits which drifted off into a history of 19C Russian agriculture were a bit of a struggle!)

I doubt I'll see the movie - I may be wrong, but most movie adaptations of these kind of classics seem doomed to leave out too much of what makes the book interesting and distinctive in my opinion. The tragic love story will remain because that's what movie-goers want, but Anna Karenina is really _more_ than just a tragic love story...


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## Ann Herrick (Sep 24, 2010)

How many movies have been made of Anna Karenina? I'm pretty sure Vivien Leigh made one, and that there was one earlier than that, though I've not seen one.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I thought the book was very good, though I listened to the unabridged audio about 10 years ago, and a lot of the details are gone.  I remember hey mowing and a card game both about Levin more than anything. 

I second the suggestion to always avoid Garnett translations of Russian.  I used to work at a bookstore with a native Russian and blasted her Victorian adaptations.  The smelly girl was in the Brother K., BTW.

Despite enjoying the book, I have no interest in the movie.  Hollywood on the whole is a worse adapter than Garnett.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

Ann Herrick said:


> How many movies have been made of Anna Karenina? I'm pretty sure Vivien Leigh made one, and that there was one earlier than that, though I've not seen one.


Yes, Vivian Leigh as Anna is the version I saw. I think Greta Garbo might have made one earlier.



Geemont said:


> Despite enjoying the book, I have no interest in the movie. Hollywood on the whole is worse adaptor than Garnett.


You've got that right!


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

There was also an adaptation starring Sophie Marceau several years ago.

And this wonderful Soviet version from 1967


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## lvhiggins (Aug 1, 2012)

For what it's worth, the new movie got a great review from The New York Times:

http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/movies/anna-karenina-from-by-joe-wright-with-keira-knightley.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

lvhiggins said:


> For what it's worth, the new movie got a great review from The New York Times:
> 
> http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/11/16/movies/anna-karenina-from-by-joe-wright-with-keira-knightley.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0


I read the review and as a fan of Jane Austen and _Pride and Prejudice_, I certainly do take exception to Joe Wright's interpretation. He portrayed Lizzie as a flighty teenager and Mrs. Bennett seemed more drunk to me than nervy.

If this version of AK comes to Netflix or Amazon Prime, I'll probably watch it.


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## Lisa Scott (Apr 4, 2011)

I know I read this in college, and recall loving it, but I'll be darned if I could come up with a few sentences to sum it all up.  The trailer did look amazing, but I'm not too excited about the concept of it all on a stage.


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## Psyche27 (Oct 13, 2012)

I may not read it..... It's such a large book, and the movie is already out.

I loved the 1997 version with Sophie Marceau as Karenina and Sean Bean as Vronsky...... Hot is the only word I can think of to describe it.


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## CrystalStarr (Jan 17, 2011)

Is there an Audible version tied up with an ebook that syncs?  I'm loving this new feature and I'm finding I'm insisting a lot of my books have it.  One like this would be a must for me.


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## RhondaRN (Dec 27, 2009)

The movie Anna Karenina FINALLY came out near where I live and me and my daughter went to see it.  I have to say, I was really impressed with it.  It took me a few minutes to get use to it being presented as if on a stage, but once I did, I really enjoyed it.  Of course, it didn't tell the entire story with the multi-layers within, but it did tell a suffienct amout of it to give you some of the best of the book.  I think all the cast did a really good job, it was breathtaking, except the character of Vronsky could have been a little better cast.  He was not that young or blonde in the book.  But overall....yes, I'll buy the DVD when it comes out!!


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

RhondaRN said:


> The movie Anna Karenina FINALLY came out near where I live and me and my daughter went to see it. I have to say, I was really impressed with it. It took me a few minutes to get use to it being presented as if on a stage, but once I did, I really enjoyed it. Of course, it didn't tell the entire story with the multi-layers within, but it did tell a suffienct amout of it to give you some of the best of the book. I think all the cast did a really good job, it was breathtaking, except the character of Vronsky could have been a little better cast. He was not that young or blonde in the book. But overall....yes, I'll buy the DVD when it comes out!!


I'll wait for it to come on netflix or Amazon instant video. I would like to see it.


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