Synopses & Reviews
Includes photographs, a 10,000-word section on Tolstoys life and works, with a longer chapter on Anna Karenina, anecdotes, critical perspectives, adaptations, and spin-offs Considered to be Leo Tolstoy's most personal novel, this resonant story scrutinizes fundamental moral and theological questions through the impassioned and tragic story of its eponymous heroine. Desperately pursuing a good, "moral" life, standing for honesty and sincerity, Anna experiences passion that drives her to adultery, flying in the face of the Russian bourgeoisie. In the background of Anna's tale, the aristocrat Konstantin Levin is struggling to reconcile reason with passion, espousing a Christian anarchism that Tolstoy himself believed in. Championed by Dostoevsky and Nabokov, this masterpiece of Russian literature displays a poignant realism and innovative lyricism that makes it one of the most perfect, enduring novels of all time.
Review
"Flawless as a work of art." —Fyodor Dostoevsky
Synopsis
Anna Karenina (1877) by Leo Tolstoy is a classic story of love and tragedy against the backdrop of pre-revolutionary Russia. The extravagant and dramatic story of Anna Karenina who risks everything for passion is intertwined with the quiet story of Levin (an autobiographical character) and his own quest for true love and personal fulfillment.
This psychological masterpiece is considered to be one of the greatest novels of world literature.
About the Author
Leo Tolstoy, also the author of War and Peace, is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all novelists. April Fitzylon was a scholar, biographer, and translator. She contributed to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians and produced articles and reviews for newspapers and journals including Encounter, the Literary Review, and the Times Literary Supplement. Kyril Zinovieff is the coauthor of The Companion Guide to St. Petersburg.