Anna Karenina cover art

Anna Karenina

Preview

Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Anna Karenina

Written by: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Try for $0.00

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $53.70

Buy Now for $53.70

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Tax where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Winner: Audible's Best of 2016 - Classic

"Anna Karenina is one of my favorite books. But when I agreed to read it for Audible, I had no idea how much work it would be, how intense it would be, and how deeply I would fall in love with it. There were places where I thought 'if I don't give Alexey Alexandrovitch the respect that he deserves in my reading of this scene, a critical part of the book will be ruined. If I don't give EVERYONE the utmost respect and understanding, I'm not doing justice to this brilliantly compassionate book.' But at the same time, I also wanted to have a light touch in the way I played the different characters, so that the magnificence of the novel could shine through. I feel like performing this novel is one of the major accomplishments of my work life - it was so challenging and so deep, a real pleasure." (Narrator Maggie Gyllenhaal)

Leo Tolstoy's classic story of doomed love is one of the most admired novels in world literature. Generations of readers have been enthralled by his magnificent heroine, the unhappily married Anna Karenina, and her tragic affair with dashing Count Vronsky. Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight, The Honourable Woman) cites Tolstoy's epic as one of her favorite books of all time, and her love for the literature permeates her performance. Anna Karenina is a masterpiece not only because of the unforgettable woman at its core and the stark drama of her fate but also because it explores and illuminates the deepest questions about how to live a fulfilled life.

Public Domain (P)2016 Audible, Inc.
Classics Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Romance Fiction France
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Anna Karenina

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    628
  • 4 Stars
    185
  • 3 Stars
    82
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    633
  • 4 Stars
    129
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    10
  • 1 Stars
    9
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    516
  • 4 Stars
    179
  • 3 Stars
    73
  • 2 Stars
    33
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a classic I finally got thru!

Listening to this classic done by Maggie Gyllenhaal was so well done i finallu got to the end of the book!
This is a long story and for anyone eho has ever read it you know its a hard one to get finished. listing to it on Audible allowed me to get lost in the story and enjoy it.
#audiable1

#suchalongbook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Maggie Gyllenhaal is Amazing

This is the best performance I have ever heard in an audio book. The story stands alone and now so does this audio version. Completely worth your time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Fabulous

A must read if you are into philosophy and existentialism. Because this is not a romance novel, this os a philosophical one written by a genius.

Loved the narrator, was just sometimes slightly confused when she gave male characters a very feminine, soft and sweet voice. other than that, she was splendid in interpreting all emotions of the characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Maggie Gyllenhaal is amazing

Tolstoy’s writing is wonderful but of course rather lengthy and foreign. Ms Gyllenhaal’s performance kept me absolutely engaged through the whole of this long and sometimes esoteric novel. Her diction and expression was never too much, but added SO much texture and care to the poetry of the story- for me her voice will be an intrinsic part of my enjoyment of this classic work forever

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A bit of a workout

Phew! I felt relieved when I finally finished this book. It wasn't exactly a struggle, but I often felt dismayed when I would look at how much time was left to go. Having never seen any of the film adaptations, I didn't know much of anything about the plot when I started. Obviously, I did know the book is considered to be a great work of fiction, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it.

What I appreciated about the book:
* the historical setting.
* the detail included on a wide variety of topics (e.g., politics, social classes, philosophy, religion, death, farming, bee keeping, house keeping, hunting, trains, you name it).
* that the characters and plot developments were unpredictable at times. The characters are "messy" at times and they generally act like real people.
* the complexity of Anna's character - I thought the way her unravelling is described is really amazing and can only think it must have been such a groundbreaking thing when the book was originally released.
* Konstantin Levin's religious epiphany near the end of the book - I thought this was quite beautifully done.
* I enjoyed the humour interspersed in the story (e.g., the relationship between Alexis Karenin and Countess Lydia Ivanovna and the "significant looks" they share with one another).

Things I didn't appreciate as much:
* I didn't feel much of anything for the characters. Levin was likely my favourite, but his tendency to act like a jealous baby annoyed me.
* The way the Count Vronksy character is developed. He is introduced as a definite scoundrel (think George Wickham from Pride and Prejudice) who is struggling with debt. But he undergoes a major transformation after meeting Anna, and is a stand up person from that point onward. How he manages to become so wealthy as the story unfolds is never discussed, which I found frustrating.
* The length of the book - Dang! It is just sooooo long.
* The narration - I have nothing against Maggie Gyllenhaal, but I can only assume it was her star appeal that got her the job. With so many characters and nationalities, I think the audiobook would have benefitted from a more experienced narrator (perhaps one who is experienced with European accents?). She does a reasonable job with the French text (and there is a lot of it) but I felt that her somewhat raspy American accent did not fit the story.

Overall I'm glad I read it, but just wished I had liked it more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

loved it! Such a beautiful and enlightening story about humanity. I am glad to have listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a fine works to learn from

the thought processes, the characters, the descriptions, beautifully written, skillfully spoken by Maggie Gyllenhaal who manages very subtly to inflect every character's personality in her words. going to read it again and get even more out of it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Maggie Gyllenhaal did a beautiful job as narrator and brought this lengthy classic to life as I listened.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect narration

Perfect narration to this incredible book. No gimmicky voices or accents, but a felt and nuanced performance that allows the story and writing speak for itself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Classic Russian Lit

Not much French - out of 36 hours there was maybe 5 minutes of it. 10 minutes tops. Not sure why we are all bragging about the quality of our French over others. Reads as any classic literature of it's time does. Lots of insight into the human condition. Maggie's voice was soft and easy to listen to. Clearly spoken. A lot of the scenes I will probably recall in future, pondering about society and it's "progression".

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!