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.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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".

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Great way to “read” the classics!

I had tried reading this but got defeated by the sheer size of the book. The reader did an excellent job but I still have great difficulty with the Russian names and derivatives. Highly recommended for a long road trip or a big cleaning or gardening project!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

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.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

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.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!