Classics Without All the Class discussion

Because Anna Karenina is public domain (at least in the US) there are lots of ways to enjoy it, not all of them are quality though. This thread is to help people find good versions of the book. Let's keep the conversation from actual content please.

Here's a free audio version.
http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/book...

The version I read was translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky. It had very helpful footnotes that helped describe the perspective of the society during that time period.

I had a plan to read Anna in the near future; but I was wondering which translation to choose ...

[I can spend some time looking for the best translations, pretty important before reading a classic IMHO]

Marie wrote: "The version I read was translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky. It had very helpful footnotes that helped describe the perspective of the society during that time period."

Although notes are greatly appreciated, this version receives good and 'not-so-good' reviews,
i.e. [amazon.co.uk]

[quote]Louise and Aylmer Maude's translation, as used by Wordsworth Classics, is by far the best translation of Anna Karenina. They translated what Tolstoy wrote, rather than putting their own spin on things, as Peaver and Volkhonsky have done. The Maude translation is also better than Garnett's groundbreaking work which tends to get a bit lost in places.[/quote]

[quote](about Pevear and Volokhonsky translation), although this isn't the most accurate translation on the market, this is free and is easily readable, plus it does keep to the story[/quote]

+

Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Gogol's short story's got very good reviews...

I don't know anymore =)

any comments from people who have read this book before and liked their translation?

thanks in advance =)

I'm not sure how or why the translators would put their own spin on things, especially when the work in question is over a hundred years old. But to each their own, I suppose; I'm not going to read every English translation of AK when the Pevear and Volokhonsky version was just fine; their version still told a tale of love, isolation, family, and society/class without obscuring Tolstoy's intended meaning.

Alex wrote: "The Constance Garnett translation is in the public domain. She was a very interesting character and if a full biography of her life were to be published, I would certainly read it. She was famous f..."

Thanks for these links! I'll most likely download the Kindle version. :)

For a book this large, I will listen to it. I can't decide whether I should listen to the male or female recording.

My head is spinning from all the different translations! I was going to read the Garnett translation because I got it free on Kindle some time back, but I decided I'd like to listen to it as well since it is so large. I sampled all the versions available on Audible, and personally liked the Maude translation read by David Horovitch best. To my ear it flows a little better than the Garnett. I also like that the Maudes worked directly with Tolstoy on their translation.

I am enjoying the Kindle version

LaLaLa Laura wrote: "I am enjoying the Kindle version"

Me too!

So am I!

Marie wrote: "I'm not sure how or why the translators would put their own spin on things, especially when the work in question is over a hundred years old. But to each their own, I suppose; I'm not going to rea..."

It might not always be a conscious choice for a translator to put "their own spin on things" but as the original authors, they are composing a text, they have to choose the right word that, in their opinion, will translate the better the author's intentions. I saw it just 2 days ago when I was looking for the translation of a Victor Hugo's quote. The original sentence and the translated one seemed to have the same general meaning BUT the translator chose to cut off some of Hugo's words, to take a short cut,because he probably thought that he was still giving to the reader the general meaning...It was unfortunately on the Adelaide University website that Alex mentioned in his post. I was really unhappy because, in my opinion, the text lost a lot of its meaning. I will probably read a french translation of AK as French is my first language, so, sorry can't help you on that one :)

Alex wrote: "The Constance Garnett translation is in the public domain. She was a very interesting character and if a full biography of her life were to be published, I would certainly read it. She was famous f..."

I am so glad I came across the discussion since on Amazon the book was not free and I wanted a kindle version. I am also thrilled to have another location to get free public domain books (University of Adelaide).

Given how long the book is I'll be going back and forth between reading the book and doing the audio version. I listened to a bit of the librivox recording (listed above) and it sounded good but also found an Overdrive MP3 version from my library with Nadia May as the narrator. I haven't listed to it yet...its still downloading...

I was thinking about buying the audible version that links to the kindle book but I didn't see that option pop up on any of the versions of this book...

I'm reading the book on my Nook.

Does anyone know if there is an audio version for Nook?