Now the subject of a major new film adaptation from director Joe Wright (” Atonement”, ” Pride & Prejudice”), Leo Tolstoy`s ” Anna Karenina” is translated by award-winning duo Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky in ” Penguin Classics”. Starring Keira Knightley (”A Dangerous Method”) as Anna Karenina, Jude Law (” Sherlock Holmes”) as her husband Alexei, Aaron Johnson (” Nowhere Boy”) as Count Vronsky, & also starring Matthew Mc Fadyen, Andrea Riseborough & Kelly Macdonald, this dazzling production of ” Anna Karenina” is adapted for the screen by legendary playwright Tom Stoppard. Anna Karenina seems to have everything
- beauty, wealth, popularity & an adored son. But she feels that her life is empty until the moment she encounters the impetuous officer Count Vronsky. Their subsequent affair scandalizes society & family alike, & soon brings jealousy & bitterness in its wake. Contrasting with this tale of love & self-destruction is the vividly observed story of Konstantin Levin, a man striving to find contentment & meaning to his life
- & also a self-portrait of Tolstoy himself. Acclaimed as the definitive English version of Tolstoy`s masterpiece, this edition contains an introduction by Richard Pevear & a preface by John Bayley. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) spent his youth in wasteful idleness until 1851, when he travelled to the Caucasus & joined the army, fighting in the Crimean war. After marrying in 1862, Tolstoy settled down, managing his estates & writing two of his best-known novels, ” War & Peace” (1869) & ” Anna Karenina” (1878). ”A Confession” (1879-82) marked a spiritual crisis in his life, & in 1901 he was excommunicated by the Russian Holy Synod. ” William Faulkner, it`s said, was once asked to name the three best novels ever. He replied: ” Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina”. If you don`t recall why, rush to buy a fine new translation by Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky”. (Boyd Tonkin, ” Independent”).