Anna Karenina » (Unabridged, 30 CDs, 37 hours)

One of the great masters of the 19th-century novel, Tolstoy created a sweeping epic in War and Peace which folds together huge events in history and politics with the emotional lives of individuals. But it was his deeply spiritual outlook that made him an icon.

When beautiful, aristocratic, and married Anna falls madly in love with the dashing Count Vronsky, their affair shocks Russian society, tears her family apart, and leads, inevitably, to tragedy.Count Leo Tolstoy's epic story of passion, infidelity, vengeance, and retribution has held readers spellbound since it was first published in the late 1800s. Set against the fatal attraction of Anna and Vronsky, unfolding in perfect symmetry, is another love story: of the melancholy nobleman Constantin Levin and his devoted wife, Kitty. In doubt about the meaning of life, haunted by thoughts of suicide, Levin's struggles echo Tolstoy's own spiritual crisis.Filled with unforgettable characters, rich in history and social realism, Anna Karenina is a masterpiece of world literature, a story that fires the imagination and touches the heart.

Dolores M. Koch - Criticas

Originally written in 1875, this is one of the most distinguished classic works of world literature. Several films, dramas, and ballets have been based on Tolstoi s (as spelled in Spanish) intense, passionate love story. Ana, one of the most notable literary characters ever created, is married to a Russian minister but falls in love with Count Vronski, a rich and handsome young army officer. Against society s norms, she abandons her husband and son, with dire results. In this excellent recording, the story is fully dramatized by a group of actors: Milagros del Valle is Ana, and FonoLibro s Arquimedes Rivero is Vronski. Their voices are appropriate and devoid of regional accents. With background music and narration that shows the full emotional style of a radionovela (radio soap operas), this audio is an easy way to get to know this perennial classic. Recommended for bookstores and public libraries. Dolores M. Koch, New York City