Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Anna Karenina cover art

Anna Karenina

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £29.99

Buy Now for £29.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Classic Romance cover art
The Kreutzer Sonata cover art
War and Peace cover art
Middlemarch cover art
The Brothers Karamazov cover art
Wuthering Heights cover art
Bleak House cover art
David Copperfield cover art
The Picture of Dorian Gray cover art
The Insulted and the Injured cover art
The Idiot (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
The Nether World cover art
North and South cover art
The Lady with the Dog & Other Stories (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
Fathers and Sons cover art

Summary

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.

More from the same

What listeners say about Anna Karenina

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    405
  • 4 Stars
    175
  • 3 Stars
    92
  • 2 Stars
    21
  • 1 Stars
    17
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    433
  • 4 Stars
    133
  • 3 Stars
    46
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    18
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    368
  • 4 Stars
    154
  • 3 Stars
    80
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    12

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

narrator

The narrator was wonderful to listen to. I hope she narrates more Tolstoy , I would purchase more of hers.

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
    3 out of 5 stars

It’s not war and peace

It’s not war and peace which is a masterpiece, but Maggie Gyllenhaals performance is outstanding, filling the characters with a naturalness and relatability which makes the experience personal and very enjoyable

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
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Quietly delightful

Loved it! Moments of amazing writing (Kitty and Levin's honeymoon, Anna at her son's birthday, the near proposal, the mowing, the hunting, the psychotic episode (?), and the portrait), and the characters feel real! Language isn't too florid but serves the story. Found the narrator clear but sometimes too airy/dramatic but was a good voice of Anna (genuinely felt Wronsky's frustration at the end).

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

Fantastic!

Well worth the wait - it's been on my list for years! It was something worth making sure I had time to enjoy.

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

An epic

Wow! From ten hours on, this audiobook completely enthralled me. Rich in characterisation, beautifully written, with wonderful lilting chapters and perfect narration by Maggie Gyllenhaal. At 35 hours in length, this audiobook is certainly a commitment of time but so worth the dedication: a classic and rightly so. Highly recommended for those who enjoy period dramas of epic proportions.

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

Absorbing read, marvellous narration

In an act of bravery I undertook to listen to Anna Karenina - if not now, when? What an absolute pleasure.The whole of humanity is in this novel, in all it's complexity, despite its focus on these protagonists in a very defined historical period. Maggie Gyllenhaal's narration was outstanding. She brought compassion and insight to the text, without overperforming - I feel the reading enhanced the written text, which of course isn't always the case with audiobooks. I was enthralled by sections I probably would have skimmed if faced by 1000 physical pages. I am sad to have reached the end and, if you can believe it, plan a reread in the future.

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
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Spoiled by the narration

I stuck with it but the reader’s voice and rendition was too much of a drone for my taste

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
  • k
  • 08-04-17

Brilliant narration

No other voice would have done justice to this Magnificent piece. Maggie Gyllenhaal enriches every segment and every character with a unique voice, which keeps you glued to the narrative. Felt every bit of emotion and empathy with each of the brilliant characters. Tolstoy has captured the political, moral, gender aspects of the Russian society, prevalent at his time and that are still very much relevant. Highly recommend to embark upon this journey of the author!

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

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

Worth the investment.

Enthralled by the story, many unexpected turns. Only negative was Gyllenhall's atrocious command of French...

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 masterpiece

It felt too long sometimes, especially when focused on Anna's mental struggles, but it is worth finishing it, the ending could not be better, and the narration is just wonderful.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!