According to F. M. Dostoevsky, “Anna Karenina” struck contemporaries “not only by the everyday nature of its content, but also by the immense psychological depth and development of the human soul—the terrible depth and power.”
If “War and Peace” is “an encyclopedia of Russian life,” then “Anna Karenina” is an encyclopedia of human relationships. It is precisely that novel which makes you think about many things both while reading and afterward. Many even believe that you can’t fully appreciate the genius of this work without having experience in creating a family and giving birth to children; experience in losing the meaning of life and finding it again; experience of a deadly insult and forgiveness.
The novel has been filmed many times. Greta Garbo, Vivien Leigh, Sophie Marceau, and Keira Knightley played Anna Karenina—beloved actresses of millions. But only by listening to the original yourself can you decide whether Anna resembles any of them at all…