Anna Karenina (Spanish Commemorative Edition)

Introduction by George Gibian, professor at Cornell University. Translation by Irene and Laura Andresco.

Anna Karenina, along with Madame Bovary, tells the story of one of the most famous adulteries in literature. The protagonist, married to the high-ranking official Karenin, falls in love with the attractive military man Vronsky, leading to a tumultuous romance that serves as the core of a novel that goes beyond being just a polished tragedy about downfall. It is a meticulous and delicate portrait of a particular time and place, a dissection of a society where the happiness of some coexists with the misery of others.

This volume begins with an excellent introduction by George Gibian, a former professor at Cornell University and a prominent scholar of Slavic literature. Following that is the thorough and highly praised translation by the talented sisters Irene and Laura Andresco.

Anna Karenina is a work of unparalleled depth and complexity, set against the backdrop of Russian high society. Tolstoy delves into the doomed love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer who becomes infatuated with her at a ball. Despite initially resisting his advances, Anna eventually gives in, falling deeply in love and setting off a chain of events that lead to her tragic downfall.

This classic novel features one of literature's most beloved and unforgettable heroines. Anna's magnetic charm takes center stage in a narrative filled with rich character development and intricate plotlines. Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina to be his first true novel, using it to explore themes of society, fate, death, human connections, and the inherent contradictions of existence. The story's conclusion is filled with despair, yet it also celebrates life's fleeting joys and offers moments of comic relief.

Tolstoy masterfully interweaves the lives of numerous characters in this extraordinary novel, creating a tale of love so powerful that the characters are willing to sacrifie everything for it.

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