Anna Karenina

Davina Porter's performance of Tolstoy's dauntingly long and involved world classic makes one feel grateful not to have to make this difficult literary journey alone. Porter's voice is pleasant, expressive and versatile; her Russian pronunciations impressive; and her understanding of the work excellent. In an unhurried and confident fashion, Porter reveals the twisting social and personal tensions that ensnare a very mortal married woman who falls into illicit love. Porter's interpretation gives a warmth and consistency to this demanding novel which silent readers would be hard-pressed to approach, let alone duplicate. This is an outstanding example of performance literature. P.W. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Released to coincide with a new film version and featuring one of its stars, this recording compresses the original a little too much. We get the entire story of Anna's tragic adultery and the subplot of Levin's search for meaningful love and work. But the distinctive thematic material and Russian character are sacrificed. On the plus side, Molina reads well indeed. His impersonations have great depth. He can leap into their full emotional intensity from a dead stop, thus elevating the audio considerably above the level of "Cliffs Notes." Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Tolstoy's great novel portrays a tragic love affair against a backdrop of nineteenth-century Russian high society and country life. Kate Lock's treatment shows impressive range and facility, at times achieving remarkable power and poignancy. She skillfully provides a wide variety of voices--often indicating men just by changing intonation and pitch--and manages to convey Anna's loveliness by voice alone, giving her a kind of bell-like throatiness. Unfortunately, some of her male voices--indicated by roughening or straining her voice--are unconvincing. But any flaws are swallowed up by the magnitude of the work--Tolstoy's and hers--and by her predominant talent and deft touch. W.M. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Maggie Gyllenhaal lends her husky voice to Tolstoy's challenging morality tale of forbidden love in a repressive society. Anna, married with a child and deeply unhappy, meets and falls in love with dashing, handsome, well-respected Count Vronsky. Unable to resist her feelings, Anna leaves her husband and son for Vronsky. In order to be with Anna, Vronsky gives up his spotless reputation. Their public defiance of society's norms has tragic results. Gyllenhaal glides smoothly over the many Russian names and juggles all the convoluted subplots and complex characters handily. Her reading is intelligent and coolly detached, although the objective distance may be a little understated for such passionate, emotional material. Even if you've read this classic literary treasure, listening makes it even better. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine