Anna Karenina

“The Pevear and Volokhosky translation. I know it seems daunting but it’s hilarious and poignant and gripping. I recommend a ritual involving a wool blanket and some Earl Grey tea and a little notebook to capture all the gold nuggets.”

“CO-SIGN THIS IS SUCH A GOOD LISTENING EXPERIENCE AND MADE A DAUNTINGLY LONG BOOK GENUINELY SO CRUSHABLE!”

“Listened to 26 glorious hours of this production while in a morose mood driving from Vermont to Colorado—just so rich and propulsive, Maggie is GREAT. Still had about 10 hours left to ease me into the landscape / spiritual adjustment upon arrival.”

“now I understand why it is a perfect novel”

“When I learned how many classic novels were published serially -- that is, one small section at a time -- I stopped trying to devour my challenging TBRs. I found that taking off the pressure to blow through giant volumes in weeks led to actually finishing (and remembering) them. Imagine that!”

“I mean we made a whole pod about it for gods sake”

“I usually wouldn't recommend a novel for book club that can double as a weapon but, if I were to make an exception, I'd choose Anna Karenina. I found myself at one point shouting directly at this book--not at Anna, you'll probably figure out who. Like Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, it can be hard to keep up with the cast of characters but I like writing them down with a short description. IE Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky - Spineless, inconsiderate douche bag, who leaves victims lost and broken in his wake. Those kinds of descriptions.”

“100% — though this cover is not my fav”

“I also listened to this while on a long solo road trip and could not recommend it more”

“Rich characters, easy read”

“High drama and a good read. Also helpful if you cannot sleep at night (this will do the trick). Thankfully I finished it on a plane because I otherwise would have been asleep.”