This is late (it’s always late, because my care load doth overfloweth and my time management sucks) but this time there’s a reason for it’s lateness—because my tiniest child, just a sniff of a human, had an accident, resulting in many hours spelt in sweltering hospital, and another day glued to his side. (A two-year-old is a tyrant just by dint of their two-ness; an immobile two-year-old in pain is another league of tyrant.)
But —if I may be so bold—I think today’s episode is worth the wait. Because is there anything more epic than Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, the world’s most famous tale of literary adultery? A book that is considered to be one of, if not the best, novel of all time (when asked for his top 3 novels, George Saunders simply replied: “Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina, Anna Karenina”), that has been translated into English by twelve different translators since its publication in 1873, and that rides in at over 800 pages. Needless to say, reading it was an odyssey. Not unlike The Odyssey, in fact. (Which, one day, we also might tackle.)
In today’s episode, Bobby and I discuss whether we liked the book, how the many different translations might impact the reading experience (Bobby alternated between the 1954 edition translated by Rosemary Edmonds and the audio book of the 1901 translation by Constance Garnett, while I read the 2000 edition, translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky), the depiction of motherhood and children (and birth control!), what we learn about class in Russia at that time, how surprisingly progressive Tolstoy was, what we loved about the book, what we wished had been chopped from the book, and whether Tolstoy is, in fact, Levin (featuring a really great quote from his wife.)
This is a book about the pain as much as the pleasures, of love; about how love cannot conquer all, especially when everyone but your lover has turned their back on you; about how familiarity breeds contempt. It is about the gain—but more so about the loss—of love. Russian literature is known for its high-octane emotion, but perhaps Tolstoy is right? Perhaps love really is a beast! He’s certainly right on this point—a sweet, salient reminder to us all and my favourite line in the book:
“When you love someone, you love the whole person, just as he or she is, and not as you would like them to be.”
I hope you enjoy. As ever, we’d love to hear from you in the Comments.
Sound by Bel Hawkins
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