What's your favourite translation of Anna Karenina?

What's your favourite translation of Anna Karenina? I'm fond of the P&V, I enjoy the awkwardness of the sentences at times, it keeps me on my toes.

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  1. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Garnett is the most read english translation. I never bothered with P&V.

  2. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    I don't understand how people can tolerate P&V. Their translations read like absolute ass cheeks to me.

    • 10 months ago
      Anonymous

      Who do you prefer?

    • 10 months ago
      Anonymous

      I think P&V does a pretty good job with Dostoevsky. For some reason their Tolstoy is kinda clunky.

      • 10 months ago
        Anonymous

        Their crime and Punishment is fantastic. Something to do with their styles maybe?

      • 10 months ago
        Anonymous

        The Schwartz translation is my favorite. Garnett is actually pretty good as well

        Their Anna Karenina translation sucks but they did a great job with W&P and Dostoevsky. They used a different philosophy for translating AK than their other works, and it is influenced by Pevear’s preferences of being contemporary/relevant (see also his translation of Dumas) and this is why it won so much recognition from Opera and made them a fortune. But Larissa had her way with the other works (their foray into translation was because of her irritation that English translations of Dostoevsky didn’t reflect his voice at all) and they are much more faithful and use English contemporary with the Russian.

        • 10 months ago
          Anonymous

          Oprah*

        • 10 months ago
          Anonymous

          Why'd they change their philosophy?

          • 10 months ago
            Anonymous

            His philosophy just won out her over hers, it is clear he has a different philosophy than she does based on his translation of Dumas which is closer to AK style. She is much more exacting. I am presuming he convinced her that this would make the book sell much much better among average readers (who are mostly women) and would gain them more recognition and so she conceded to his view this one time. He turned out to be right and it got featured on Oprah’s book club as a breathtaking new translation and women everywhere raved about it. From then on they went back to her philosophy of translating. If want a translation closer to what she would have wanted, try Schwartz.

          • 10 months ago
            Anonymous

            Oh so they went back? Excellent. I'll look out for their other stuff. How's their Dead Souls and their Chekov?

          • 10 months ago
            Anonymous

            Their Dead Souls and Chekhov are both kino. So is their Dr Zhivago and Master and Margarita

          • 10 months ago
            Anonymous

            Also their War and Peace is really good

          • 10 months ago
            Anonymous

            Nice

  3. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Maude to me seemed to be the most readable in english, though I've no idea to it's accuracy.

  4. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    P and V are the best translation and anyone who says differently is a chode

  5. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Maude translation

  6. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Constance Garnett and the Maudes.

    https://www.bookfinder.com/isbn/9780199536061

    https://www.bookfinder.com/isbn/9780679783305

  7. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    I am reading the Maude translations since I bought the Everyman's Library editions
    Do you guys think that once I've read all of his fiction (in translation) that I should read his non-fiction?

  8. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Bartlett

  9. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Constance Garnett. Anyone else is pseudery.

  10. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    I read it as Constance Garnett without even knowing what it was about and it became my favourite book of all time that I purchased a physical copy

    My physical copy is Maude but I haven't read it yet but even the opening line sound more smoother and natural than Maude.

    I'm not suing if I'm being biased about it though

    • 10 months ago
      Anonymous

      AK is Garnett’s best by far. She did a much better job with it than Dostoevsky and hers is my favorite next to Schwartz. Most of her translations she just rushed through but you can tell she took her time with that

  11. 10 months ago
    Anonymous

    Constance Garnett, because it's free.

    https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1399

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