Introducción de George Gibian, profesor de la Universidad de
Cornell
Traducción de Irene y Laura Andresco
La historia de Anna Karénina, junto a la de Madame Bovary, es la del
adulterio más célebre de la literatura. El enamoramiento de la
protagonista, casada con el alto funcionario Karénin, por el atractivo
militar Vronski y el estrepitoso romance que con él vive son el eje de
una novela que es mucho más que la pulida tragedia de una caída en
desgracia: es un esmerado y delicado retrato de todo un tiempo y un
lugar, la vivisección de una sociedad en la que la felicidad de algunos
convive con la desdicha de otros.
El presente volumen se abre con la espléndida introducción del que fuera
catedrático en la Universidad de Cornell y estudioso de la literatura
eslava, George Gibian. A ella la sigue la cabal y aclamada traducción
realizada por las hermanas Irene y Laura Andresco.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
Introduction by George Gibian, Cornell University professor.
Anna Karenina is a novel of unparalleled richness and complexity, set
against the backdrop of Russian high society. Tolstoy charts the course
of the doomed love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and
Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer who pursues Anna after becoming
infatuated with her at a ball. Although she initially resists his charms
Anna eventually succumbs, falling passionately in love and setting in
motion a chain of events that lead to her downfall.
This classic is one of the most loved and memorable heroines of
literature. Her overwhelming charm dominates a novel of unparalleled
richness and density. Tolstoy considered this book to be his first real
attempt at a novel form, and it addresses the very nature of society at
all levels, - of destiny, death, human relationships and the
irreconcilable contradictions of existence. It ends tragically, and
there is much that evokes despair, yet set beside this is an abounding
joy in life's many ephemeral pleasures, and a profusion of comic relief.
In this extraordinary novel Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together the lives
of dozens of characters, while evoking a love so strong that those who
experience it are prepared to die for it.
This edition opens with a magnificent introduction by former Cornell
University professor and scholar of Slavic literature, George Gibian. It
is followed by the methodical and acclaimed translation by sisters Irene
and Laura Andresco.
