For me, Garnett really captured that moment when one knows spring has come and the subconscious hope that it brings forth. By the way, Benjamin, you are a marvelous reader, thanks for your efforts to bring the magic of great literature to us.

1. 7:36 2. 9:10 3. 10:42 4. 12:03

I am so glad your giving direction on editions and translations! I'm new to the great books and want to make sure I'm reading the best ones. Thanks again Ben.

I actually prefer the Maude translation in the blind test. Though P&V sounded great as well. I bought Anna Karenina from Everyman's Library, so the decision has been made for me (Maude). Interesting to hear the comparison in hindsight.

Superb video idea. I'm for the PV translation, simply IMO the most poetic: "And from the yards came the knock of the peasant's axes." Exactly, I could even hear those knocks.

Found this channel while I was reading Crime and punishment and fell in love with it instantly, very insightful and straight to the point, thank you for talking about classics since no other booktuber does so

I downloaded a PDF version of P&V and Bartlett's work. Some verbs and adverbs in the two are in times better than the other. P&V has this structure of a classic english and provides tiny details to the environment while Bartlett is modernized one with different structure than P&V. They're so similar to each other that I'm going to read both of them at this point.

THANK YOU SO MUCH ❤❤ i chose and bought garnett and i firmly believe my reading has been so successful and fun because of the correct translation...Garnett is easy to get into but still maintains that magic of the writing.....loving this book so far!!!

I liked the P/V and Bartlet. The first few lines about the sun, ice and the vapour became very vivid in my imagination when you read the Bartlet translation. I am not an English native, so it's hard enough reading AK in any kind of English, but translation makes a lot of difference! I am currently reading P/V translation, but became very interested in getting Bartlet translation after watching this! Thanks for the inspiring video!

Wow, this is incredibly helpful! I've never read Anna Karenina but I have the Bartlett translation on my Christmas wish list because it seemed close in translation style to the Briggs War and Peace (which I love). Guess what? I preferred the excerpt from the Bartlett over the others, easily, though I ranked the P&V close behind it. I think I'm going to love this book.

Thank you so much for this video, it's very helpful!

Great video and great idea thanks !!!! I’ve been wondering this as I’m about to start AK . I’ve had the penguin P&V translation on my shelf for a while . I did the test and I’m delighted to reveal I chose P&V - definitely my favourite by far 😊

This is probably the most useful video I've ever found in terms of providing direction for my own reading. Thank you for it. I've passed it along to others who are gearing up to read this beautiful book.

The Garnett translation seemed to flow most easily to me, simpler to follow, but the P&V and Maude are perhaps more striking in their descriptives. I found ranking them very tricky!

Ben, Just excellent! I really enjoyed this 'taste' test especially given that I've just bought two copies of the Oxford World's Classics translation (pb). Luckily I couldn't pick between options one and four (phew) so no regrets. My husband and I are about to buddy read Anna together. Beyond excited! Last year was my year of English classics, this is the year of the Russian classic! Just found your channel and enjoying the content immensely. Thank you. Stay well. Sharon x

Extremely helpful, thank you. I read war & peace earlier this year after watching a few of your videos & loved it. I read the Maude translation, but interestingly Maude came in last place in this blind taste test! I personally liked them in the order 3, 1, 4, 2 - although there was little to separate 3 & 1 imo. Thanks again 😊

So helpful. Thanks!

I was pleased to find that each of the four translations of that particular passage is quite good. I suppose I like the P & V best.

Can you do War and Peace as well?

I liked the P&V, Bartlett, Garnett, Maude, in order. Going off now to order my copy. Thank you - this was very helpful. Have you reviewed "Fathers & Sons" by Ivan Turgenev? Another great Russian story.

I was reading The Human Factor by Graham Greene and in it the main character Castle goes to his regular bookstore where he picks up a Tolstoy novel from the bookseller who sings the praises of the Maude translation. I wasn't sure if that was Greene's approval , or just the character. I went with it, but if I'm missing out on something better, I might have to reconsider it. Graham Greene is difficult to argue with.

Thank you. I read Anna Karenina 40 years ago, version unknown. Am now reading Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. It reads easy so, wondered if earlier read was more accurate. I didn't want a sense that Tolstoy was born English! Glad to know I happened upon a great translation as I savour the remaining 200 pages of the novel. The KZfaq was helpful.

After hearing you praise P&V so much, I ordered Gogol's Dead Souls in their translation. Yet to be read though. I have read a few shorts of Chekhov by both Garnett and P&V. Will order P&V mostly now.

Thanks so much for this. I got the Everyman hardback for my birthday and then got the kindle version but hadn’t realised the difference it being the Garnett version. I’ve now decided to buy the Bartlett kindle version and keep the Everyman on the shelf looking good. My favourites from this were 1 and 4.

I have read the P and V, the Maud, and the revised Garnett (multiple times). I thought the Maud was far too anglicized and the prose a bit stodgy. The P and V is gives a more precise sense of unique class relations in Russia, and it really nails some of the big scenes (the ball is outstanding). The revised Garnett (modern library classic edition) is by far the best written in English that I have read. It is just so fluid, and strikes a nice balance Englishness and Russianness. However, I don't think any of the translations are actively bad. Tolstoy works in almost every English translation I have read because the characters are so psychologically rich, and the scenes so well-described that I think he is difficult to ruin. Dostoevsky, on the other hand...

Thank you Benjamin for making this decision of which translation of Anna Karenina to read more tangible. I somewhat surprisingly preferred the Maude translation in your blind test. (I thought I'd choose Bartlett.) I knew I wouldn't choose P&V - because I'd compared two versions of Anna Karenina at home (P&V vs. Garnett) and chose Garnett. P&V doesn't flow as well for me - while it may be a fine, accurate translation, I found the syntax a bit awkward. Note: I finished War & Peace last year and chose Briggs, which I enjoyed.

I did a point system out of 5 and here is my preference. I actually do like reading different translations of the same work and in multiple languages if I could (currently 2 English and Vietnamese) as I want to see different interpretations, different use of words. I've ordered 1 and 2 versions and might order bartlett in the future. 1. 3 - pevear & volokhonsky 2. 4 - maude 3. 2 - garnett 4. 3 - bartlett

This is useful. I am still yet to read the great book - but after listening to this, I realised I ought choose carefully. First impression was P and V sounded most appealling , then Bartlet ..... Looking forward to picking up a copy soon. Thanks Ben.

I had just bought the Bartlett translation, but I preferred the Maude translation on the blind test. Hmmph! When I think about it, the Maude translation was more poetic and yet vivid, but I don't know if I could take a whole book of that language, so maybe Bartlett's more workman-like translation will be just fine, more Russian-sounding (if that's a thing).

I bought the Maude translation from Everyman but always wondered if I had made the right choice. This comparison has confirmed my purchase as I find the Maude translation in this blind test superior for me. It's vivid and beautiful description leapt to my mind far clearer than the others and just rang better to my ear. Glad i decided to go with them vs the more popular V&P version.

Thank you for this video! It was wonderful! I have only ever read P & V translation for Tolstoy's works, but now on my next reread, i think I may give Bartlett a go!

I have the Bartlett currently, but I do plan on purchasing the P and V version

Thanks for yet another engaging piece - can I ask if you had any thoughts on the Clara Bell translation, published, I believe l, 1887 Vizetelly’s Second edition. 🙏🙏

I was just starting to read the Maude version (I bought it because of the beautiful cover, to be honest) and I didn't get very far before stumbling upon this video, so I thought it was alright. However, after you read from the different translations it was by far my least favorite and I immediately ordered the P&V version. Guess I'll just have one for display and one for reading! Thank you for the video :)

Great video series here. For me it was PV (the one I read), Bartlett, Maude and Garnett by favorite order

I'm reading AK for the first time now; I'm 1/2 way through. I'm reading the Garnett translation and it's very readable and enjoyable. And that's all I know... Wow. I recognize the passage you read from a Levin-oriented section. I guessed the Garnett was either the 2nd or 4th piece, and I liked the third best, so I guessed it was the P&V. Shows how wrong you can be! Being from farming stock myself, I identify and admire Levin and am always rooting for him. The dinner scene where he was communicating with Kitty with chalk on the table brought tears to my eyes, I was so happy for him.

This is exactly what I did to choose a translation, however I had to use passages from the first chapter to avoid spoilers and also because that is the sample I could get through Kindle. Based on this comparison I chose Garnett. However, now I am reading War and Peace in the Maude and wish I had done so with AK. ETA: The reason I did it this way was because based on research there was no clear "top choice" translation. Opinions vary widely and are very passionate!

Such an interesting comparison. P&V I found a bit bare bones - almost an attempt to replicate the imagined simplicity of the original Russian. Maude was more musical and Garnett followed a similar path. Bartlett seemed to really soar, though without a knowledge of the Russian language it's hard to know whether this translation was too fully developed. As a reading choice I'd go with any of the latter 3 though for sheer enjoyment Bartlett seems to really stand out!

Just ordered the translation(Bartlett) recommended by you...thank you very much ... 💕 The result of blind test: P and V : 7 out of 10 Barrlett: 6.5 Maud : 6 Const: 6

Number 3 for me. So poetic, so pastoral. I can see the scene as if I was reading a painting. The language is rich and full of promise, like the season it describes. It is music made with word. I loved your reading too. Thanks.

great video man very cool

Another great video. I got the book it is next on my list to read.

I began reading Anna K from a freebie I picked up and the translator was David Margarshak. It was ok but I was not gripped by the storyline or storytelling. I would alternate between it and an audio book with the Dole translation, which I liked much more. That got me wondering what other options were out there and I picked up a P&V translation from my library (late in the game - I was halfway through Part 7). The difference was huge! I read it in preparation for my son’s senior year of literature and am glad for the P&V translation.

Woow!! The p&v translation was so easy and beautiful. But as a non-native English speaker, will it be easy to read the book in this translation? (Btw, I've read c&p in constace garnet edition but found hard to understand in some parts)

Listen #2 Nov. 4/22 Lovers of Jazz are well aware that Downbeat magazine used to do a blindfold test (they probably still do it). Jazz artists would listen to pieces they hadn't heard by artists whom _they have_ heard before and had praised or trash talked said artist. After listening to the piece/pieces they'd have to go on record first about who they thought was the musician playing the piece before getting the reveal, that's what I'm gonna do. There is another video where Benjamin knocks on Constance Garnett, I made sure to check her out for myself after hearing Benjamin's criticism. I had to decide on a version of Crime & Punishment and I liked Constance's the best-I like her work. So my dog in this blindfold test is that I hope the translation(s) I like, includes Constance. From past exposure, I already know I don't like Pevear & Volokhonsky. Their sound just sounds clunky and forced to me. I've noticed P & V are heavily marketed to the public. I don't know how true they are to the authors they translate and I won't know unless I learn a little or a lot of Russian. All the marketing of P&V has, for a long time, left me feeling like they are the Nike product of the literary world. Ok, on to my ratings/impressions: Translation 1. Hated it on listen #1, _still_ hate it on listen #2. "Fleet footed children."? Sounds like fantasy novel language. Translation 2. Better! there is some toughness to it. The description of the peasants with their axes was better, though axes don't "click", so it wasn't perfect. "swift footed children began to run..." What a relief, so much better than "fleet footed". (This one gave me the easiest and most involuntary spontaneous mental imagery out of all the translations.) Translation 3. Hated it the first time. Hate it even more the second time. Sounds like Tolstoy was put through an A.I. translation machine. Yuck! (Please don't be Contance!) Translation 4. It's alright. Yes, I know that's about the flattest level of approval you can give something, but the point here is to give the honest impression, and it's just alright. It sounds like someone who is just plodding along in the translation and being too literal. That is to say, they are rendering up the words but have lost some of the energy and spirit. Not good. The children are again, "fleet footed", and axes are "falling". I'd prefer for the axes to be connecting and smashing into something. "Falling" axes gives swooping imagery. Peasants live taxing, very physical lives. They aren't catching butterflies with those axes. (Unfortunately, I think this one might be Constance Garnett, I have a feeling #2 is Bartlett). Big breath, time to play the reveal in the video...

great idea....thank you

Brilliant way to choose a translation! My preference was clear. Please do this again.

I just realised I liked Maude the least and that is the translation I read. Definitely P&V for the clear win - it seemed more lyrical and emotive. Maude and Garnet too direct and utilitarian almost to my ear. Bartlett returned some of the more poetic feel by the end. This has been very illustrative - thanks.

I currently have a copy of the Maude translation and was about to start reading, but thought I'd check this video out. I wish I had watched before purchasing, because I gave it the lowest score of 6/10, the other 3 all being above 8 😂 I'm going to give this one away and order a P & V translation which I rated a 9.

I read the Maude translation. I will probably re read it in the P&V or Bartlett. Personally, I enjoyed the P&V rendering of that passage the most :) Great video - I really am enjoying your videos. 😀 Can you give a video where you recount your favourite scenes of Anna Karenina? :)

Thank you for this video it was really helpful, all the translations were beautiful but just listening i preferred the second one by maude

I am reading it in German but after the P&V I am contemplating if I should buy that one as well and read it parallel.. What I find very fascinating is that in my German translation „morning“ wasn‘t mentioned with one word but you knew that he was talking about it.

Hey Ben, what translation would you recommend for War and Peace?

i absolutely love you forever for doing that taste test!!!! i now know which translation to sprint to!!!! THANK YOU!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Okay I totally underestimated the power of translation. So glad I found this after trudging through part one of P&V and feeling a little guilty that I didn’t like the book. While beautifully written, the long, mind-numbing passages made it so hard to get into the story. I’ll try the Maude version, it felt more natural Great video!!

1) Rosamund Bartlett. 2) Maude. 3) Pevear and Volokhonsky. 4) Garnett. (It was such a surprise since I'd never heard of Bartlett's translation before, and I presumed that P&V would be my favorite.) This was a great and insightful video! (I have looked into the translations more and I've found that I generally liked the maude better, but this passage was just so good in the Bartlett translation)

Personally, I found translations 2 and 4 to be the most engaging. I thought translation number 1 was the least appealing and didn’t provide as solid a visual image as the others. But I’ve never read any Russian literature (not yet), so I don’t really know what to listen for.

Oh, I definitely prefer the Maude from this blind test!! I find it so flowy and dreamy/magical ! I see in the comments that it's not a very popular choice, though! Haha But on the other hand, English is not my native language so maybe I have different criteria 😃🤷 Luckily, in my native language, Greek, we have a fantastic translation for the Anna Karenina, it's just stunning !! You cannot put it down. So this book for me was extra magical 😃🙌🙌 The same translator has translated all the Dostoevsky books in Greek, too, so we are very very lucky !!

Interestingly, not only did I choose P&V, but I also guessed that it was their translation before you read any of the others. Something about the way that each aspect was stacked upon another struck me as very Tolstoy, and P&V's usual fidelity to his syntax. (In addition, minimal translation explanation; “women with their linen” as opposed to “women who were bleaching their linen” for example.)

As a farmer, I found the P&V and the Bartlett more appealing, more "accurate". The second, or Maude, did not appeal to me at all. Garnett would have been my third choice. Interesting experiment, and it did influence my shopping. Thanks.

I liked the 1st and last without which is which but I think I liked the 1st more but the margins were tight.

I just spent 45 minutes deliberating between getting W&P or AK after having finally settled on which translations I'd prefer for each. Ended up buying a Chekhov collection 😭

It's a perennial question and one that is very difficult for people to assess if they know nothing of the original language. Comparing passages tho is a really useful aid in deciding, so thanks for doing this vid. As an academic translator myself, I tend to agree with the large number of people out there who dislike the P&V intensely. Chiefly because of the way P&V try and equate their clumsy use of English as reproducing the quirks and ideosyncrasies of Tolstoy's original Russian. It doesn't. Pevear by all accounts doesn't even know Russian and has a flimsy grasp of English! There's a great article out there by Gary Morton, a US academic on Russian lit, who does a great job in explaining the issues. It's called 'The Pevearson of Russian literature'. Well worth a read. I'm about to try the Rosamund Bartlett edition. It sounds promising.

# 1 (P & V) for me, just borrowed it from my local library.

I'm at part 6 of the P&V translation. I care little for the descriptions of nature and countryside that usually describe the transitions between seasons. For me they have been my least favourite part of the book along with Tolstoy's obsession with giving characters this sixth sense of knowing when something is awry or someone is looking at them without any actual physical sensory indicator. Aside from these small parts the book is incredible and my only qualms are with the actions of the characters themselves, which only serves to prove that they are truly "fleshed out". If I did not feel they were real I would have no issue with their action (or inaction).

I originally read Anna K about 15 years ago in the Wordsworth Classics version - not sure if that was Constance or Maude. I'm currently re-reading in the Penguin Clothbound P & V. From what I've read and heard P & V do great translations. And to be honest I don't want the translation that I find most appealing when compared side by side, like in this video - I want, as far as possible, to get at which translation is objectively the best / most faithful. So that I can read it and assess the novel as fairly as possible - without the particular translation forming a layer of obfuscation. So if for example Tolstoy writes in an annoying halting staccato manner, I want to experience that and judge it accordingly, rather than having a flowery smooth translation give me a false impression if his style.

Benjamin I wish I could find an abridged version of this novel. It goes on and on like was much the style of these 19th century novels. endlessly. Do you know of any?

Just finished the book for the first time in English. It was the Maude translation. I previously read it in Danish (a translation from the 1910s) and that was awful in every way and it assumed you could read French and knew all the circumstances of Russian society at the time. I liked Maude translation. Plenty of annotations and bookmarks for context and translation. I skipped the introduction, because it says in the first paragraphs that you ought to read it before.

Surely the 'go to' translations of Tolstoy's classics were those by Rosemary Edmonds, published as Penguin Classics? It is strange that she never seems to get a mention in the debates over whose is the best. I haven't read RB's version yet, but must say her biography of T is a wonderful read and full of new information and surprising revelations. She inspired me to read AK in Russian, which I found much easier and more enjoyable than I had expected, though when T starts describing the women's clothes at the balls, I needed to look up a word every line and even then I did not recognise some of the English words. There seems to be a conspiracy to blot out Rosemary Edmonds from the discussion of T's translations. Even if her versions are no longer in print, so many of them must have been sold over the years that I guess you could easily pick them up for a pound or two secondhand. Reading her versions, you forget you are reading a translation, whereas you can 'hear' the Russian in the background when reading the Maudes or Garnett. (From a 1963 SSEES graduate.)

(1) Pevear & Volokhonsky, rated 4; (2) Rosamund Bartlett, rated 4-; (3) Aylmer & Louise Maude, Rated 3; Constance Garnett, rated 3- (though very close to my #3). I loved the beautiful language of the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation. I would read that translation very slowly and savor the words. It might be good, however, to have Bartlett's translation handy, to get a more streamlined translation in instances where the P & V language might obscure the underlying meaning. Will you do a similar video on Which War and Peace translation we should read?

I’ve been reading Anna Karenina the Maude translation and have been loving it. Then I watched your video and liked her translation the least! I find the Maude translation an easy read but it is very English and not as beautiful as the Bartlett or the P&V.

I prefer the last one by Bartlett in that passage. Beautiful. That is the one I read also so yay.

Translation 1 - 7:39 Translation 2 - 9:10 Translation 3 - 10:41 Translation 4 - 12:03

I feel English readers are unlucky, in Arabic the translation of Chekhov and Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, and Tolstoy is way more better and shows the actual Russian spirit. I like Robert Chandler I think he is the finest and the closest to Russian soul. Luck he translated Vasily Grossman and Pushkin

After listening to the narrations twice, I chose the 4th - the Bartlett - as the best. It sounded the most "painterly" to me.

Behind a veil of ignorance I initially liked #2. I listened to the passages another two times and I preferred #3. I don't know if I'll ever have the courage to read Anna Karenina. My mother has an old copy translated by V&P, so I'll start there regardless.

I feel like I read it in school when Garnett was common, and it may still be. My reading was pre P&V. Not sure I'd have thought to choose CG's translation given what I've since heard about her work, and it seems to mostly be about people deciding between P&V and Maude which I'm doing now, but CG was my first exposure to Tolstoy, and I was obsessed. I have to give credit where due. It might not be a popular opinion, but CG is a gripping read. Soon, I get to play the game of choosing one to re-read. Currently digging into War and Peace. Switched from P&V to Maude early on. Might do P&V for Dostoevsky. At this point, I wonder if it'd be easier to just learn Russian 😂.

Thanks you for this.Terrific. I look forward to more of your videos. I started Anna Karenina a short while ago, with the P&V translation, which is great. But I also have a translation by Margaret Wettlin, published by Progress Publishers in 1978 in the then USSR. I like it as well. Do you know it? If so, what do you think? Cheers.

NGL I really just want that beautiful copy of the Bartlett book. It's a similar lovely blue hue to both my Poe Anthology and one of my Jane Eyre copies and they would all just look so lovely together in a little bedside table pile. I don't consider myself a collector but I like to have "nice" copies and cheaper ones which I highlight and annotate. I had to buy another copy of 'Lolita' this week because my old copy was unreadable from my notes and coloured blocks. But then I also bought two copies of Jane Eyre too and another beat-up copy of Northanger Abbey so I can try to give Austen another go, despite really disliking P&P and S&S...both in text and film adaptation. I'm hoping the gothic satire will finally win me over this time. As for the blind reading, I immediately gravitated towards the P&V version, the middle two both paled in comparison and then something about that Bartlett translation seemed to spark a little interest in me. I think I will continue to go with the P&V version first, but then read Bartlett afterwards too. Gives me an excuse to go buy that beautiful edition, eh? (Like I even needed an excuse, lol). Thank you for doing this and helping to cement my decision to go with P&V...as well as enabling me to buy the Bartlett version too! Kind regards, Bex

1.very poetic, onomatopeic, big fan. maybe a little disjointed? 2.not as good, lacks some of the poetry 3.absolutely beautiful. smooth. favourite so far. 4.WOAH. GREAT. KEEPS GETTING BETTER. wow ok, I have only read the maude so far, I guess I'm missing out!

I fell in live with War & Peace with the Maude translation. Is the Maude good for War & Peace more than Anna Karenina? I am always apprehensive of modern translations because I love the older english. Not old english as in Shakespear but old as in just that 1800’s early 1900’s language.

Great job doing these blind "taste tests". I find I can better discriminate among the various translations by hearing them aloud. I'm prejudiced against P&V after mistakenly buying their Chekhov short story collection which I couldn't stomach at all. For Anna I preferred the Maude translation in this selection. Thanks.

I have the Maude version. It's a long book that I have just started (again), only to find out I am reading an 'inferior' version.

I prefer Garnett’s version.

but what is the best tv series the russian or the spanish?

Constance Garnett’s version is the best, but of course some revisions can be made to tighten it up a bit, and that’s exactly what they did at Modern Library resulting in a wonderful version, with an introduction by Mona Simpson. So Constance Garnett doesn’t sound like Tolstoy? Dostoevsky? So what? She is good enough to be Constance Garnett. The other translations are merely revisions based on Garnett’s version, and they are not necessarily better than Garnett’s version, and some are even worse.

I'm just going to take the same approach to anna karenina, like i did with war and peace; read slow, maybe 5 chapters a day...get a dictionary to define certain words....and listen to a couple of lectures, beforehand 🙂

I liked 1, 2, and 4. I thought 4 was best. 2 used too many “And” to start each sentence and 1 was really quite overdone with fluffy prose. Tolstoy in my opinion should never be fluffy. He has a more stoic beauty than anything and that is what I search for.

Loved the nuances in my £2 charity shop edition. Think I got to page 37.

Which translation of Crime & Punishment do people recommend? P&V or Garnett?

Maude and Garnett get it mostly right. I read the Garnett. The thing about P&V translations is that their process is to use ghost translation initially, then get more involved in whittling down the final text of what we end up with. What we’re left with in this assembly line affair is something thoroughly modern, yet also stripped of all the music found in superior translations. Like many things today, P&V as an entity is the creation of public relations, clever marketing tactics, and a puppy mill like operation of workers handling the translation process - and that’s the feeling I get through the text.

I haven't read Anna Karenina. On the blind read test this was my initial order:- 1. P&V 2. Maude 3. Garnett 4. Bartlett On further listening they all sounded quite beautiful in their own way.

ahh!! I'm reading the Maude one for my English dissertation and it's way too late to attempt any kind of change😩 I'm 500 pages through.

I haven't read this but I liked #1 and #4 best

How about Nathan Dole translation?

Omg! I happened to choose P&V !

Sheep shedding, rather than requiring to be shorn, generally tells me they are a breed of meat sheep. Is it odd that I preferred versions 1 and 4 for suggestively retaining this education?

Great video! I would love to know what you think of the Marian Schwartz translation by the Yale university press coz the blurb is quite interesting..."Tolstoy produced many drafts of Anna Karenina. Crafting and recrafting each sentence with careful intent, he was anything but casual in his use of language. His project, translator Marian Schwartz observes, “was to bend language to his will, as an instrument of his aesthetic and moral convictions.” In her magnificent new translation, Schwartz embraces Tolstoy’s unusual style—she is the first English language translator ever to do so. Previous translations have departed from Tolstoy’s original, “correcting” supposed mistakes and infelicities. But Schwartz uses repetition where Tolstoy does, wields a judicious cliché when he does, and strips down descriptive passages as he does, re-creating his style in English with imagination and skill." Btw I rated P&V 5 stars and 4 for Bartlett , Maude was my least favourite, way too literal, not enough musicality.

I ended up giving the highest score to P & V. Thank you for these videos, they are so fun and helpful. When I was listening to the one that ended up being P & V felt like a sweet song being sung to me. My second highest rated was the Bartlett!

The P&V seemed heavy and 'try-too-hard'. The Maude and the Garnett seemed to flow and was easier to listen to. I think the Bartlett might be my favorite but since I own the Garnett, I'll go with that for now. Glad I didn't purchase the P&V.