vronsky

One advantage of being a non-native reader of Russian is that my recognition of her smile bending her lips occurs at the speed of life, rather than of frictionless instantaneousness. The first time I read the novel in Russian I was as bedazzled and transfixed as Vronsky is:

“В этом коротком взгляде Вронский успел заметить сдержанную оживленность, которая играла в ее лице и порхала между блестящими глазами и чуть заметной улыбкой, изгибавшею ее румяные губы.”

I read that sentence something like this: “In this short glance Vronsky succeeded in noticing the held-back liveliness that played on her face and fluttered between the shining eyes and the barely noticeable smile, bending her red lips.”

Yes, Garnett’s is better. But my herky-jerky understanding gave me something like the appreciation of a basketball player’s move replayed in super slow-motion.