This is the translation that I first read (years after it was published) and loved. The novel has been around a long time but its attraction can be won or lost according to the translation. Another, later translation irked me so much that I didn't want to finish reading it. Now that I've found my favorite translation -- which I think is more poetic and does better justice to the style and mood of the Russian original -- I'm buying a copy for myself and one for a gift to someone in high school.