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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
most certainly a good essay and something that I wish was more widespread among bookshelves. what Tolstoy grapples with is certainly relatable and I imagine that most people struggle with the end of life. however, I am not altogether convinced by Tolstoy's final leap, that of believing in God because he is afraid. that is no good reason to back up your faith, and so my own search for meaning and peace trucks onward.
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Bilo je oke i onda je Tolstoj pronašao religiju and it went downhill from there
A particularly lucid examination of death and the existential crisis a life lived without faith can incur. Tolstoy's language is so clear that it puts other existentialists, like Sartre, Kierkegaard, and Camus, to shame - as what takes them several pages to explore only takes Tolstoy a couple lines to explain. This is not to say, however, that A Confession is without its flaws. Loose logic and a blind love for the poor are problematic and Tolstoy's inability to see how those who do not suffer from poverty can ever find meaning in life is troubling.
Nevertheless, an extremely interesting read.
Nevertheless, an extremely interesting read.
slow-paced
reflective
fast-paced
I think the vast majority of A Confession can be distilled into two pages; that said, this is a quick read and very illuminating for understanding Tolstoy as a thinker, and it seems clear to me how this memoir affects readings of War and Peace and Anna Karenina.
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
all reviews in one place:
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: In this short biographical work of philosophy author describes his life nuances that one way or another steered him away from faith. How it affected and even eroded his life, what were the consequences of that, and how he sought after the meaning of life via this prism of faithlessness or godlessness, however you want to call it. He found answers through very deep digging and process of elimination, and, depending on how you view this book, they’re interesting.
My Opinion: I am not religious, at all. But this book, as I said, depending on how you view it, can be very good. Basically, Leo Tolstoy lost the meaning of life and went out to find it again. On his way, deducting answers that didn’t fit the bigger picture, he managed to find a path: life can only be defined around one self, for only your life is in your hands in such a sense that you can only be responsible for your own actions and choices. Taking this in, the answer to the age old question “why ware we here?” becomes clearer: because we are, they say. We are, because we are. So if we indeed are just because, and our life can only be defined around ourselves, does that not clearly point to what’s the meaning of life, after all? If you are just to be, and your being is defined by you, then your meaning of life is… Whatever you make it to be.
It’s a pleasant thought, and a nice short read to that. A 4 out of 5; though I think I need a new scale or system when rating biographies or otherwise biographical works.
night mode reading ;
skaitom nakties rezimu
About the Book: In this short biographical work of philosophy author describes his life nuances that one way or another steered him away from faith. How it affected and even eroded his life, what were the consequences of that, and how he sought after the meaning of life via this prism of faithlessness or godlessness, however you want to call it. He found answers through very deep digging and process of elimination, and, depending on how you view this book, they’re interesting.
My Opinion: I am not religious, at all. But this book, as I said, depending on how you view it, can be very good. Basically, Leo Tolstoy lost the meaning of life and went out to find it again. On his way, deducting answers that didn’t fit the bigger picture, he managed to find a path: life can only be defined around one self, for only your life is in your hands in such a sense that you can only be responsible for your own actions and choices. Taking this in, the answer to the age old question “why ware we here?” becomes clearer: because we are, they say. We are, because we are. So if we indeed are just because, and our life can only be defined around ourselves, does that not clearly point to what’s the meaning of life, after all? If you are just to be, and your being is defined by you, then your meaning of life is… Whatever you make it to be.
It’s a pleasant thought, and a nice short read to that. A 4 out of 5; though I think I need a new scale or system when rating biographies or otherwise biographical works.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced