A review by cpcabaniss
Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy

4.0

"One of the commonest and most generally accepted delusions is that every man can be qualified in some particular way - said to be kind, wicked, stupid, energetic, apathetic and so on. People are not like that. We may of a man that he is more often kind than cruel, more often wise than stupid, more often energetic than apathetic or vice versa; but it could never be true to say of one man that he is kind or wise, and of another that he is wicked or stupid. Yet we are always classifying mankind in this way. And it is wrong. Human beings are like rivers: the water is one and the same in all of them but every river is narrow in some places, flows swifter in others; here it is broad, there still, or clear, or cold, or muddy or warm. It is the same with men. Every man bears within him the germs of every quality, and now manifests one, now another, and frequently is quite unlike himself, while still remaining the same man. In some people the volteface is particularly abrupt."

I found this read thought provoking and compelling. It's a very introspective and thoughtful book, exploring and critiquing the political system of the time. It delves into the lives of the poor, the injustice of the prison system.

One thing I appreciated was that the main character is not shown to have some miraculous turn around. He is constantly tempted to renounce his decisions and we see him struggle and learn about his struggles as a younger man.

Often heartbreaking, but worth a read.