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cryo_guy 's review for:
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories
by Leo Tolstoy
Well this book was certainly an enjoyable read. What a writer!
*Disclaimer: I'm not gonna get into different translators as I don't think I can add much to the subject. I read the P&V translation.
I'll get the bad outta the way first. The only thing I found marginally unpleasant was Tolstoy's Christianness. But that in itself is an interesting part of Tolstoy's biography that comes out in many of his works, so I give it a pass. Plus my Catholic friend was like, "If you were born a Catholic like me, you would understand Tolstoy." And he's right! But since I wasn't and I'm an unrepentant atheist, I say things like "Oof my lust! Oof my sin!" when I read some of these stories.
Everything else was pretty grand. Obviously I need to say something about Tolstoy's reputation. Don't judge me too harshly for this, as I don't quite know the answer myself, but in conversing with the people I have ready-at-hand at my disposal, the most common issue comes to be the length of Tolstoy's writing and the tediousness or opaqueness that that length transcribes in its readers. Thankfully you and I, for we are friends are we not?, kunak, if you prefer, can sidestep this issue entirely. But for a great many people, readers even, out there, the very syllable of TOL summons hoards of recondite and esoteric tomes of innumerable length and inexhaustible Russian nicknames. And while I must admit that since I am not Russian, nor am I from the mid 19th century, it is not immediately obvious to me in all respects that this would present no issue.
Nevertheless, in reading this book of these short stories, I'm happy to report that I had no such serious problems or fears and that while one Pyotr Nicholaevich may have passed me by, I was able to retrieve him without much ado. In fact, what's more, I'd be most willing to describe Tolstoy's prose as quite lucid and straightforward. While it does linger on the occasional scene, setting, gesture, or what have you, I found it not overly ornate but rather to the point if not exactly properly concise.
So let's get to some more very praiseworthy generalities. Tolstoy's prose is great and that enough makes this book worth a read. Tolstoy's characterization of Russianness seems wholly coherent and gives the reader an engaging framework to place his various characters. In this same vein, his social and cultural commentaries flow naturally from the very vividness and realness evoked by his characters, plots, and so on. This is a good combination of features. Many of these short stories were composed intentionally as "moral fables" that in subtle ways espouse Tolstoy's thoughts on religion and Christianity. This, too, fits well.
Okay, some specifics. This translation had a brief introduction by Pevear which nicely added autobiographical insights into some of the stories. The most famous of the stories is probably The Death of Ivan Ilyich which is a powerfully mundane meditation on mortality (and perhaps a cynical look at marriage?). The stories I liked the least were ones a little too consumed by a man's obsession with lustfulness. Even though The Kreutzer Sonata and The Devil best fit this, I still think they are worthy stories in a way. Father Sergius is the one of this category that I think attempts to break out of the mold.
I liked seeing Tolstoy's personal idea of Christianity come out in Diary of a Madman and in parts of The Forged Coupon. The Forged Coupon may have been my favorite of the book. The short ones-The Prisoner of the Caucasus, Master and Man, After the Ball, and Alyosha the Pot-are punchy and thoughtful.
And then there's Hadji Murat. Long ago, when I first got this book, I was in college and taking Russian and my Russian prof was like "You like Homer, right? You're a classicist or something, yeah? Read Hadji Murat! Write a paper on how Tolstoy is epic! Submit it to a journal! They'll throw it away but it'll be a good lesson for you or something! *dings bell* NEXT STUDENT!" This impressed a great truth upon me that I proudly ignored until an even less amiable version of the same thing happened in grad school; though without the dinging bell. At any rate, Hadji Murat does have a little epic in it! But just a little. It could use some more honestly but it's alright. Having read all of these short stories Tolstoy is a little too modern for what I imagine is true epic, a little too enraptured by the singularly blinding passions that exist within the human heart. Ah but Anders, you say, how can you say that the Iliad is not enraptured by Achilles' blinding passions, his indefatigable rage?? Well that's a fair point. The difference lies somewhere between symbolic potency of Achilles and the individualist sympathy of Hadji Murat. Leaving aside epic, Hadji Murat is right next to The Forged Coupon as my favorite of the book. And it was particularly interesting to learn of the primary sources Tolstoy used to write it. A tale of brave men.
All in all a very enjoyable read for many reasons. I hope to get to War and Peace and Anna Karenina some day.
*Disclaimer: I'm not gonna get into different translators as I don't think I can add much to the subject. I read the P&V translation.
I'll get the bad outta the way first. The only thing I found marginally unpleasant was Tolstoy's Christianness. But that in itself is an interesting part of Tolstoy's biography that comes out in many of his works, so I give it a pass. Plus my Catholic friend was like, "If you were born a Catholic like me, you would understand Tolstoy." And he's right! But since I wasn't and I'm an unrepentant atheist, I say things like "Oof my lust! Oof my sin!" when I read some of these stories.
Everything else was pretty grand. Obviously I need to say something about Tolstoy's reputation. Don't judge me too harshly for this, as I don't quite know the answer myself, but in conversing with the people I have ready-at-hand at my disposal, the most common issue comes to be the length of Tolstoy's writing and the tediousness or opaqueness that that length transcribes in its readers. Thankfully you and I, for we are friends are we not?, kunak, if you prefer, can sidestep this issue entirely. But for a great many people, readers even, out there, the very syllable of TOL summons hoards of recondite and esoteric tomes of innumerable length and inexhaustible Russian nicknames. And while I must admit that since I am not Russian, nor am I from the mid 19th century, it is not immediately obvious to me in all respects that this would present no issue.
Nevertheless, in reading this book of these short stories, I'm happy to report that I had no such serious problems or fears and that while one Pyotr Nicholaevich may have passed me by, I was able to retrieve him without much ado. In fact, what's more, I'd be most willing to describe Tolstoy's prose as quite lucid and straightforward. While it does linger on the occasional scene, setting, gesture, or what have you, I found it not overly ornate but rather to the point if not exactly properly concise.
So let's get to some more very praiseworthy generalities. Tolstoy's prose is great and that enough makes this book worth a read. Tolstoy's characterization of Russianness seems wholly coherent and gives the reader an engaging framework to place his various characters. In this same vein, his social and cultural commentaries flow naturally from the very vividness and realness evoked by his characters, plots, and so on. This is a good combination of features. Many of these short stories were composed intentionally as "moral fables" that in subtle ways espouse Tolstoy's thoughts on religion and Christianity. This, too, fits well.
Okay, some specifics. This translation had a brief introduction by Pevear which nicely added autobiographical insights into some of the stories. The most famous of the stories is probably The Death of Ivan Ilyich which is a powerfully mundane meditation on mortality (and perhaps a cynical look at marriage?). The stories I liked the least were ones a little too consumed by a man's obsession with lustfulness. Even though The Kreutzer Sonata and The Devil best fit this, I still think they are worthy stories in a way. Father Sergius is the one of this category that I think attempts to break out of the mold.
I liked seeing Tolstoy's personal idea of Christianity come out in Diary of a Madman and in parts of The Forged Coupon. The Forged Coupon may have been my favorite of the book. The short ones-The Prisoner of the Caucasus, Master and Man, After the Ball, and Alyosha the Pot-are punchy and thoughtful.
And then there's Hadji Murat. Long ago, when I first got this book, I was in college and taking Russian and my Russian prof was like "You like Homer, right? You're a classicist or something, yeah? Read Hadji Murat! Write a paper on how Tolstoy is epic! Submit it to a journal! They'll throw it away but it'll be a good lesson for you or something! *dings bell* NEXT STUDENT!" This impressed a great truth upon me that I proudly ignored until an even less amiable version of the same thing happened in grad school; though without the dinging bell. At any rate, Hadji Murat does have a little epic in it! But just a little. It could use some more honestly but it's alright. Having read all of these short stories Tolstoy is a little too modern for what I imagine is true epic, a little too enraptured by the singularly blinding passions that exist within the human heart. Ah but Anders, you say, how can you say that the Iliad is not enraptured by Achilles' blinding passions, his indefatigable rage?? Well that's a fair point. The difference lies somewhere between symbolic potency of Achilles and the individualist sympathy of Hadji Murat. Leaving aside epic, Hadji Murat is right next to The Forged Coupon as my favorite of the book. And it was particularly interesting to learn of the primary sources Tolstoy used to write it. A tale of brave men.
All in all a very enjoyable read for many reasons. I hope to get to War and Peace and Anna Karenina some day.