What is your favorite Tolstoy novel and why?
>What is your favorite Tolstoy novel
None.
>and why?
Because I haven't read em yet.
I have only read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Confessions and some of his other religious writings. I plan to read his major novels but from what I understand everything I have read from him is from a diffrent part of his life.
>lel lolstoj
Life of pi
Notes from Underground
Anna Karenina is the only one I've read but I enjoyed it very much.
Is Resurrection worth a read ?
Anna, but I really don't like him very much. Beautiful writing though.
his memoirs/diaries are awesome
i had no idea what a degenerate he was
>>7815854
I thought it was 10/10 GOAT.
>>7815474
Cossacks, as I am at a similar junction in my alienated youth, with similarly naive romantic hopes.
>>7815863
I stopped reading when he went full homo.
Really feels like he only wrote it to stir up a scandal.
>>7815833
Same here. I read the p&v translation though
>>7815854
It's probably due to the time in my life when I read it, but I think it's my favorite novel.
death of ivan ilyich is amazing, war and peace is mediocre, kreutzer sonata is hot garbage
have yet to read anna karenina but i plan to soon
>>7815915
>war and peace is mediocre
What did you dislike about it?
>>7815885
It can't be that explicit ?
>>7815915
>war and peace is mediocre
>>7815915
>kreutzer sonata is hot garbage
No, even Kreutzer Sonata is amazing.
>>7815915
come on dude
>>7815924
It's not exactly explicit. It's just uncomfortable.
I don't want to read about teenage boys lusting after other teenage boys.
>>7815934
And that makes it "mediocre" ?
Hadji Murat is the best Tolstoy. It was the last thing he wrote and his only venture into his earlier writing styles after he freaked out.
Anna Karenina
The 'Death' chapter and Levin's revelation changed me in a positive way.
>>7815474
I've read I think 5 Tolstoy works. If I were to rank them:
War and Peace
Death of Ivan Illyich
Anna Karenina
Family Happiness
Kreutzer Sonata.
Thoroughly enjoyed everyone of them except Kreutzer Sonata. Death of Ivan Illyich is the greatest short story ever written.
How do you not like kreutzer sonata
Death of Ivan Ilych and Father Sergius are his best.
50 Shades of grey was great
What are your thoughts on Cossacks, Collected Shorter Fictions and Childhood, Boyhood and Youth?
>>7815506
Same
I've read Ilych and his essays about faith and art, not sure if I wanna read his prior works after having read his own opinion on them...
>>7817132
>>7817775
Want to give some reasons for why you guys liked Death of Ivan Ilyich so much?
I read and liked it but I certainly didn't get the effect others seem to.
My favorite Russian short story would have to be Gogol's Overcoat.
Also to OP I think War and Peace is my favorite of his, especially the beginning, for its extremely realistic depictions of human interaction and society in general without being overly psychological. Not that psychological novels are bad but his ability to make you seem to know how everyone feels and why they do, from a removed perspective, almost like a film, is astonishing. I remember many of his passages as though I were in the room as they happened, not for their vivid qualities but because of the logic of the interactions being so subtle yet clear. I can't actually think of another writer, even self-avowed realists, who have this ability to this degree.
I am not a big Tolstoy fan though.
>>7815506
>>7818122
Shit guys. You guys will be pleased. Imagine "Ivan Ilych" but 700+ pages.
I think "Anna Karenina" was my favorite buy "War and Peace" was a close second. AK has stronger character development and the scope is narrower making it a more engaging story. He really gave life to these characters, so much in this novel, that you can almost expect certain behaviors from them. They seem to be real people.
>>7818053
50 Shades of fucking stop posting about this book.
>>7818053
50 Shades ofDIE IN FIRE
>>7818053
50 Shades of attention whoring shitbag.
>>7818053
Fifty Shades of your mother is a whore.
>>7818053
Fifty Shades of shut yer shit ass.
>>7818151
I don't doubt it but in his essays which he wrote shortly before dying he shitd on all his prior work
>>7818053
Fifty Shades of back to 9gag
>>7818131
Why aren't you a fan of Tolstoy?
>>7818189
He's just not one of my favorite writers, I would never presume to say he's mediocre or anything like that. I included that only because my reading of him is not going to show his best qualities I would imagine, else I'd like him more.
In general though I will say I find his depiction of religion very bizarre. He seems almost like somebody pretending to be religious.
>>7818131
>extremely realistic depictions of human interaction without being overly psychological
>his ability to make you seem to know how everyone feels and why they do, from a removed perspective
> the logic of the interactions being so subtle yet clear
can you share some examples?
>>7818201
>pretending to be religious
This is a huge misconception, Tolstoy was constantly at odds with his religious beliefs as a good bit of his life was defined by sex. He lost his virginity in a brothel at like 13 and around the same age his mother advised him to have an affair with a married woman as its good for a mans soul, so growing up he was fucking left and right, he was completely defined by it and then he changed and started to resist it and one of the best ways to resist it is through morality. This led to his religious realizations and ideas being an amalgamation of his own real life experiences and the teachings of Christ. I mean he's regarded as a pioneer of anarcho-Christianity so to say that he was "pretending" isn't necessarily a bad interpretation, but it's a bad word choice. He was more or less trying to reinterpret the Gospels and come to a true understanding of Christ's teaching that he felt the Orthodoxy had ignored or forgotten which ultimately led to his excommunication. Unless you think religious people are just static robots then I fail to see how you could interpret Tolstoy as pretending, but maybe you just don't know anything about his actual life.
>>7818244
The first scene that comes to mind is the one where the children are running off into the other room to pair up into little couples, and the older sister is talking to the adults and then goes in to see them.
>>7818249
Thanks for the info, and no I don't know much about his life, I meant that he seems that way in his writing. The most blatant example of this I can think of is the short story The Three Hermits(I think is the name in English). I just can't believe that that is a genuine depiction of a religious experience, metaphor or not, it seems like a 'fill in the blanks' for religious logic.
>>7818249
And no I don't think that about religion whatsoever. I think certain intellectuals do fetishize religious experience as a proxy for authenticity however. Especially in the social and political context of Russia at the time.
>>7818249
>his mother advised him to have an affair with a married woman
>at 13
>affair with a married woman
Wtf, where did you hear this? Both his parents died before he was 10.
>>7818290
He was 15. It was his aunt who said that.
It was considered proper to young rich boys to gamble, party hard and enjoy life - it was a bold, rooster-like thing in society.
Hadji Murat
>>7818304
GOAT allegory.
>>7815957
pleb
>>7818290
Maybe not when he was 13 but when he was young, I read it in his confessions literally one of the first things he says.
>>7818256
I haven't read that particular story so I can't say much about it, but Tolstoy's religious ideas certainly cannot be boiled down to just one of his stories. From what I can gather about the story it seems to just be a blatant "you don't have to do what the Church dictates in order to be holy or enter heaven" which isn't too complicated, but like I said I haven't read it so I have no examples. If you cited some quotes and explained how they just "fill in the blanks" in your eyes then I could maybe explain more.
>>7818319
Ok the theme of society crushing humanity's soul. In the beginning Tolstoy happens upon a tartar bush that has been run over by a wheel, but while the plant is bent and damaged it still doesn't yield and it reminds him of Murat. Aside from that there is the theme of doing what you believe to be right while struggling to maintain your faith and adhere to the doctrines of religious teaching.
>inb4 oh you just googled that
I read it over the summer so I can't remember any super specific examples or themes, but I have read it and it's my favorite Tolstoy story although I haven't read all of his short stories or war and peace.
Avdeev's "bring me a candle I'll be dying" always stuck with me.
>>7818319
Tolstoy shows Hadji Murat to be a respected and feared warrior. He is a commanding presence anywhere, and even his enemies bow to him.
This kind of respect is earned. The leaders of the Russians are shown to be decedent fools, and are the opposite of this religious and ascetic warrior. They are in no position trouble over others, as their own lives are morally corrupt. The Tsar is shown to be a supreme fool, seeing himself as a great man, when in fact simply placed in the position not due to his ability, but due to fortune.
The story builds on Tolstoys anarchic beliefs, and shows us that one man has no right to rule over another. Much less tell him what is a 'right' way to live.
>>7818339
ok good enough. the thistle symbolism is pretty surface and on the first/last page of the book but yes it's important. i think you'd do better not to view society as "crushing" the human soul, as that indicates conscious malevolence, but rather the fundamental incompatibility between the individual and the society in tolstoy's view.
>>7818363
doesn't the existence of the prince, and hadji murat's respect for him, contract this?
in any case both of you should read the forged coupon. thanks for indulging me.
>>7818380
>doesn't the existence of the prince, and hadji murat's respect for him, contract this?
His honour dictates that he should respect him. If he truly believed the Russian cause, he would not have tried to escape from them etc.
>in any case both of you should read the forged coupon. thanks for indulging me.
Yes I have read it. It's incredible how Tolstoy manages to explain his entire philosophy via such a short and simple story.
>>7818380
Yeah I know the thistle idea is the most surface-level in the story, but like I said it's been a minute since I've read it and such. I don't think Tolstoy was saying society crushes the soul of humanity on purpose, but rather that it is a side effect
of sorts.
Thanks for the rec I will read it when I get my modernist fix.
>>7818131
its just so profound in such a short amount of pages. Its hilarious, depressing, poignant, intriguing, stimulating, enlightening, etc. All in 60 pages. No one in the world can read it and not relate to Ivan atleast on some level.
>>7815892
Then you got the good one. Constance Garnett reads as blandly Victorian English as her name implies and ruins Tolstoy
>>7818400
>his honor
This idea of honor is interesting with Murat as personally I don't believe he gives a shit about honor, but instead it is applied to him by the Russians. He is honored for his war stories, but in his eyes it was just doing what made sense and what needed to be done.
One of the most important parts, in my opinion, is when he's relating his life story and he talks about the khans being slaughtered. The man writing it down stops and asks why the mother khan was beheaded and Murat simply says "what else could he do?" It's easy to say they're barbarians and the like, but the fact is that it's an extremely logical and reasonable solution for future problems and Murat understands this.
Him using the Russians is the same as this in my opinion.
>>7818432
>he knows nothing about the world famous Muslim chivalry
Hit the books, ladie.
>>7818475
What I'm saying is that while we might label it chivalry, to them it is simply a way of life.
>>7818429
Everybody knows the only acceptable translation of Lev is the Maude translations bruh
