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Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

I adore Tolstoy. For me personally, he's the greatest writer of all time, definitely 19th Century, definitely the best Russian writer!

Masterful, superb charaterization, particularly of female heroines.

Philosophical , thought--provoking subject matter, warm--hearted and sympathetic towards his characters.

Basically, I find him to be a very human writer.

My favourite works are War and Peace , "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch" and Resurrection.

And yours?

Gopher · Joined: 04 Jun 2005

Add "The Kruetzer Sonata" to that list. I agree War and Peace is an exceptionally great work.

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

canuck in Ansan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005

I've actually just started Anna Karenina, but am not very far in yet.
I've also heard that he is a very human writer. I'm looking forward to reading more!

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

batman · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:07 pm Post subject:

Agree. Tolstoy is one of my eternal favourites. Read War and Peace at least
six times over the past 15 years. Of his novel War and Peace is my most beloved (though I could pass on his theory of history and his brain-beating didacticism). I am also a great fan of his many short stories and of his later, religious-based, works.
The biography of the man is as interesting as the best of his fiction. From the
gambling days of his youth, the time he served in the military, to his later years as the foremost author of pre-Soviet Russia. I think the fact that he died while trying to run away at a very ripe age just endears him to me that much more.
Of the characters in War and Peace, I believe my favourite is Pierre. Next to Natasha it is my opinion that he is one of the most complex and the one who
offers the most surprises during the course of the novel.
I agree with Babayaga and the comment about Tolsoy's " Masterful,{and} superb charaterization". Considering the size of the novel and the number of characters contained within, it is incredible how each and every one appears to possess personalities which are both unique and distinct.

pollyplummer · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Location: McMinnvillve, Oregon

Rteacher · Joined: 23 May 2005 Location: Western MA, USA

Tolstoy - like most of the (in my opinion) really great writers and thinkers throughout history - was vegetarian...

canuck in Ansan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005

death from above · Joined: 31 Jul 2005 Location: in your head

Dostoevsky is so much better..

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

Of the characters in War and Peace, my favourite has always been Prince Andrey, because he's so fascinating and unusual. I've always wondered whether such people do really exist: those who yearn for the peace and nobility of death even when quite young. There's something metaphysical and uncorporeal about him. Also, I've always sympathized with his frustrated quest for happiness and, particularly in my very young days, was disheartened that it didn't work out for him and Natasha. Later I realized, that his pride and uncompromising standards was what kept him from achieving fulfillment in life.

Of the female characters, Natasha has always been my favourite. I was really moved by her spontaneity, her joy in life, her passionate and warm nature. I didn't like the way Tolstoy portrayed her in the Epilogue,though : I think she should have married someone other than Pierre; that way she would have retained her charm and specialness. Personally, I think Andrey would have kept her more disciplined, and she could have developed more intellectually under his influence. But maybe it's just a modern woman's analysis.

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

Babayaga · Joined: 28 May 2005

ddeubel · Joined: 20 Jul 2005

I can't believe nobody mentioned his "Confessions"....great stuff and very , very human (as the OP mentioned). I love Tolstoy for his humane stance against all sorts of "shit" -- I kinda Slavic Voltaire....especially read his religious writings --really not religious in the sense of being preachy or biblical.....

He really was a pain to the authorities at the time...Yasna Polyana became a kind of commune where people who believe in "the light" and benevolence could gather.....Tolstoy really was a Quaker in disguise. Ghandi got his ideas of non-violence from him , especially his ideas of civil disobedience regarding the state and conscription....he hate and documented the pain of those who wouldn't obey the state and suffered years in the gulag.

anyways, get some of his later non-fiction writings!!! As an aside, Tolstoy claimed loud and clear that his worst writing was both "Anna Karenina " and "War and Peace" -- he referred to them as "dribble" and soap operas....

DD

"Nobody knows the power of the state who hasn't been to jail"