I just love Tolstoy's writing. What a genius.

A book worth its weight in gold.


1)tHadji Murat (1912)
2)tThe Death of Ivan Ilych (1886)
3)tMaster & Man (1895)
4)tThe Cossacks (1863)

5)tThe Kreutzer Sonata (1889)
6)tFamily Happiness (1859)
7)tThe Devil (1889)

8)tAlyosha the Pot (1905)
9) tFather Sergius (1898)

I had never read much Tolstoy before taking a course dedicated to him last quarter. I had heard equally great and horrible things about his works, but after taking the course and reading this collection of shorts, I realized that most people read only his novels.

And though his novels are great (I recently finished Anna Karenina ), his shorts deserve to be read and judged separately from his novels.

I greatly recommend this collection of short stories to a person who has not read Tolstoy before, and who is intimidated by the fearsome length of his novels! It is completely possible to understand Tolstoy's philosophy and genius when only reading the shorts!

i was in the bookstore deciding between "War and Peace" and a collection of short stories. I wimped out on War and Peace in favor of what i thought would be more digestible short stories. While the stories themselves are interesting and typical Tolstoy themes, the translation is so poor i can only give this version three stars. I've had to put the book down, the language is very difficult to muddle through and unfortunately is distracting. I would very much like to revisit a better translation, hopefully the excellent translating team of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

Whenever there is talk of a great Russian writer whose specialty was psychological insight into man, the name of Dostoevsky tends to pop up. But I think that Tolstoy is far more deserving. As much as Dostoevsky can drawl on about minutiae to the point of excrescence, Tolstoy will lay bare the mind in turmoil in economical, but abundantly insightful language. Whether it is the vicissitudes of a developing relationship and marriage, or of one that’s coming apart and heading for disaster, the frustrations of lust or anger, or the diseased form of leadership nurtured by sycophancy, Tolstoy’s insight and ability to lay it bare is unsurpassed. That he can do it all and make the reader altogether forget that he is reading, and that he is not actually present at the scenes, is equally stunning. A remarkable collection. Tolstoy is famous for his huge tomes, but I think he especially excelled in the shorter format.

This is a fantastic collection both if you've never read Tolstoy, or if you're a seasoned fan. The Kreutzer Sonata is by far my favorite, though the Death of Ivan Ilych and Family Happiness are not far behind. Tolstoy always manages to write in a manner that makes you surprised this was the 1800's and not yesterday. However, as others have mentioned, this is akin to a "Greatest Hits" album, more than a cohesive collection of similar stories.

When I was younger I didn't appreciate Tolstoy and found him heavy-handed in his morals. Now, as I read more of his works, his morals also have clearly been refined as he got older. I am now on the last novella, Hadji Murad, which I am enjoying very much. It ties in nicely with his earlier works on the Crimean War.

genius

I was afraid of this thick book and it sat on my shelf for a while. So engaging! I love glimpsing the crazy guy in The Kruetzer Sonata and watching characters emerge in many of his tales. The Cossacks...Family Happiness. Look, I can't do Leo Tolstoy any kind of justice. It is Leo Tolstoy. I will say that after reading this, I know that I will read War and Peace in my lifetime.

To be honest, I didn't finish this. I had ventured into reading the classics because I was in somewhat of a rut with my reading and thought I'd give them a try. I just found this uninteresting. The stories were short and well written, but just didn't hold my interest. At the risk of sounding like a bad breakup excuse - I'm sure it was me and not the book. Leo Tolstoy is an icon in literary fiction. I give him much credit for his accomplishments, however, this was not my cup of tea.

This collection of short stories are the best. Highly recommend this gem.

Some of the most memorable stories I have read in this volume of short works, "The Death of Ivan Illich", "Father Sergius", "Family Happiness" all there. Some of these stories come back to me frequently triggered by every day occurrences. They are very definitely answers to what Tolstoy thought life was all about.