More telling than showing. Morals are not subtle. Feel like I am being hit over the head with dogma.

this book is soooooooooooo great :D
a collection of short and lovely stories.
one of them that I like it very much is
"How much land does a ma need?" a really nice story

Collection of classic, timeless stories and most if not all render valuable lessons. These were written in the late 1800's - 1903, so as expected, the writing style is pretty different from today. This is one of my favorite books & I'll surely read it again.

These short stories by Tolstoy are considered by some to be profound philosophical statements. I had great expectations but was unfortunately very disappointed. The ones I read ( I did not complete the book) were simply parables focused on teachings from the New Testament. Parables explained by Jesus in a few lines whereas Tolstoy's go on for 20 pages or more.

I enjoyed this book because it made me think about morals and where I lie. It also made me reevaluate faith and what it might mean to me...if anything. My only critique is that at times it feels a little repetitive.

I love watching a master's imagination play with classic tales, keeping them current in the world's imagination. Tolstoy does it well in this collection.

These stories are heavily influenced by Tolstoy's Christian anarchist leanings (which I didn't know about until I started reading them). They are powerfully written - often based on popular folk tales - and effortlessly combine the Biblical lessons with beautiful depictions of Russian life in the 19th century. I think some of these stories would be great for kids especially.

*4.5*

very nice book

كتآب جميل جداً وكثير من القصص الي فيه حبيتهه من قلبي وحفظتها من أول قراءه فعلاً يحمل الكثير من الحُب والنور بين طياته

good stuff for the soul

I've always been a fan of Tolstoy as long as he didn't get too long winded so getting ahold of this book was great. It was interesting to see some of the stories that aren't as well known, or, at least don't appear in Mennonite curriculum. I was also a bit surprised that some stories, such as, How Much Land Does a Man Need had had the magical portions edited out when I read them before.