This book is a bit too full of itself for my taste, but I don't know if that is the fault of the writing, the subject, or the philosophy of the main character. Whichever, I found it overbearing and often irritating, but obviously not so much so that I abandoned it. I love Tolstoy's writing, but I'm also irritated by the mysticism that overcame his life at the end, so perhaps I should have known better than to try this book.

I love the writing of sonny brewer and this novel, based on a true story, will cause you to want to spend time on the eastern shore of mobile bay. The communities on the eastern shore are home to a number of writer , many of whom are better known that sonny brewer. However, he owns the place. The book is the story of an eccentric man who came to the bay early in the twentieth century and built his home , , "Tolstoy park" by hand. Upon arriving, he gave his shoes away and never wore shoes again. Over time he became a part of the fabric that is the eastern shore community and remains so today. You can visit the home he built in montrose , between daphne and fairhope, Alabama. You can visit one of the south's great independent book stores, page and palet in fairhope and you might even run into sonny brewrer....or Winston groom...or Fannie Flagg or any number of great local writers

Very dry with a strange Henry Stuart who sheds his shoes and moves to Alabama after a diagnosis of terminal illness. Very strange man that Henry. Before long he shuns all contact with family and friends and decided to build a round hut made out of cement blocks he makes, perhaps not so sick after all. Lots of philosophical stuff as well as symbolism.

I had to read this for a book discussion and didn't think I was going to like it, but it grew on me. Fiction based on a true story--in 1925 Idaho a 67-year-old man is told he has a year to live. He moves to Alabama and single-handedly builds a small round cottage from bricks he makes himself. Then he lives another 20 years or so. Slow moving and philosophical; not generally my kind of book.

I love the poetic philosophy in this book. The circular themes: life, water, seasons, hurricanes, birds nests, hogans, weaving, etc. are certainly worth in-depth exploration, and a reader can contemplate some of the ideas in this book for many hours. However, the abrubt transitions and narrative stings leading to nowhere can be irritating.
Also discomfiting are some of the ideas regarding god and religion. Our Henry seems, at first, to be a solid independent sprit in his regard of omni-everything supernatural beings, and he obviously has little regard for organized religion and the posturing men do in deference to it. He even goes so far to contemplate on p.202 that divine presence is only hypothesis, but his later convictions don't seem to fit with his self proclaimed 'god is in everything' philosophy. That dichotomy aside, the reader can have much fun letting Henry's sometimes bizarre ideas morph around in her brain. I fully admit, I had an unrelenting desire to go about without shoes for weeks at a stretch to see what life transforming ideas that action might net me. Alas, I worried about staph infection and all other sorts of nasties, and so didn't experiment.
I know I'll be reading this one again, if for no other reason than to fantasize about living in solitude in a simple wood.

“The more you transform your life from the material to the spiritual domain, the less you become afraid of death.” Leo Tolstoy (Chapter 10)

The main character of the novel, Henry James Stuart, his move south to Alabama, and his building of a round stone house are historical. I imagine the fictional part of the book is in the details - the minute circumstances of his life and thoughts that make the story interesting and readable.

The hero's quest Henry embarked on in the face of his terminal diagnosis was to live a spare, essential, and meaningful life. I loved the story partly because I can relate to his stage of life and his response to it. I have a sneaking suspicion some modern elements like mindfulness, zen, and Black Elk crept into the period, but it's a good tale regardless. I was captivated.

I read this after describing the building of my new concrete stoop to my friend Julie Rockefeller. She mentioned this book and how much she liked it. She said she didn't have a copy because every time she loaned it out it wasn't returned. I have been handling my grieving process with an upswing in creative activities- like if I keep busy making stuff I won't have time to cry. Well, it doesn't work but I have got a lot of things done. Good book, good read. I will absolutely read this again.

An intriguing and satisfying biographical novel about Henry Stuart, who moved from Idaho to beautiful little Fairhope, Alabama, to face his impending death alone, with the words of philosophy as his guide.

The Poet of Tolstoy Park: The Road Less Traveled

I selected this novel by Sonny Brewer as my Moderator's Choice for members of On the Southern Literary Trail for January, 2o18. I first read The Poet of Tolstoy Park: A Novel upon its publication in 2005. Since then I have recommended this book to many readers. It concerns a journey we all must take. Facing our own mortality. Don't be disheartened by the serious nature of the subject matter. It's not the final stop when the train pulls into the station. It's how we chose to live along the way on the trip. Read on.

n  n    ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT
BY ROBERT FROST
I have been one acquainted with the night.
I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.
I have outwalked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.
I have passed by the watchman on his beat
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.

I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet
When far away an interrupted cry
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;
And further still at an unearthly height,
One luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.
I have been one acquainted with the night.n  n

This is a novel of historical fiction. An exceptional one about an exceptional man. Henry James Stuart, age sixty-seven, lived in Nampa, Canyon County, Idaho. He was widowed. Married to his beloved wife Molly for over thirty years. They had two sons. Harvey and Thomas. Henry had been to Seminary, but didn't put much stock into the institutional church. However, that didn't prevent his best friend being Will Webb, one of the town's local minister's. Henry lived a rather idylic life other than enduring the grievous loss of Molly. He had his home, thirty six acres of woods that surrounded it. And his library. Henry Stuart was an educated man. A man of ideas. A reader of Thoreau, Emerson, the wisdom of Oglala Sioux Black Elk. Most of all, Leo Tolstoy. In Russian.

But how life can change so quickly. In 1925, Henry was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. He might have a year to live. A change of climate might better his odds of having a few more days, weeks, even months. You might say Henry Stuart became one acquainted with the night.

Henry considered San Diego, California. However, his friend Will put a brochure in his hands for Fairhope, Alabama. A unique single tax colony founded on the principles of Henry George, a contemporary of Leo Tolstoy. The colony had been eastblished by George and twenty eight followers in 1894. It would be a Utopia.

Henry pursued the purchase of ten acres of land on the outskirts of Fairhope in the township of Montrose through a resident Philip Stedman. As soon as the transaction was completed, Henry determined to travel by train to Mobile, Alabama, and then by steamer across the Bay where he would meet Stedman who would drive him to his property.

To be continued...

One of my favorite books ever. I first heard it being read by Rick Bragg. At first I thought ...

Brewer isn’t nearly the writer that Wendell Berry is but this novel reminds me a bit of Berry. Just as Berry tells the story of Harlan Hubbard, so Brewer gives witness to the life of Henry Stuart, both of whom live life at a depth that our fast paced society does not allow. (Even though both men lived in decades that were a lot slower than the present one). I was inspired by the way Stuart took a sabbatical from reading, writing, and thinking too much and devoted himself to the physical labor of building his house. I also liked Chapters 31 and following that deal with his healing. Actually, his healing begins in his solitude and work and climaxes in the hurricane, and his turning toward his community. A 3-pronged approach to healing. I am glad to know of Henry Stuart.

Book Description
“The more you transform your life from the material to the spiritual domain, the less you become afraid of death.” Leo Tolstoy spoke these words, and they became Henry Stuart’s raison d’etre. The Poet of Tolstoy Park is the unforgettable novel based on the true story of Henry Stuart’s life, which was reclaimed from his doctor’s belief that he would not live another year.

Henry responds to the news by slogging home barefoot in the rain. It’s 1925. The place: Canyon County, Idaho. Henry is sixty-seven, a retired professor and a widower who has been told a warmer climate would make the end more tolerable. San Diego would be a good choice.

Instead, Henry chose Fairhope, Alabama, a town with utopian ideals and a haven for strong-minded individualists. Upton Sinclair, Sherwood Anderson, and Clarence Darrow were among its inhabitants. Henry bought his own ten acres of piney woods outside Fairhope. Before dying, underscored by the writings of his beloved Tolstoy, Henry could begin to “perfect the soul awarded him” and rest in the faith that he, and all people, would succeed, “even if it took eons.” Human existence, Henry believed, continues in a perfect circle unmarred by flaws of personality, irrespective of blood and possessions and rank, and separate from organized religion. In Alabama, until his final breath, he would chase these high ideas.

But first, Henry had to answer up for leaving Idaho. Henry’s dearest friend and intellectual sparring partner, Pastor Will Webb, and Henry’s two adult sons, Thomas and Harvey, were baffled and angry that he would abandon them and move to the Deep South, living in a barn there while he built a round house of handmade concrete blocks. His new neighbors were perplexed by his eccentric behavior as well. On the coldest day of winter he was barefoot, a philosopher and poet with ideas and words to share with anyone who would listen. And, mysteriously, his “last few months” became years. He had gone looking for a place to learn lessons in dying, and, studiously advanced to claim a vigorous new life.

The Poet of Tolstoy Park is a moving and irresistible story, a guidebook of the mind and spirit that lays hold of the heart. Henry Stuart points the way through life’s puzzles for all of us, becoming in this timeless tale a character of such dimension that he seems more alive now than ever.

Very interesting book. Didn't realize this was in Fairhope, Al only two hours from me so hope to make a trip there soon. This was a book club pick so don't think I would have read it on my own. Based on the life of Henry Stuart living in Idaho alone since the death of his beloved wife Molly. A college professor who has retired and found an interest in weaving rugs. He has two sons who live close by but really has a strained relationship with them. Upon receiving a medical diagnosis that he only has about a year to live and should move to a warmer climate. He decides on moving to Fairhope against the wishes of his son. I had a hard time relating to this character at first but realized that everyone is different. Glad to have read this book.