A good case can be made that this book should be titled Konstantin Levin, not Anna Karenina. Tolstoy described Levin in great detail, his personality, his emotions, his life, and the political, religious and economic environment in Russia as experienced and perceived by him. If it’s true that Tolstoy based Levin on himself, then I must say that I enjoyed the book as his autobiography. As a novel, however, this […]
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“Walden” by Henry David Thoreau
[Posted to commemorate the 192nd anniversary of Thoreau’s birthday] A Thought-Provoking And Sobering Essay on Life In this book, Thoreau reflected on the necessities of life (food, clothing, shelter and fuel), while he experimented with building his own shelter in the woods and growing crops himself. He pitied the lives of working men, “buying and selling, and spending their lives like serfs”, expressed a strong desire for adventure, a higher, […]
Read more“War and Peace” by Leo Tolstoy
It took me at least three attempts and more than a year’s time to finish “War and Peace”, and I’m certainly glad that I finally did. A True of Work of Art Like a good farmer who sows the seeds, cultivates, waters, and patiently waits for the crops to mature, Tolstoy lets his characters develop slowly, giving vivid descriptions of their external and internal lives as they unfold. “War and […]
Read more“What is Art” by Leo Tolstoy
This is one of the, if not the, best essay on art I’ve ever read. It has broadened and deepened my understanding and appreciation of art. I especially enjoyed the summary of various aesthetic theories and definitions of beauty by philosophers and aestheticians. For Tolstoy, their definitions of beauty are too obtuse or confusing to be applicable in art, so his own definition of art is based not on beauty […]
Read more“Master and Man” by Leo Tolstoy
A master and his servant go on a short trip through a snowstorm. On the way, we learn much about the lives and characters of the two men, through their actions and dialogue, as if we were traveling together with them in the sledge. In the end, one of them unexpectedly finds exceeding joy and the meaning of his life, though not without paying a heavy price. A bittersweet story […]
Read more“The Death of Ivan Ilyich” by Leo Tolstoy
Ivan Ilyich lived a happy, healthy, decorous and dutiful life as a judge, until an accident made him terminally ill and brought him face to face with Death and the terrible realization that he hadn’t lived as he should. Like Morrie Swartz (“Tuesdays with Morrie”), Ivan suffered a slow death, unlike Morrie who was able to share some of his feelings with his family, friends and the public, Ivan was […]
Read more“Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Jules Verne
After reading Verne’s “Around the World in Eighty days“, I wished to follow in Phileas Fogg’s footsteps as closely as possible and tour around the world myself. After reading this book, however, I can’t say I’m ready to embark on the journey to the center of the earth, even if it were possible and the route were laid out before me by the heroes in the book, Professor Lidenbrock, Axel […]
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