Resurrection

Written by Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by Simon Vance

Leo Tolstoy stands tall among the great Russian novelists of the nineteenth century. In fact he fellowships with a handful of great story tellers of all time, the men and women who write literary masterpieces. Tolstoy based Resurrection, the last of his novels, on a true story of a philanderer whose misuse of a beautiful young orphan girl leads to her ruin. Fate brings the two together many years later and the meeting awakens the man's moral conscience. Anger, intimacy, forgiveness, and grace result. While the situation of Tolstoy's plot is alien to most people, his nuanced treatment of mortal life is familiar to all. // Late in his life Tolstoy confessed that he earlier had seduced two young girls for his pleasure. Perhaps his own deeds and their horrible consequences motivated him to write this novel with a special passion. It is a particularly moving tale. Tolstoy's Resurrectionis marvelous in the fullest sense of the word - a story so improbable that it must be a miraculous achievement. // Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the great novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenin explore the depths and heights of the human condition with eloquence and an edge that combine to make them powerfully real throughout generations and across national identities. Resurrection is the last of Tolstoy's major novels.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Mar 1, 2005
• ISBN: 9781596441378

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was a Russian author of novels, short stories, novellas, plays, and philosophical essays. He was born into an aristocratic family and served as an officer in the Russian military during the Crimean War before embarking on a career as a writer and activist. Tolstoy’s experience in war, combined with his interpretation of the teachings of Jesus, led him to devote his life and work to the cause of pacifism. In addition to such fictional works as War and Peace (1869), Anna Karenina (1877), and The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886), Tolstoy wrote The Kingdom of God is Within You (1893), a philosophical treatise on nonviolent resistance which had a profound impact on Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He is regarded today not only as one of the greatest writers of all time, but as a gifted and passionate political figure and public intellectual whose work transcends Russian history and literature alike.

Reviews for Resurrection

[timforrest65 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Big book. Big themes. but, a surprisingly easy read, sped on by the minutiae of well observed people. One of several key books for trying to understand the Russian pysche.In essence a man of great privilege trying to undo social injustice but, perhaps not being apprecated by those he was helping and certainly not by those he was taking to task.

[ctpress_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

On trial for murder is a young prostitute, Maslova. She is innocent. Among the jury is Prince Nekhlyodov who discovers that Maslova is in fact Katusha - a young servant-girl he seduced and got pregnant years back. Now she's sentenced to ten years of penal servitude. Nekhlyudov realizes that he have ruined Katusha - that he himself have lived a selfish, materialistic life - he embarks on an extreme mission to better himself. This path toward redemption is fascinating. How he tries to help Katusha now in prison - and helps other prisoners, how he denounces his life among the elitist, upperclass society, how he give away his fortune and land, how he travels to isolated parts of Russia and meets the poor, the outcast, the criminals - following in the footsteps of Katusha, whom he have promised to marry. We also follow Katushas road toward redemption - a prostitute she has lost all self-worth and is brought back to life again in prison-life and through the kind hand of Nekhlyodov. I liked the first two-thirds of this novel a lot. Then the novel descends into an exploration of many of Tolstoy's religious and political ideas - they are weaved into the story - but somehow the story is pushed aside to give way for Tolstoy's own views of the church, the poor, the establishment, the criminals etc. Nonetheless I'm glad I read it. I found so much to ponder upon in Prince Nekhlyodov "self-improvement" mission - much rang very true and beautiful.

[zappa_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

If I wanted to read an evangelical tract I'd go to a Christian bookshop. As the great works of the literature canon go it's one I wish I'd by-passed.

[gbill_7 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I certainly admire Tolstoy's relentless pursuit of truth and his courage in standing up to both the Russian government and the Church over the latter part of his life. He advocated for the poor and while I don't particularly agree with all of the fundamentalist views he increasingly took (e.g. chastity, refraining from alochol, socialism, non-resistance to evil by force), his aim was to improve himself and ultimately mankind through his writing.Unfortunately I think the combination of essentially preaching through his works and his advancing age negatively impacted the quality and artistry of his writing; at 70 as he was authoring "Resurrection" (20+ years after Anna Karenina), I believe he was past his prime.There are still flashes of brilliance here (including the very first paragraph of the first chapter), and it is still Tolstoy after all, but I think "Resurrection" is probably a book only a Tolstoy fanatic would love.