Understanding Tolstoy

by Kaufman, Andrew D.

• ISBN13: 9780814211649
• ISBN10: 081421164X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-09-28
• Publisher: Ohio State Univ Pr

Summary

Understanding Tolstoyrecreates Tolstoy's lifelong artistic and spiritual journey, taking readers to the core of the writer's world through nuanced close readings of his major novels and novellas. Andrew D. Kaufman's broad and accessible analysis of Tolstoy's work speaks to the ways in which Tolstoy, despite living in a manner far removed from the experiences of most modern-day Americans, is still applicable and contemporary. From a reconstruction of Olenin's search for truth in The Cossacksto an illuminating analysis of Hadji-Murat's tragic last stand, Understanding Tolstoybrings to life the fascinating parallels between Tolstoy's personal quest and his characters' journeys. Whether writing about the ballrooms and battlefields of War and Peaceor the spectrum of sexual and spiritual attachments in Anna Karenina,Tolstoy emerges as a vital, searching artist who continually grows and surprises us, yet is driven by a single, unchanging belief in universal human truths. Understanding Tolstoyis a treasure trove of critical and philosophical insights that will appeal to Tolstoy aficionados of all kinds, from advanced scholars to undergraduate students. The book offers an eminently readable guide to those entering Tolstoy's world for the first time or the tenth, and it invites them to grapple alongside the writer and his characters with the most urgent existential questions of our time, and all times.

Author Biography

Andrew D. Kaufman is lecturer and Academic Community Engagement Faculty Fellow in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, and Research Affiliate, Youth-NEX, the UVa Center to Promote Effective Youth Development, Curry School of Education, University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The Little Green Stick and the Lost House: Tolstoy's Journey as Man and Artist	p. 7
"The Hero of My Tale Is Truth"	p. 17
Seeking Authenticity in an Alienated Age: Olenin and The Cossacks	p. 27
War and Peace: Life's "Labyrinth of Linkages"	p. 51
Andrei and Nikolai: Intersecting Spiritual Orbits	p. 74
Patterns of Disillusionment and Discovery	p. 92
The Dog and the Globe: Pierre's Journey to the Truth	p. 113
From Generation to Generation	p. 138
Levin: "To Err and to Dream"	p. 148
Two Lights: Anna and Levin	p. 174
Stumbling through Life: The Death of Ivan Ilyich	p. 191
Coming Alive: Dmitry Nekhliudov and Resurrection	p. 210
Hadji-Murat: The Stubborn Thistle	p. 237
Epilogue	p. 257
Notes	p. 261
Bibliography	p. 296
Index	p. 304
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