- Paperback: 214 pages
- Publisher: Zondervan Books (May 8 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0310223679
- ISBN-13: 978-0310223672
- Product Dimensions: 22.2 x 14.4 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 376 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,356,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
These 16 selections from Tolstoy's final eclectic collection of tales titled The Sunday Reading Stories represent the Russian novelist's turn away from the troubling human condition in Anna Karenina toward a growing preoccupation with moral issues. Some are brief vignettes, like "The Archangel Gabriel," "The Repentant Sinner" and "The Son of a Thief," in which a prospective juror disqualifies himself because he cannot sit in judgment on a thief when his own father committed the same crime. Several of the stories are adaptations--"Stones," from a fable by E. Poselianin; "The Power of Childhood," from Victor Hugo's "The Civil War"; and "Sisters," a poignant retelling of Guy de Maupassant's "In the Port," about a sailor's shore leave at Marseilles. "Divine and Human," set in 1870s Russia at a peak of struggle between the government and revolutionaries, centers around student Anatoly Svetlogub, who is convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government and spends his final days reading the New Testament. With the exception of a few entries, this is the first English translation of these pieces, which were suppressed first by the czarist government and then by the Soviets. Hardly controversial in the eyes of contemporary American readers, these selections are not particularly noteworthy as critiques of either aristocracy or communism, but rather as lovely artifacts that give us further insight into Tolstoy's notions of wisdom and spirituality. Though this book is published by an evangelical house, the fragments of Tolstoyan theology Sekirin has chosen for it are best described as universalist. All in all, it is a delightful addition to any Tolstoy collection or a fine introduction to his work. (May) FYI: Coincidentally, Northwestern University Press is issuing its own translation of three of the stories included in the Zondervan edition, in a volume also titled Divine and Human. "Berries," "What For?" (titled "Why Did It Happen?" in the Zondervan edition) and "Divine and Human" are translated and introduced by Gordon Spence. Spence's introduction stresses the political import and allegory of the tales, all three of which were written around the time of the Russian revolution of 1905. All the royalties from the publication of Northwestern's edition will go to Amnesty International. ($16.95 paper 168p ISBN 0-8101-1762-2; June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Russian writer Leo, or Lev, Tolstoy wrote a number of unpretentious and straightforward stories with a plain Christian moral for primary school children. Sekirin, a doctoral student at the University of Toronto, has translated 16 such tales. Some appear here in English for the first time, and some can be found in Tolstoy's Twenty-Three Tales, translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude (1975). Tolstoy did not originate all of these stories, though they did come from his pen: he often rewrote or adapted stories from such diverse writers as Victor Hugo, Nokolai Leskov, and Guy de Maupassant. All the tales, however, show the hand of the Master; Tolstoy is unsurpassed in making his point by letting the facts speak for themselves. Sekirin's translation reads more easily than the Maudes' volume and uses simpler grammar. Though the stories have literary value, they aim primarily at religious readers. Recommended for public and church libraries.DBert Beynen, Des Moines Area Comm. Coll. Lib., IA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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One day the city court convened for a jury trial. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Joy and Goodness!,
By Susanne Sklar (Shimer College, Waukegan IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Divine And Human (Paperback)
Tolstoy considered the stories in this volume to be "the best achievements of Christian literature" infused with "continuous joy." Most of these human-divine stories can fill a reader's soul with the beauty that saves the world. Only when Tolstoy lapses didactic does the book's transfiguring clarity flag. Ten of these sixteen stories were adapted from French, English, Persian, or other Russian tales. I think these re-interpretations are the book's strongest pieces. "Sisters," a Maupassant tale in which "sailors spend six months of their pay in four hours of debauchery" jolts its hero (and readers) into seeing how close "fallen women" may come to us. In Tolstoy's re-telling of Victor Hugo's "The Power of Childhood" a father's determination to shield his boy's innocence meets with a bloodthirsty mob's blind fury. "I cannot judge others," says a merchant in the book's opening story. "We should forgive other people and love them." This theme of forgiveness and humble love weaves throughout Divine and Human. Humble people can be very wise. Is suffering integral to joy?
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tolstoy still sparkles,
This review is from: Divine And Human (Paperback)
For those who find Tolstoy's novels too long, or love them anyhow, this is a collection of tiny, perfect short stories written near the end of Tolstoy's life, and newly translated into English. Well-developed characters circle around ethical and spiritual knots which refuse pat endings. All is illuminated by Tolstoy's intense and gentle wisdom. Suitable for children or adults, these characters will stay with you for a long time.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent selection of the prose of life, death and God,
This review is from: Divine And Human (Paperback)
I'll be brief: this is a wonderful book to buy for your child and for your own reading pleasure. These short little stories are so true to life, easy to read and so full of wisdom that they haunted me for a long time after I read them. They make you stop and think. They make you wonder. They make you ask yourself questions. The characters described and their problems are very easy to identify with and, more importantly, they help you draw a line between the temporal and ordinary and the eternal truth of life. Very good read.
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