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"Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace" branded Tolstoy as one of the greatest writers in modern history. Few, however, have read his wonderful short stories. Now, in one collection, are the 20 greatest short stories of Leo Tolstoy, which give a snapshot of Russia and its people in the late nineteenth century.
In this Tolstoy short stories book an introduction is given by Andrew Barger that sets the tone for the collection. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives. The classic stories include:
A Candle
After the Dance
Albert
Alyosha the Pot
An Old Acquaintance
Does a Man Need Much Land?
If You Neglect the Fire You Don't Put It Out
Khodinka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II
Lucerne
Memoirs of a Lunatic
My Dream
Recollections of a Scorer
The Empty Drum
The Long Exile
The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit Fedor Kusmich
The Young Tsar
There Are No Guilty People
Three Deaths
Two Old Men
What Men Live By
What some of the world's greatest literary minds have to say about Tolstoy:
"A second Shakespeare." Gustave Flaubert
"No English novelist is as great as Tolstoy." E.M. Forster
"The greatest Russian writer of prose fiction." Vladimir Nabokov
"The greatest of all novelists." Virginia Woolf
In this Tolstoy short stories book an introduction is given by Andrew Barger that sets the tone for the collection. Annotations are included of difficult Russian terms. There is also a Tolstoy biography at the start of the book with photos of Tolstoy's relatives. The classic stories include:
A Candle
After the Dance
Albert
Alyosha the Pot
An Old Acquaintance
Does a Man Need Much Land?
If You Neglect the Fire You Don't Put It Out
Khodinka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II
Lucerne
Memoirs of a Lunatic
My Dream
Recollections of a Scorer
The Empty Drum
The Long Exile
The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit Fedor Kusmich
The Young Tsar
There Are No Guilty People
Three Deaths
Two Old Men
What Men Live By
What some of the world's greatest literary minds have to say about Tolstoy:
"A second Shakespeare." Gustave Flaubert
"No English novelist is as great as Tolstoy." E.M. Forster
"The greatest Russian writer of prose fiction." Vladimir Nabokov
"The greatest of all novelists." Virginia Woolf
Reviews
MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW: Most widely known in the west for his novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", the famed Russian author Leo Nikolaivich Tolstoy was also a master of the short story. Now for the first time, twenty of his best short stories have been compiled and edited into a single volume by Andrew Barger. Enhanced for the reader with informative annotations. The stories comprising this outstanding collection include: A Candle, After the Dance, Albert, Alyosha the Pot, An Old Acquaintance, Does a Man Need Much Land?, If You Neglect the Fire You Don't Put It Out, Khodinka: An Incident of the Coronation of Nicholas II, Lucerne, Memoirs of a Lunatic, My Dream, Recollections of a Scorer, The Empty Drum, The Long Exile, The Posthumous Papers of the Hermit Fedor Kusmich, The Young Tsar, There Are No Guilty People, Three Deaths, Two Old Men, and What Men Live By. A truly impressive anthology, "Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories" is especially recommended for acquisition by community and academic libraries, as well as the supplemental reading lists for students of Russian Literature.
Interview with Andrew Barger
Q1: The new Tolstoy short stories book you have edited and introduced: "Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated" is launching. Tolstoy is known for writing long novels like "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina." He was obviously very good at it. Was he also good at writing short stories?
A1: Tolstoy had no problems with short stories either. The ones you will find in "Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories" are proof of this. Great storytellers, like Tolstoy, can fit their material, their concepts, into any size package. After handwriting "War and Peace" seven times I think he needed a break from the long novel.
Q2: Do you think he could have fit it into a short story?
A2: That would require a really big shoehorn.
Q3: You titled your introduction to the book, "The Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy: Muzhík to My Ears." Who were the Russian muzhíks and why did Tolstoy write stories for them?
A3: The muzhíks were Russian peasants who did much of the manual labor on farms. Most lacked education as they were forced into the fields at a young age to make money for their families. Tolstoy had a deep Christian compassion for the muzhíks. He simplified a number of his stories for these less educated readers to ensure his moral point got through and a hard lesson was taught. He touched upon the evils of heavy drinking time and again.
Q4: On a lighter note, what are the greatest of the greatest of Tolstoy's short stories?
A4: You mean my favorites of the lot of twenty?
Q5: Don't be shy.
A5: That's a really tough question. They are all good.
Q6: Top five.
A6: Fair enough. I like "Does a Man Need Much Land?," "The Long Exile," "Lucerne," "The Empty Drum," and "Recollections of a Scorer."
Q7: You edited Witchcraft Classics: Best Witch Short Stories 1800-1849, Phantasmal: The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 and 6a66le: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849. Does Tolstoy have any supernatural stories?
A7: Tolstoy is no Poe and many people are thankful for that. "Does a Man Need Much Land?" is horrific in its ending. "Memoirs of a Lunatic" has a specter in it. "The Long Exile" is also frightening in parts.
Q8: Are you editing anything else by Tolstoy?
A8: Yes, I have just edited a new Tolstoy collection: Leo Tolstoy's 5 Greatest Novellas Annotated. He is inescapable.
A1: Tolstoy had no problems with short stories either. The ones you will find in "Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories" are proof of this. Great storytellers, like Tolstoy, can fit their material, their concepts, into any size package. After handwriting "War and Peace" seven times I think he needed a break from the long novel.
Q2: Do you think he could have fit it into a short story?
A2: That would require a really big shoehorn.
Q3: You titled your introduction to the book, "The Short Stories of Leo Tolstoy: Muzhík to My Ears." Who were the Russian muzhíks and why did Tolstoy write stories for them?
A3: The muzhíks were Russian peasants who did much of the manual labor on farms. Most lacked education as they were forced into the fields at a young age to make money for their families. Tolstoy had a deep Christian compassion for the muzhíks. He simplified a number of his stories for these less educated readers to ensure his moral point got through and a hard lesson was taught. He touched upon the evils of heavy drinking time and again.
Q4: On a lighter note, what are the greatest of the greatest of Tolstoy's short stories?
A4: You mean my favorites of the lot of twenty?
Q5: Don't be shy.
A5: That's a really tough question. They are all good.
Q6: Top five.
A6: Fair enough. I like "Does a Man Need Much Land?," "The Long Exile," "Lucerne," "The Empty Drum," and "Recollections of a Scorer."
Q7: You edited Witchcraft Classics: Best Witch Short Stories 1800-1849, Phantasmal: The Best Ghost Stories 1800-1849 and 6a66le: The Best Horror Short Stories 1800-1849. Does Tolstoy have any supernatural stories?
A7: Tolstoy is no Poe and many people are thankful for that. "Does a Man Need Much Land?" is horrific in its ending. "Memoirs of a Lunatic" has a specter in it. "The Long Exile" is also frightening in parts.
Q8: Are you editing anything else by Tolstoy?
A8: Yes, I have just edited a new Tolstoy collection: Leo Tolstoy's 5 Greatest Novellas Annotated. He is inescapable.
The number of libraries purchasing a copy of Tolstoy's short stories annotated is growing by leaps and bounds. Follow this link to see if Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated is at a library near you: http://www.worldcat.org/title/leo-tolstoys-20-greatest-short-stories-annotated/oclc/457080394 If not, you can get a copy of the Tolstoy ebook for less than $8 on Google Books. Enjoy!
Copyright (c) Andrew Barger - All rights reserved.