Tolstoy, one of the first and most important names that comes to our mind not only in Russian literature but also when it comes to literature, lived a long life and left countless works behind. Tolstoy’s works not only welcome the reader to a completely different world, but also enable him to gain a completely different perspective on life.
Stop and name a few writers who have left their mark on world literature that come to your mind immediately. Among the first things that come to mind for many of our readers will be the Russian writer Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. Because Tolstoy is such a person. When he passed away at the end of his long life, the countless works he left behind are considered among the most important works not only of Russian literature but also of world literature.
You may not have been very fond of Tolstoy’s works because you saw them with a boring title, such as classic works that everyone should read. But we can say with certainty that You’ve missed a lot. Because Tolstoy offers the reader a completely different world even in the smallest story he tells. When you leave that world and return to your own world, you are never the same again.
Let’s start by briefly getting to know our author: Who is Tolstoy?
His full name is Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, he was born on September 9, 1828 in Yasnaya Polyana, a city of Tsarist Russia. The son of an aristocratic family, Tolstoy studied law. Unable to restrain his passion for literature, he wrote his first novel, Childhood. He later joined the army and served in the Crimean War. When he traveled to Europe after the war, he became a completely different man.
When he returned to his hometown, he was tired of living in luxury. He founded schools for children in need because He felt even more sorry for the people now. It is said that he was in great depression during this period. He died on November 20, 1910, at the age of 82. What he left behind was a collection that we cannot get enough of reading.
Tolstoy novels that will change your perspective on life:
- Childhood
- Anna Karenina
- War and peace
- Family Happiness
- Resurrection
- Three Deaths
- Kreutzer Sonata
- Hadji Murat
- Death of Ivan Ilyich
- What Does a Man Live With?
A semi-autobiographical novel: Childhood
Childhood, the first novel written by Tolstoy, is a semi-autobiographical work. The novel, which has one of the author’s usual simple fictions, It immediately hooks the reader with its sincere narrative language. Along with Tolstoy’s novels Early Youth and Youth, Childhood is considered a semi-autobiographical trilogy.
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An observant look at the life we live: Anna Karenina
by many literary critics Anna Karenina, known as the most successful novel in the history of literature, It shows the reader how great the author’s power of observation is. Throughout the novel, which is full of impressive descriptions, we have the chance to look from the outside at issues that we are all involved in, such as love, marriage and death.
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War and Peace, a novel that has its name written in golden letters in the history of world literature. A war novel about 19th century Russia. What makes the novel so unique is that in each line, it tells about the villages and towns of the period; It describes the aristocratic life and even the most unknown details of the palace with striking reality.
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A strange friendship left over from love: Family Happiness
Family Happiness actually tells a strange love story. Our married couple are people with completely different characters and therefore no argument has a happy ending. Even if there was no love, there remained a friendship based on kindness between them. Even in this seemingly simple novel, Tolstoy managed to embroider the inner world of the characters.
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The unbearable weight of existence: Resurrection
Resurrection, the last novel published during Tolstoy’s lifetime, is actually a work that the author worked on for many years. Throughout the novel, which tells about a group of prisoners heading to Siberia, We delve into deep questions about the meaning of life and try to understand the process of human self-recreation without getting overwhelmed.
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Stories, each as striking as a novel: Three Deaths
Especially towards the last years of his life, he made deep inquiries about concepts such as society, family, religion, freedom and state. In addition to his novels, Tolstoy also wrote many stories. Here are some of his stories: Holstomer, Pot Alyosha, After the Ball, Songs in the Village, Three Deaths; It meets its readers with a simple yet striking narrative.
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The Kreutzer Sonata was first published in 1889 but was censored. Being censored made him even more famous. In this work, which has sparked many discussions, we actually see the change in the author’s sense of morality. Throughout the work, a realistic yet impressive narrative greets us.
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From the very heart of the war: Hadji Murat
Tolstoy’s period as a military officer He fought in the Crimean War and when he returned he was never the same man again. He told everything he experienced during this war in his novel Hacı Murat. But the novel does not just tell a war story, it questions the entire concept of war.
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There are countless novels written about death in world literature, but none of them presents such a harsh confrontation as The Death of Ivan Ilyich. It has such a simple explanation that We wonder how death is man’s greatest fear. In one of his letters, Tolstoy describes the Death of Ivan Ilyich with the following sentences: ‘The ordinary death of an ordinary man.’
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What Does a Man Live By? consists of short stories, all with a similar theme. In each of these stories Tolstoy He thinks about how people can be happy. According to the stories in which we see the author’s sense of morality in its most naked form, the most important virtue is love.
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One of the most important names of world literature We have listed some of Tolstoy’s works that you should definitely read. Of course, this list could be much longer. You can share the Tolstoy works you would like to have on our list in the comments.