Divine and Human: And Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780310223672)

Divine and Human stands apart as both a landmark in literary history and master-piece of spiritual and ethical reflection. Suppressed in turn by the tzarist and Soviet regime, the tales contained in this book have, for the most part, never been published in English until now. Emerging at last, they offer western readers fresh glimpses of novelist and philosopher Leo Tolstoy. Divine and Human consists of choice selections from The Sunday Reading Stories, the second volume in a two-part work titled The Circle of Reading. In the words of translator Peter Sekirin, "Tolstoy considered The Circle of Reading to be the major work of his life. Considering its difficult history, it is not surprising that only recently has it been rediscovered." From its sparkling vignettes to its lengthier stories, Divine and Human probes the complexities of life and faith. Its characters range the spectrum of human emotions and qualities, from hatred to love and joy to grief; from sublime nobility to grotesque self-absorption. Tolstoy's world, though far-removed from today's information age, becomes our world -- indeed, has always been and always will be our world. Motor cars may have replaced horse-drawn cars, but human hearts remain the same, and questions of truth, mercy, forgiveness, devotion, justice, and the nature of God knock as insistently on the doors of our lives today as they did in Tolstoy's time. Welcome, then, to Divine and Human: a buried treasure at last unearthed, and certain to be prized by Tolstoy readers and lovers of great literature.

Author: Leo Tolstoy, Peter Sekirin
ISBN-10: 0310223679
ISBN-13: 9780310223672
Publisher: Zondervan
Language: English
Published: 05/07/2000
Pages: 214
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 0.70d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 04/24/2000 pg. 60
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2000 pg. 595
Booklist 05/15/2000 pg. 1727
Library Journal 06/01/2000 pg. 208