I was delighted to find this interesting collection of some of Leo Tolstoy’s best short stories. They make for very interesting comparisons with his longer fiction and are not so daunting to read!

Published by Dover (Thrift Editions) on December 13, 2017

The stories in this collection are not Tolstoy’s best (“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” and “The Death of Ivan Ilyitch” are examples of excellent stories that aren’t included here) but reading Tolstoy is never time wasted. The Dover blurb calls some of these stories “hard to find,” so the volume might be of more value to a Tolstoy completest than to a casual reader. The stories appear in chronological order and the later stories reflect a mature talent that had not yet developed in the earlier stories.

The narrator of the “The Raid” is the early version of an embedded journalist. He is a civilian who wants to learn something of war, and to that end seeks out a captain who is on a campaign in the Caucasus. The narrator and the captain discuss theories of bravery and cowardice. The narrator also contemplates the reasons for war and wonders how it can coexist with nature. The story is interesting but, even for 1853, far from groundbreaking in its philosophical explorations.

The narrator of “The Snow-Storm” undertakes a perilous journey by carriage to the next town in the middle of a blizzard, when whiteout conditions make it impossible to stay on the road. The driver seems to vacillate between an acceptance of fate, whatever that might turn out to be, and a desire to avoid death on the frozen steppe. The story is notable for its vivid descriptions and contrasts; less so for the story it tells, which is less observant of human nature than Tolstoy’s later work.

“The Bear-Hunt,” like “The Snow-Storm,” is based on an actual event in Tolstoy’s life. It contains the memorable line (spoken by the narrator’s hunting companion), “He’s eating the master! He’s eating the master!” The moral of the story is, if you insist on shooting a bear, you’d better kill it, because you don’t want to make an enemy of an angry bear.

Zhílan is on his way home from war in the Caucasus when he is captured by Tartars and becomes “A Prisoner in the Caucasus.” The Tartars hold Zhílan and another Russian for ransom. While awaiting a ransom that he knows will never come, Zhílan befriends a Tartar child while plotting his escape. The story is again based on a real incident in Tolstoy’s life and is notable for the fact that his captors (presumably religious since they adhere to Muslim prayer rituals) are generally quite decent to Zhílan until his first escape attempt, although that may be because he only has value to them as a living hostage.

“Two Old Men” decide to take a pilgrimage on foot to Jerusalem before they die, putting their affairs in the hands of their family members. Along the way, as seems fitting for a religious pilgrimage, one man stays behind to feed a starving family, finally returning home when he is nearly out of money. The other completes the journey but returns to find that his family has not managed well in his absence. The friend who failed to go to Jerusalem, on the other hand, is doing very well. Tolstoy’s point, expressly articulated in the last sentence, is that making a show of worshipping God is less important for the soul than expressing your love for humanity by doing good to others. That will always be a timely message. This is my favorite story in the volume.

“The Godson” is a parable about a boy who goes in search of his godfather, is told not to enter a room (which, of course, he enters), and is tasked with lessening the evil in the world as punishment for the evil he causes. The lesson the boy learns is that “evil cannot be removed by evil.” Another timely message, as is the lesson about how to rid the world of evil (hint: making a show of righteous piety won’t do it).

A boy who is berated by his father commits the transgression suggested by the title of “A Forged Coupon.” At the urging of a friend, he cheats a shopkeeper who cheats a peasant who later commits crimes of his own that indirectly cause others to commit crimes, including murder. One point of “The Forged Coupon” is that rich people believe themselves to be above the law and are often treated that way by the government, while the poor people they abuse are punished disproportionately when they are driven to lawless action. Some things never change. The novella’s second part is about guilt, redemption, and the vanity of judgment. Just as the crime in part one had unintended consequences, part two suggests that good acts can cause good fortune that the actor never contemplates. The first half of the novella is riveting, while the second half is a bit preachy.

“After the Dance” starts as an old man’s remembrance of a woman with whom he danced at a ball when he was young. The woman also danced with her father, a colonel, and the young man admired the father’s obvious love for her. But in the morning the young man sees the colonel beating a soldier who tried to desert and cannot reconcile the colonel’s brutality with the tenderness he saw the night before. The observation prompts the young man, and the reader, to wonder whether an inability to understand the colonel’s duality renders the young man unfit for military service.

The shortest story in the volume is my second favorite. “Alyosha the Pot” is a hard-working but dull-witted young man who is so dependable that many people in a merchant’s home come to rely on his labor. When the young cook, Ustinia, befriends him, he is shocked and worried that her friendship might interfere with his work. Yet he is also pleased. “He felt for the first time in his life that he — not his services, but he himself — was necessary to another human being.” They want to wed but the merchant who employs them does not approve of married servants (particularly women, who might get pregnant), and Alyosha’s father, who collects all of Alyosha’s wages, forbids it. The story’s ending is tragic, although Alyosha doesn’t regard it that way, because he is content with the knowledge that he has done no harm in his simple life, and that everything works out for the best. Layers of complexity lurk beneath a simple story that invites readers to ask whether Alyosha, in his simplicity, understands the big picture better than deep thinkers, or whether Alyosha, in his simplicity, does not appreciate how those who exploit him have robbed him of the richness his life could have had.

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The writer Tolstoy wrote beautiful, incitful, intense short stories. Read this book and know you are in the presence of greatness.

This was a mixed bag for me. The first story, "The Raid," was so meandering and boring that I almost gave up on the book 16 pages in. I pushed on, however, and was rewarded with some other stories that I really enjoyed, like "The Snow-storm," "A Prisoner in the Caucasus," and even "Two Old Men." I could have done without the endless, heavy-handed proselytizing (especially in "The Forged Coupon"), but I did find the descriptions of 1800s Russian life really interesting.

3.5★
“Only from time to time the rumble of a heavy gun, the jingling of bayonets, subdued talk, or the snort of a horse, was heard in the ranks. All Nature seemed filled with peace-giving power and beauty. Is there not room enough for men to live in peace in this fair world under this infinite starry sky? How is it that wrath, vengeance, or the lust to kill their fellow men, can persist in the soul of man in the midst of this entrancing Nature? Everything evil in the heart of man ought, one would think, to vanish in contact with Nature, in which beauty and goodness find their most direct expression.”

I certainly can’t disagree with the sentiment, and I doubt you would either. There are stories of war, poverty, and the nature of men (not women). They are varied in style and tone and were written and published over many years. Some translations are smooth and easy reading and some are extremely stilted and awkward.

Like this one, for example, (although I admit I don’t know the original Russian, but I bet it read better than this does).

“And that would be first-rate!” he said in such a persuasive tone that I really did feel for the first minute that it would be first-rate. I answered firmly, however, that I would not stay behind for any consideration.
. . .
After regaling me with a capital pie and salted game, Marya Ivanovna went into her bedroom and fetched from there a rather large black amulet. . .”

It sounds as if were translated using a dictionary by someone who didn’t speak much English.

But most aren’t that odd, just good stories. “The Snow Storm” is absolutely blindingly, unbearably cold. A man is inside a horse-drawn coach, freezing cold, while the driver is up top having no idea which way they’re going. Suddenly, another coach is heard (they all have bells), so they continue to plough on, hoping there is some kind of road somewhere.

I was reminded (silly) of feeling frozen walking home from school (in the days when girls wore skirts only), and I was miserably cold. But it must have been above 20 degrees F (-7 C) or my mother would have given me a ride, such was the family policy. I was finally only a block or so from home, lugging all my books and thinking I had heard it was peaceful to fall asleep and freeze to death, so I would just lie down in a nearby snowdrift and THEY WOULD BE SORRY when they found me in the Spring. HA!

Reading the passenger’s description of his plight (which was certainly far worse weather), is what reminded me. He decided to doze off to pass the time and hope he wouldn’t feel so cold if he were asleep. It worked for a while.

“I opened my eyes. Still the same insufferable wavering snow floating before one’s eyes, the same drivers and horses, but beside me I saw a sledge. . .

It certainly was terrible to see the blizzard getting more and more violent, the horses growing weaker, and the road getting worse . . .

I felt awfully sleepy. ‘Can I really be beginning to freeze?’ I wondered sleepily. ‘Being frozen always begins by sleepiness, they say.’”

Of course, the driver and the other drivers and coachmen traipsing around, looking for the road were in far worse circumstances.

War stories compare the enthusiasm of the young and the world-weariness of the seasoned soldiers.

“ . . . in the same instant a very pretty and boyish youth, in the uniform of an officer, and a high white astrakhan cap, galloped up. As he passed us, he smiled, nodded, and waved his whip. . . .“

You’ll find history, a fairy tale, a fable, and more. Quite a mix.

“The Bear Hunt” is a truly scary one, and by truly, I mean it happened to Tolstoy himself!

All in all, if you’re an admirer of Tolstoy and Russian literature, you might like to add this to your collection. For me, I’m glad I read it, but I probably won’t read more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dover Publications for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted.

A few I had not read, several favorites and all well done. No one writes like Tolstoy. Fresh read even though written long time ago

I had no idea Tolstoy could write short stories so well. I have tried to slug my way through Anna and War and Peace. These were much easier and I enjoyed them.

Great mix of short stories from the well-known to the more uncommon ones to be translated. Worth the read for any Tolstoy aficionados out there...

A great collection of some of Tolstoy's better short stories. Loved them!

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy better known in the United States as Leo Tolstoy was a master storyteller. Perhaps best know for long novels like War and Peace and Anna Karenina.  His longer works turned many a student off by the sheer size of the book.  Once started, however, the books seem to flow and grow on the reader.  The bulk of the book itself is lightened by the storytelling.  Tolstoy is also known for his shorter works.  My introduction to Tolstoy's short stories was "The Cossacks".  Years later a friend in Minnesota got me to  "Master and Man" as a reminder of the real cold I was missing in Texas.  Recently another friend got me to read Anna Karenina and still the ice skating scene burned into my memory --- Book 1 Chapter 9.

This collection by Dover Thrift Editions brings stories that reflect the nature of Russia herself.   War, winter, and of course bears take center stage in this collection of nine stories.  These are lesser known writings, in fact, "The Forged Coupon" is the only one I read before.  Although holding the rank of count, Tolstoy captures the not only the nobility but also the peasant class in his writing.  A serf in his stories is as important as a nobleman. This gives the reader a feeling of what it was like to be part of Imperial Russia's 99%.  Tolstoy had an empathy that reaches deep into common Russian Culture.  

In this collection "Alyosha the Pot" shows the life of a majority of Russians.  This is my favorite story in the collection.  It is very different the others because it deals with domestic issues of a common man.  Alyosha's life is controlled for him. His every move seems to serve the interest of others.  His one wish for himself is lost in the service of others.  He becomes happy with his life much likes Camus' Sisyphus embracing the absurd.  Where many would see defeat, Alyosha seems to feel a victory.  

An excellent collection of Russian Short stories.  They capture the spirit if not the reality of life in Czarist Russia.  Tolstoy's writing (and the translation) presents clear and flowing stories with easy to identify characters and storylines.  His writing remains timeless and fable-like easily holding the reader's attention.  A great collection of stories to read over a cup of coffee and being Dover Thrift Edition it won't set the reader back more than a cup of coffee at the neighborhood coffee shop.