|
Editorial Review Product Description
Tolstoy’s powerful semiautobiographical stories based on his time spent in the Russian army—the latest in our series of fresh new Tolstoy translations
In 1851, at the age of twenty-two, Tolstoy joined the Russian army. The four years he spent as a soldier were among the most significant in his life and inspired the tales collected here. In "The Cossacks," Tolstoy tells the story of Olenin, a cultured Russian whose experiences among the Cossack warriors of Central Asia leave him searching for a more authentic life. "The Sevastopol Sketches" bring into stark relief the realities of military life during the Crimean War. And "Hadji Murat" paints a portrait of a great leader torn apart by divided loyalties. In writing about individuals and societies in conflict, Tolstoy has penned some of the most brilliant stories about the nature of war. ... Read more Customer Reviews (14) 
Disorder on the Border ...
... between Russia and Chechnya, along the Terek River! But it's not 2010 nor Putin's Russia. It's the mid 1850s, and Imperial Russia is near the accomplishment of 100 years of imperial ambitions to control the Causcasus. A wealthy young Moscovite, Olenin, a bit of a dissolute fop, aimless yet ambitious, becomes disaffected with his life, his society, above with himself, and impetuously volunteers to serve as a cadet in the Tsarist army campaigning in the Caucasus. He finds himself billeted in a Cossack village, the young men of which are allied with the Russians. Olenin is enraptured by the simple 'natural' life of the Cossacks, so much in contrast to the effete parasitic life of his own aristocratic milieu. Naturally he also falls in love with a local beauty ...
"The Cossacks" is a ripping good story, with just one chapter of cultural travelogue to space out the 160 pages of adventure and vivid character-painting. The raffish young Tolstoy did serve as a volunteer in the Caucasus in 1852, He began "The Cossacks" then and there but took ten years to finish it. And it is a very 'finished' piece of writing, at least as far as I can guess from this eloquent translation. I'd rush to buy the film rights to such a novella, except that I'm sure it's already been done, perhaps a dozen times. Unlike Tolstoy's greatest later novels, "The Cossacks" can be read just for pleasure, without labor, with philosophizing. It CAN'T be read for insight into the history of the Russian imperial conquest, or into the real culture of the Cossacks and their neighbors, or into the still-evident sources of burning hostility between the Chechens and the Russians. Reading "The Cossacks" will inform you only that the conflict is old and fierce. In her preface to this translation, Cynthia Ozick argues that Tolstoy deliberately chose to ignore historical realities and actual social conditions, in order to portray his (Olenin's) moral/psychological obsessions with a noble primitive lifestyle straight out of J.J. Rousseau.
The Terek Cossacks, historically, were not an age-old local culture. They had been recruited, chiefly from Ossetia, and installed as a buffer against the Chechens in the 18th Century. They were, in short, an artifice of Russian imperialism, but you'll get no sense of that from Tolstoy's vivid depiction of them. In this account, they are truly idealized noble savages, closer to the Cheyennes of the American West than to the Cossacks who massacred 300,000 Jews in 1648, the Cossacks of the pogroms that sent millions of Jews to the Americas circa 1900. In Tolstoy's account, religious and political differences between the Cossacks and the Chechens are far less 'causative' of warfare than the age-old cultural paradigms of both communities, both cultures of manly honor, revenge, admiration for violence, lusty courage, libidinal ecstasy, drunkenness, above all Freedom of Will.
But the Cossacks of Olenin's village are only the backdrop for Olenin's preoccupation with himself, with his self-disgust, with his craving to find a Meaning for his otherwise insipid and paltry existence. Is "Olenin" an avatar of Tolstoy himself? No amount of literary scholarship could persuade me otherwise. Olenin may be a stripped-down cartoon of the author, simplified for story-telling purposes, but his concerns and his basic character are Tolstoy's. The author's ineffable art, his genius for creating fictional humans than are more alive than anyone you meet on the streets of today, is already perfected in this novella. But Tolstoy's insufferable narcissism, his absurd longing to perceive himself as a Saint, is also perfectly obvious in Olenin, a psychological cripple whose efforts to become "good" are ruinous for others. Olenin, like Tolstoy, slashes arrogantly, destructively, through the lives of others, all in Faustian pursuit of his own moral greatness. One has to give Tolstoy supreme credit, in the end, for being so utterly clear about his own unpardonable egotism, even though his only 'apology' was to move on to yet another cruel obsession. Only Goethe compares to Tolstoy as an example of a Genius who soared above Humanity to the degree of becoming somewhat inhuman.
Adventure Comes To Life
When you think of Tolstoy, you most likely think of his epic novels, like Anna Karenina or War and Peace.You probably don't think of his shorter pieces like The Cossacks, a shorter novella that is considered to be the author's autobiography.The book centers around an unhappy Muscovite nobleman named Dmitri Olénin who joins the army in search of adventure and purpose in his life.He winds up in the Caucasus and is intrigued by the geography and the simple people who live there.Along the way, he discovers himself and falls in love for the first time, and in turn discovers the pain love can bring.We meet a cast of characters that includes the manly Cossack soldier Lukashka, the beautiful Cossack girl Maryanka, and the larger-than-life grandfather figure, Uncle Yeroshka, each of who play an important role in the life education of Olénin.
Since this has always been one of my favorite books, I was curious to see how it translated into the audiobook format.The voice work is done by Jonathan Oliver, an English actor who has over a decade of experience reading audiobooks for the blind.At first, I was a little thrown by his English accent, as I know many Russians personally, and I always lent a Russian accent to The Cossacks characters in my mind.But as the story progressed, I got used to Oliver's accent and it became very natural sounding, as he took on the life of the characters.He also did a wonderful job of changing out his vocal style as each different character spoke, making it easy to tell who was speaking as the conversations took place.I especially liked his portrayal of Uncle Yeroshka, the colorful old man of the Cossack village who takes Olénin under his wing.Oliver's voice bellows and rings out with intensity, bringing the character to life in incredible fashion. Oliver is obviously very familiar with the story as well as Tolstoy in general, and he adds touches here and there to make the story even more special.For example, he reads the descriptive sections with the same enthusiasm as the speaking roles, painting a perfect picture of the Cossack village and the activities of its inhabitants as they go about daily life.He also sings their songs with a convincing air, staying in character the whole time.
As far as classic literature goes, this one is an easy listen.It is not too long, and the story moves quickly, filled with adventure and a touch of innocent romance.Plus, it is a great introduction to Tolstoy without getting lost in the epic length of some of his other works.Highly recommended.
Three Excellent pieces of fiction by the Russian master Tolstoy will bring you hours of reading pleasure
Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is one of the world's greatest novelist producing such classics as "War and Peace"; "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection." He was also a master of the novella and short story. Penguin has collected three of these shorter works in a handsomely published new paperback.
The stories are:
The Cossacks: In this semi-autobiographical story a young Moscow nobleman joins the army. He is posted to the distant Caucasus where he becomes friends with people living in a Cossack village. He is infatuated with a Cossack beauty and is involved in a romantic triangle. Olenin meets and befriends an old Cossack who imparts wisdom and the customs of his people to Olenin. The story is filled with information on the customs and lifestyles of the Cossacks. It also includes beautiful descriptions of nature and ponderings on life by Olenin. The Cossacks of Tsarist Russia were a strong,proud and fierce people who loved to drink, love and fight across the vast stretches of the steppes. When Olenin leaves the Cossacks he has grown in maturity.
Sevastopol Sketches is a story concerning the siege of that Crimean City by the French, English and Turks during the Crimean War of the 1850s. Tolstoy was himself present during the siege. The Russians were defeated. We experience in these pages the experience of bombardment, instant death from shells and see the horrific condition of the wounded. The lives and deaths of two brothers are described. This story provides excitement and shows Tolstoy's ability to draw characters and scenes with superb skill. There are three sketches which show us what it is like to be in a beseiged city during war. Tolstoy became a pacificist. This short work shows us the horror of warfare.
Hadji Murat is a tragic tale of a proud Chechen warrior who switches sides to fight with the Russians. In a classic chapter Tolstoy paints the Court of Nicholas I the cruel Czar of all the Russias. Hadji Murat is a man torn by political loyalties. He was a historical character.
Tolstoy wrote in a clear style easy to comphrehend. You will never forget these short works of fiction. Enjoy the words put on paper by a great author!
Disappointing
I love War&Peace, Anna Karenina and Tolstoy's non-fiction. This is my 3rd Tolstoy fiction and it just didn't work for me. There is a great setup, culminating with the main character's epiphany ("I have all I need so I'll dedicate myself to doing good for others") in the forest. After the epiphany, I was looking forward to something akin to Dostoevsky's 'The Idiot', with many of the lives of the Cossacks intermingling with the main character(Olenin). But Olenin does very little 'good', and a decent portion of the rest of the book is dedicated to the brooding of the main character over a neighboring peasant girl. I think for one to get much enjoyment out of this book, one would need to find this 'love story' (between Olenin and the peasant girl) to be interesting. It was boring to me.
The other main theme (that is not the 'love story') is the rich and cultured outsider(Olenin) living among the Cossack peasants. I found this theme to be interesting, but underdeveloped. It would have been more interesting if Olenin had interacted more with the peasants. I think one of Tolstoy's 'points' is that the interaction was too difficult, but that is a 'point' that doesn't pique my interest.
I guess this is a strange reference, but I found this book to be similar to We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick. Both books are by great authors, have great setups, but 'end up' spending a lot of time on a 'love story' that I found to be uninteresting.
High adventure and a cultural dilemma (book details)
Originally published in 1863, this is one of Tolstoy's earlier novels, written prior to his two blockbusters War and Peace (Vintage Classics) (1865-1869) and Anna Karenina (Penguin Classics) (1875-1877).
I am reviewing here the "Everyman's Library" hardcover edition which I highly recommend, (published 1994). It's printed in a nice classic typeface on acid-free paper and the sturdy binding (dark burgundy in color) is of a full cloth, sewn-in type. This edition comes with an eye-catching dust jacket which looks attractive on the bookshelf.
The story: A carefree young nobleman, Dmitri (Mitya) Andreich Olenin, forsakes a dynamic Moscow for life in the wilds of the northern Caucasus Mountains where he seeks adventure as a military officer trainee. Once there, he encounters a Cossack mentor of sorts ("Daddy" Eroshka) and a worthy comrade in arms, Lukashka Gavrilov. He also eventually falls in love with Lukashka's betrothed, Maryanka, a tough-spirited gal who is the jewel of her Cossack village.
The exploit revolves around the Russian military tenoned in an uneasy alliance with the Cossacks, engaging in guerilla encounters against the Chechens during this mid-19th Century war of sorts. Lukashka kills a Chechen ("abrek") as the latter attempts to sneak across the Terek River, an incident which notably advances the Cossack's ranking among his fellow villagers. It is also this singular killing which becomes a central reference in the story.
Meanwhile, Olenin becomes emotionally caught up in the romance of life as a Cossack, a culture which manifests the very antithesis of his previous existence - Olenin is a bit of a Walter Mitty. He sees the Cossacks' intimate connections with the natural world and the routines of their simple lives as far superior in quality to his former urban, opulent way of life amongst his noble peers -- still, during his stay in the squalor of the Cossack village, he makes oblivious use of the many rubles which he periodically receives from his serf-driven estates. Life for Olenin becomes more and more complex when he falls in love with Maryanka and he's forced to balance this actuality with his comradeship with her fiancé, Lukashka.
The wallpaper here, the raids on the Chechens throughout the desolate countryside, is more akin to the Appalachian-American Hatfield-McCoy Feud than it is to more traditional wartime encounters. And the relationships (or lack thereof) between the regular Russian soldiers and their Cossack allies clearly convey the fiercely independent nature of the latter.
This tale is one of high adventure more so than of romance, although the love theme does maintain a nicely subtle secondary presence. And while some would say that this book is a good first-reading of Tolstoy (because it's short, 178 pages), I would counsel otherwise. If you read this one subsequent to Tolstoy's later works, you'll find "The Cossacks" to be refreshing in its raw and straightforward conveyance of Tolstoy's clear early-period literary talent.
Since so many works of early Russian literature focus upon the lives of the country's nobility, it's nice that this one ferrets out the intricacies of some subordinate elements of the numerous Russian cultures... the Cossacks, the Chechens, etcetera. One might compare this book in many ways to Nicolai Lyeskov's [The] Enchanted Wanderer since the two stories are both: fictional accounts of adventure; dealing with multi-cultural Russia, and; the tale is simply "told" without the slightest apparent concern for any commercial success that they might generate later for the respective author. The big difference between the two books is that one is related from the perspective of a nobleman while the other is the paradigm of a poverty-stricken serf-monk.
The translators for this edition, Louise and Aylmer Maude, were much attuned to Tolstoy's lyrical meter, resulting in smooth consumption for readers of the English language.
In summary, "The Cossacks" is a terrific story coupled with a glimpse at day-to-day life within unique society of the Cossacks. Highly recommended!
... Read more |
Regarding Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories