Tolstoy Ranked

I was profoundly astounded by how much psychological turmoil was so expertly portrayed in the main character. The fact that she has so many contradictions, and yet all of them feel of a piece is a demonstration of Tolstoy's talents. Regardless of the original intent of the novel, Tolstoy's psychological insight turned what was meant to be a stale moral tale into an examination of the mysoginy present in the Russian aristocracy, whether Tolstoy liked it or not. Everyone at the time, and even now, is so captivated by Anna's slow descent into desperation to the point in which Lievin is a drag on the story. While Lievin's personal reflections are interesting, his contrast with Anna is weak as a concept, as Lievin from the getgo had everything going for him for being a straight male landowner. In an attempt to advocate for the prudeness of women, Tolstoy ended up exposing his own and everyone else's hypocrisies at the time. Borderline masterwork affected slightly by the fact that the author's talent trascended the novel's basis and original intent.

Master and Man is my personal favorite from the collection of Tolstoy's short stories. In the span of a few thousand words, Tolstoy managed to create one of the most gripping and devastating redemption stories of all time. The main character is so interesting in his contradictions and failures of character, making for a brutally honest depiction of the egotism of Russian aristocrats. At the same time, the peasant character has his own set of flaws, avoiding the tale from being overly moralistic. The conclusion and its construction are so beautiful that I would not dare ruin them here.

In contrast to most of Tolstoy's works, which stand out for their intricate psychology, this novella is pretty straight forward. With its frenetic pace, melodramatic dialogue, and sharp characterizations, this feels like Tolstoy's rendition of an adventure epic in the likes of Dumas. At the same time, it contains sharp and transgressive critiques to Russian's imperialism during the wars in the Caucasus. Its problems lie in some unresolved plot threads, such as the whole intrigue surounding Murad's son.

Depending on your mindset, you will either love this work unconditonally or be bothered by how ham-fisted its themes are. In the basis of Tolstoy's essays, every single point is reiterated and meant to provoke a change in the minds of the broader populace. Your enjoyment of this work, in parts, will rely heavily on whether you agree on Tolstoy's stands on prison systems, sex work, class warfare, and immigration or not. Regardless of that, the story at the core of the novel is compelling as usual. My favorite detail was that Nekhludoff's attempted redemption has selfishness at its core and he acknowledges it near the end, serving for a slight and interesting deconstruction of the typical Tolstoy main character arc. However, I cannot stop thinking that Máslova would have been a better main character, and that she was used to justify Nekhludoff's redemption by forgiving him, when she had every reason not to.