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Resurrection (Penguin Classics) |  | Author: Leo Tolstoy
Creator: Anthony Briggs
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: $16.00
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Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 89696
Media: Paperback
Pages: 608
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0140424636
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140424638
ASIN: 0140424636
Publication Date: October 27, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Two irresistibly intimate masterworks by one of Russia's greatest writers
Published here in a marvelous new translation, Resurrection tells the story of a Russian nobleman who comes face to face with the sins of his past. When Prince Nekhlyudov serves on a jury at the trial of a prostitute arrested for murder, he is horrified to discover that the accused is a woman he had once seduced and abandoned. His guilt at the central role he played in her ruin soon leads him on a quest for forgiveness as he follows her into the prisons of Siberia. Conceived on an epic scale, this novel is both a trenchant denunciation of government, aristocracy, the judicial system, and the Church as well as a highly personal statement of Tolstoy's belief in human redemption and spiritual development.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
 Power of book's message overcomes its lopsidedness September 1, 2009
Mad Dog (Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you like old literature and you like smart-alec counter-culturalism, this book is in your wheelhouse. Tolstoy sees evil at work in all traditional organizations (army, church, courts, police, legislators, etc.) of his day (late 1800s Russia). The great majority of those involved in those organizations are depicted as corrupt and self-seeking. And Tolstoy makes many of the prisoners (in the book) to be saints. I definitely think that Tolstoy is unfairly 'stacking the deck' in order to make his points. Many parts of this book are no more than fictionalized essays (presented by Tolstoy as the narrator or presented by the protagonist Nekhlydov) and the plot is thin for a 500 page book. Also, the protagonist's religious faith is unique (a combination of secular humanism and Christian moralism) and I would like to see a clearer detailing of the nature of the protagonist's religious faith.
But this book resonates heavily with me when Tolstoy exalts basic principles (unconditional love, abounding forgiveness, examination of conscience, thoughtful consideration of others, finding fault in oneself before finding fault in other persons) for an improved society that I totally agree with. I can totally relate with the protagonist's misgivings with his culture and his own behavior. I admire the protagonist's bold actions in living out his beliefs. But the more that this book strays from the 'personal' and delves into the 'societal', the less powerful the book is for me.
Profound view of one character's metamorphosis, Resurrection an overlooked classic May 24, 2009
fra7299 (California, United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Resurrection doesn't have the fanfare that War and Peace or Anna Karenina share, but I felt it was more enjoyable than those literary classics. Some feel, and with good reason, that this novel becomes a bit too preachy about government and the Church, and at certain points Tolstoy does obviously have an agenda. However, focusing strictly on the plot in terms of the main protagonist's character change, and the new insight he comes to terms with from beginning to end, it has traces of a sort of coming of age for Prince Nekhlyudov, who changes when he becomes cognizant of the prison-based life some lead. Perhaps this book's title is a bit misleading, because the Prince's character evolvement has more to do with his newly formed morality, less to do with being reborn in a religious sense. Character change and atoning for one's past sins seems to be the novel's main crux, and Tolstoy is masterful at presenting this.
In Leo Tolstoy's Resurrection, a man who is serving on a jury is shocked to see that a girl he had relations with but then abandoned is on trial for a murder. Prince Nekhlyudov reflects that he must have in some way been the young lady's undoing, as she is now a prostitute and in these dire circumstances, and makes a compact within himself to atone in some way for leaving her.
Ironically, it is an error in the verdict that causes Katusha, the woman who the Prince knew, to be sent to Siberia for labor camps once she is found guilty, and the Prince makes it his goal to do whatever it takes to get her sentence reversed. When the Prince initially begins to visit Katusha, not only is he repulsed by the degrading and base conditions within the prison system, but he comes to a sense of disgust of his former luxurious lifestyle. He finds that common people are being locked up for simple, petty infractions, and takes on the responsibility to try to not only change what he can about himself, but the innocents' injustice. He is not without fault; in fact, most if not all of the novel he is tempted by his former self. There is a sense of hopelessness in the path the Prince journeys, and Tolstoy captures the Prince's difficulty in completing his mission: "...Nekhlyudov told the coachman to drive to the prison and then seated himself alone in his own vehicle and, with a heavy sense of having to fulfill an unpleasant duty, followed them over the soft snow..."
Still, what makes Tolstoy's Resurrection embody a remarkable parable is the notion that change exists within each of us, even though we must pay some price towards it. The Prince reveals to Katusha that he is willing to marry her once she is freed; he also makes arrangements to give away portions of his lands to his servants as a part of his new identity, this despite protests from his sister and her husband. In many respects, he makes a sacrifice, though in his own mind he is only doing what he should do to make up for Katusha's predicament.
Resurrection is definitely an overlooked classic from Tolstoy.
 "As it had been in the past, so it was now." January 18, 2009
C. Gilbert (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This was a book that moved me quite a bit and was a very timely read in terms of things that I have been considering lately in my own life. As a result, I may like it better than it actually deserves. Or I may not. I thought that it was brilliant, honestly. But I see that many find it wanting next to the more thickly plotted Anna Karenina or War and Peace.
Resurrection is a layered look at the concepts of atonement, amends, and forgiveness. The story is fairly simple in its lines. Prince Nekhlyudov is a weak but well-meaning nobleman who has lost his early ideals in the excitement and practicality of his every day life. As the book opens, he is serving his jury duty when he realizes with horror that one of the women on trial for robbery and murder was a serving girl (Maslova) who he had once seduced and abandoned. It is clear from the chance meeting that after he was done with her, she fell into a life of prostitution and poverty. In response to her situation and in his great dismay, Nekhlyudov quickly compounds his one great mistake with a second. In sorrow and regret, he decides that he will dedicate his life to making amends to Maslova.
What Prince Nekhlyudov discovers is that atonement is nothing so simple as mending the personal situation. His self-examination leads him to criticize the system that left him with the ability to so simply ruin a woman's life. Class, religion, money, land, power, gender, politics, enfranchisement, punishment, rehabilitation, security, rights-- he cannot adequately treat with her without questioning every aspect of his person and society.
I talked about this book in someone else's blog before I read had read enough of it to really comment. At that point, I thought that the book was going to be about the impossibility of amends. Maslova is quite scornful of Nekhlyudov initially. She accuses him of using her for her body in his youth and for his salvation in his middle age. She asserts that what he had done cannot be undone, and she is inevitably correct.
If I had read further, I would have realized that Tolstoy's point does not end with the impossibility of amends. Atonement may well be impossible, but it is also-- this text argues-- essential. Nekhlyodov realizes that she is right, he cannot undo his damage, but he doggedly tries and follows the path where it may go-- even as it leads him away from everything that he has ever understood. At the end of the book, he has not (of course) managed to return Maslova to any kind of pristine state. But he has found a thread of meaning that allows his own resurrection. Moreover, he submits himself to her to allow her to choose her own destiny (within the available choices).
The book never flinches from the complication of its characters. Prince Nekhlyudov is not perfect. His path is not smooth. Maslova is not a saint. They both have and retain their flaws. I also find that while the book is deeply concerned with issues of ethics and morality, it doesn't preach. Even the ending which features a meditation on the Christian commandments feels more like the natural conclusion of his personal journey than anything forced.
Very highly recommended. A great note for me on which to end the 2008 reading year.
Resurrection is a moving story of Tsarist Russia from the pen of the great author Count Leo Tolstoy December 3, 2008
C. M Mills (Knoxville Tennessee)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
What a trifecta in literary life! War and Peace; Anna Karenina and Resurrection. The final in the triad of Tolstoy's most precious gems, Resurrection appeared in 1899. It is a long novel which will move you and make you think. The Penguin edition is easy to read and will hold your attention.
Resurrection tells the story of Prince Neckhlyudov a dissolute middle aged bachelor who is wealthy and a seducer of young women. While serving on a district jury he sees a 30ish woman named Maslova in the dock. She is a prostitute charged with poisoning a client merchant of his money. She is innocent of the charge. In a moment of stark clarity the Prince realizes that she is the young servant of his aunt whom he had seduced many years before. She had a stillborn child by the Prince. Neckhlyudov resolves to "ressurect" his sinful life by seeking Maslova's forgiveness.
Maslova is convicted of the crime being sent to Siberia as her punishment for a period of several years. The Prince seeks every means possible to have her case appealed. He does so by calling on several high officials and hiring an expensive lawyer to win her case. The Russian senate is even appealed to but all to no avail.
Neckhlyudov follows Maslova to Siberia. She has fallen in love with a fellow convict but is grateful to him for his devotion to her. The affluent Prince decides to free his serfs, sell his home and renounce marriage to a wealthy dunderhead of a woman. He also forsakes the wealthy mistress with whom he has being conducting an adulterous clandestine affair for some time. The keen descriptions of prison life and the long trek to Siberia are excellent. Anyone seeking a view of Tsarist society
in the late nineteenth century will gain from Tolstoy's novel. One can see how such a troubled and corrupt society was ripe for revolution.
The Prince is obviously based on Count Tolstoy. Tolstoy as a soldier and nobleman led a depraved life. Tolstoy renounced worldly sin and became a devoted Christian. He was excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church for his attack on the ecclesiastical authorities, theology and administration. Tolstoy's faith was based on the gospels particularly on the Sermon on the Mount. His is a simple and radical faith.
The book is highly critical of Russia"s
a. Corrupt Tsarist government. Everyone is on the make seeking more money and a higher status in society.
b. Russia's horrible justice system and mistreatment of prisoners from lower classes.
c. Tolstoy attacks hypocrisy in all its hydra-headed forms as he satirizes corrupt and brain dead officialdom.
d. The only redeeming characters in the book are those who are prisoners. Tolstoy has an especial affinity for political prisoners. He abhors capital punishment. Court official appear as foolish idiots!
The author indulges in his opinions on a wide variety of social ills. Resurrection is lesser known that his other major works but is a valuable tale of man's inhumanity to man. Anyone who enjoys dissection of the human soul would relish this work of genius.
A "Regular People" Review December 27, 2006
Konstantin
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Tolstoy did not believe in art for arts sake. Had he of, this could have been truly amazing. However it still does not dissappoint. This is a good introduction to Tolstoy even though it doesn't compare to the wide variety of characters in Anna Karenina or War and Peace, It still showcases Tolstoy's habit of touching on the current social and political issues of the time when it was written (and strangly many of them still hold true today). If you can stand to be lectured a little- pick this up...and keep me updated!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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