Conversations with Leo Tolstoy
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THE NEW YORKER August 30th 2010 SIMON PARKE SPEAKS WITH THE DEAD Book trailers-the low-budget previews modelled on those used by the film industry-have quickly grown tiresome. They're never very interesting, often overly impressionistic and pretentious, and rarely rise above the level of those silly historical reA"nactments you see on cable. They might get better over time, or die out; either is preferable to their current state. An exception, though, are the finely wrought previews for Simon Parke's Conversations with - A" biographies, published by White Crow Books. In this series, Parke bypasses the more quotidian aspects of historical biography by conducting interviewsA" with his subjects-Jesus, Meister Eckhart, Arthur Conan Doyle, Vincent van Gogh, and Leo Tolstoy-with the answers coming from their published writings. The trailers are stagey-with Parke and the actor playing his subject shown in the recording studio while a musical score soars behind their voices-yet the interviews nonetheless feel natural. Much of this feeling owes to the straightforward and unadorned nature of the exchanges, as when Parke asks Vincent van Gogh why he drinks, and the master answers, If the storm gets too loud, I take a glass too much to stun myself.A" The shot cuts to At Eternity's Gate,A" van Gogh's portrait of a man with his head in his hands, but you can imagine the whorls and swirls of the artist's favored darkened skies as well. Here, Parke conducts his interview with Tolstoy in the assured and chatty style of a British talk-show host: http://whitecrowbooks.com/conversations/page/conversations_with_leo_tolstoy This gambit may be viewed as simply a clever gimmick, but there is something compelling about Parke's style, which in a way that is always promised but rarely delivered, does, in fact, bring his subjects to life. Parke's role as the good-natured interlocutor seems to be an essential component of the project, a disposition on display in this cheeky description of his imagined time spent with Tolstoy: He also proved an appalling husband, hated Shakespeare, never came to terms with his sexual appetite and yet had a profound influence on the non-violence of the young Gandhi. My time at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy's country estate, was never dull; and sometimes, surprisingly comic. Soon after I left the great man, at the age of 82, he ran away from home. by Ian Crouch Loose leafs from the New Yorker Books Department.
Product Description
When most think of Tolstoy, they think of the great author. 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina' brought him worldwide fame, and a good deal of money. Had he done nothing else in life, these two novels would have ensured him status and respect. Few others had written both a national epic and a great love story; and some might have been content with that. For his last thirty years, however, Tolstoy walked a different track. After his spiritual crisis, when he was 50, he exchanged his author's clothes for those of a prophet - a prophet who was to have a great influence on Gandhi amongst others. Through his prolific writing, he now became the scourge of the rich, the Church and the Government. Neither did he miss an opportunity to denounce both science and art. Darwin? Dostoyevsky? Shakespeare? No one was to be left standing. In 'Conversations with Leo Tolstoy', Simon Parke grants us the honour of sitting with the great man, towards the end of his life; and gives us the chance to chat with him. The conversation is imagined, but not Tolstoy's answers. This is Tolstoy is his own words, drawn from his extensive books, essays and letters; and the military, vegetarianism, marriage, non-violence, death, God and sex are all on the agenda. 'I want people to come away feeling they know Tolstoy,' says Simon Parke, who was keen to use only Tolstoy's authentic words. 'They will be become aware of his opinions certainly, for he was forthright in those. He had an opinion on everything! But I hope also that people leave with a sense of the man beneath the opinions. I don't always agree with him; but it is hard not to admire him. He was far from perfect, but as he says: just because he walks the road like a drunk, doesn't mean it's the wrong road.'
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The last station,
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This review is from: Conversations with Leo Tolstoy (Paperback)
If you love Tolstoy's books, but want to know the man himself, his views, opinions, judgements, this book will not disappoint.
In fact, the whole of Tolstoy's spiritual and intellectual development is condensed between the covers of this small but perfectly formed book. Parke is quite relentless in subjecting the great man to some very tough questioning, and rightly so. The Tolstoy that emerges from his 'conversations' is brilliant, cruel, worthy, honest, priggish, rightheous, proud, conceited, saintly, radical, a right plonker.. Anything but a two-dimentional character. Tolstoy disapproved of almost everything (think of something that you enjoy and it's guaranteed that Tolstoy would disapprove!); created immortal literature, tried to change the world, took on the Russian State, The Church, the Army, even Shakespeare. For all his genious, this was a deeply tortured and unhappy man who spent a great deal of time figuring out how NOT to commit suicide. Simon Parke was very brave to take him on, and I salute him for it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sitting at the feet of Tolstoy,
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This review is from: Conversations with Leo Tolstoy (Paperback)
Simon Parke has done an amazing job of bringing the real Leo Tolstoy to life, I came to this book with little knowledge of the man, yet left feeling as if I had met him face to face.
The way Simon Parke poses the questions and his clarification of some of Tolstoy's answers help the reader to come to a real understanding of Tolstoy's opinions. Because all the words used by Tolstoy are his own, I felt like I was sitting at the feet of this great man. It was difficult not to see the sense in his arguments and I found myself nodding my head in agreement. Tolstoy's power and authority came over so strongly, that I was mesmerized and my own thoughts were stopped in their tracks. No wonder the Church and Government of his time labelled him as dangerous! Tolstoy comes across as a passionate leader, denouncing all that is wrong with the world and a man not to be messed with. I would recommend this book to anyone who really wishes to get to know the real Leo Tolstoy.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tolstoi's Opinions,
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This review is from: Conversations with Leo Tolstoy (Paperback)
I was halfway though a biography of Tolstoi by Henri Troyat when I discovered this book, so it has been fascinating reading both in tandem. One being a relatively straightforward account of Tolstoi's life and the other (this one) a more focussed work on Tolstoi's opinions. Simon Parke's questions are discreet but penetrating, and elicit telling responses on such subjects as war and pacifism, India and religion, vegetarianism and alcohol. A very entertaining and informative read.
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