Family Happiness (Harper Perennial Classic Stories)
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Product Description
Russian writer Leo Tolstoy is probably best known to the Western world for his epic WAR AND PEACE and splendid ANNA KARENINA, but during his long lifetime Tolstoy also wrote enough shorter works to fill many volumes. Reprinted here are two of his finest short novels -- FAMILY HAPPINESS and MASTER AND MAN -- and one short story -- ALYOSHA THE POT
Alongside FAMILY HAPPINESS, Harper Perennial will publish the short fiction of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Herman Melville, Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, and Oscar Wilde to be packaged in a beautifully designed, boldly colorful boxset in the aim to attract contemporary fans of short fiction to these revered masters of the form. Also, in each of these selections will appear a story from one of the new collections being published in the "Summer of the Short Story." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Maybe you have read War and Peace or Anna Karenina (or not yet managed to) but this book is Tolstoy at his most accessible. Essentially there is often a moral or even religious message to many of the stories and they are all written masterfully as can be imagined. A good place to start with Tolstoy or for those who already love the major works and would like a bit more.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
WHEN YOU FIRST HEAR OF TOLSTOY YOU MAY THINK HEAVY NOT FOR ME. CONSIDERING HE WROTE SO LONG AGO HIS STORIES ARE SO TODAY. IF YOU READ FAMILY HAPPINESS YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN.Family Happiness (Short Story Collections)
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Excellent bite-sized Tolstoy
4 Jan 2008
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I'd never read Tolstoy because I was always intimidated by the size of his major works; thus, a collection of his short stories was an appealing first step.
"Family Happiness" is the primary work in this book. In it, Tolstoy opines on what makes a successful marriage. I was amazed by how prescient to today was his 19th century relationship advice. Because he grasps universal and eternal elements of the human soul, his advice will be just as relevant 100 years from now.
The other stories display Tolstoy's thoughts on work, faith, temptation, high-society, and ambition - among other topics - and are equally as enlightening.
Tolstoy clearly did not sacrifice brevity for depth as these five short stories were all outstanding reads. A great introduction to one of history's deepest writers. Highly recommend.
"Family Happiness" is the primary work in this book. In it, Tolstoy opines on what makes a successful marriage. I was amazed by how prescient to today was his 19th century relationship advice. Because he grasps universal and eternal elements of the human soul, his advice will be just as relevant 100 years from now.
The other stories display Tolstoy's thoughts on work, faith, temptation, high-society, and ambition - among other topics - and are equally as enlightening.
Tolstoy clearly did not sacrifice brevity for depth as these five short stories were all outstanding reads. A great introduction to one of history's deepest writers. Highly recommend.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Very good story, but with a bad ending
2 April 2010
Format:Paperback
Critics, such as John Bayley, tell us that Tolstoy disliked Family Happiness as soon as he completed it: "the main (reason) seems to have been because the story was made up." Tolstoy lacked experience with the events he was narrating. Tolstoy seems to be right. The story is well-written, but it does not fully explain the reaction of the husband in the tale.
The first half of the story details the developing love of a seventeen year old girl, who grew up secluded in the country, to a 36 year old business man, a friend of her father, a man more than twice her age, who had traveled much. The second half tells about her life after her marriage; both she and her husband are very much in love.
However, she discovers that she is bored with life and persuades her husband to live some months in the large city. She attends many social events there and experiences a life she only heard about, a life that her older husband had long ago experienced and no longer needed or desired. Her new life creates a rift between the couple. The husband clearly loves his wife and gives her all she desires, but the love changes. It dissolves into a love that many middle age couples experience.
She realizes her mistake and tries to reignite the former deeper happier love, but her husband, who insists that he loves her, tells her that there is no possibility to return to the first love. It is this decision by the husband or his insight that is not sufficiently explored.
The first half of the story details the developing love of a seventeen year old girl, who grew up secluded in the country, to a 36 year old business man, a friend of her father, a man more than twice her age, who had traveled much. The second half tells about her life after her marriage; both she and her husband are very much in love.
However, she discovers that she is bored with life and persuades her husband to live some months in the large city. She attends many social events there and experiences a life she only heard about, a life that her older husband had long ago experienced and no longer needed or desired. Her new life creates a rift between the couple. The husband clearly loves his wife and gives her all she desires, but the love changes. It dissolves into a love that many middle age couples experience.
She realizes her mistake and tries to reignite the former deeper happier love, but her husband, who insists that he loves her, tells her that there is no possibility to return to the first love. It is this decision by the husband or his insight that is not sufficiently explored.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Good start to Tolstoy
25 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is a great place to start with Tolstoy if you are a bit intimidated by "war and peace" or "Anna Karenia" being so huge. This volume has several of Tolstoy's quality short stories including my personal favourite "family happiness" but also "the devil" which i think is a good introduction to Tostoy's religious and spiritual writings. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Tolstoy or russian litrature in general but who is not sure where to start.
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