Master and Man
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Product Description
Product Description
The ten stories collected in this volume demonstrate Tolstoy's artistic prowess displayed over five decades - experimenting with prose styles and drawing on his own experiences with humour, realism and compassion. Inspired by his experiences in the army, 'The Two Hussars' contrasts a dashing father and his mean-spirited son. Illustrating Tolstoy's belief that art must serve a moral purpose, 'What Men Live By' portrays an angel sent to earth to learn three existential rules of life, and 'Two Old Men' shows a peasant abandoning his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in order to help his neighbours. And in the highly moving 'Master and Man', Tolstoy depicts a mercenary merchant travelling with his unprotesting servant through a blizzard to close a business deal - little realizing he may soon have to settle accounts with his maker.
About the Author
Count Leo Tolstoy was born in 1828 on the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana, in the Tula province. He took part in the Crimean war and after the defence of Sevastopol wrote The Sevastopol Sketches (1855-6), which established his literary reputation. He is the author, among many other works, of War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877) and A Confession (1879–82).
Ronald Wilks has translated widely from the Russian, including for Penguin works by Gorky, Gogol and Chekhov.
Hugh McLean has published widely on Russian literature, including contributing an essay on "The Countryside" to the Cambridge Companion to the Classic Russian Novel and one on Tolstoy's Resurrection to the Cambridge Companion to Tolstoy.
Paul Foote was, until his retirement, a University Lecturer in Russian and Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford.
Inside This Book
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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8 reviews
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Very powerful story of humanity
23 Sep 1999
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I, too, have to disagree with this 'english class' in their dull-assesment of this story. This must be a very young class of students who haven't experienced enough of human nature to fully appreciate and understand the complexity and beauty of the 2 characters in this wonderfully touching story. This is the first story that has ever made me weep openly while reading. The second, also by Tolstoy, was Strider: The Story of a Horse. If you liked Master and Man, you must find this one! That's why I'm here today; looking to replace my lost copy.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
No, not dull... very deep and powerful.
31 July 1998
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I felt I had to respond to the above comment by saying that this is a masterfully written short story and a moving account of a Master who makes the ultimate sacrifice, whether knowing it or not, to his lowly, faithful servant. The story contrasts well the attitudes and lives of rich masters and their voluntary slaves.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Simply Superb: It Contains Two Great Tolstoy Stories Plus One Not as Great
14 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
This is a good three story collection with an introduction by Paul Foote.
Tolstoy is recognized as one of the leading writer of novels, and he was a leading Russian writer of the 19th century. He wrote three monumental works including War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and the novella The Death of Ivan Ilych." Two were written by Tolstoy at his peak around 1865 to 1980, and Ilych was written in 1886 before Tolstoy started to lose his interest in fiction.
This is a collection of three stories that were all written at the end of Tolstoy's career, all written after 1890 when he was making the transition to non-fiction polemics. Only one of the three stories was published during Tolstoy's lifetime and that was Master and Man.
The first story in the book is Father Sergius, and it was written between 1890 and 1898. It is brilliant and ambitious. It is a story about a priest who dedicates his life to religion and purity. He lives in isolation and commits his life to God, and the story is about his search for truth. Unfortunately, he is still attracted to women, and that attraction or sexual passion frightens him and the story describes how he deals with that struggle to overcome his moral shortcomings or temptations. This was a favorite story of Tolstoy.
The second story, Master and Man, is simply superb. It is about two men on a trip by a horse drawn sleigh through the winter snows near a small village. They get caught in a blizzard while on a simple business trip. It was published in 1895, and is among the finest short stories ever written. It contains many signature elements of Tolstoy's writings including detailed descriptions of the Russian characters in a rural setting: "man, society, and nature" as described by Foote.
The last is Hadji Murat, written between 1896 to 1904. It follows earlier books on the southern wars including The Raid (1835), Wood-Felling (1855), and The Cossacks (1863). It is based on real events and lacks a strong central protagonist, and that is the weakness of the story. I was not excited by this novel and prefer Tolstoy's The Cossacks which covers a similar subject matter - that is set in southern Russia - but which has strong characters with strong human emotions.
Also, his most important fiction started in the 1860s with the release of The Cossacks in 1863. That story contains emotional elements and descriptions similar to what we read in Anna Karenina." by contrast, Hadji Murat was one of his last fictional works; and, Tolstoy expressed mixed feelings about the novel and its merits. It does rise to the same level as work from his prime.
Overall, this a good buy with two superb stories and one good story. Some of the works are available individually on line free from Gutenberg.
Tolstoy is recognized as one of the leading writer of novels, and he was a leading Russian writer of the 19th century. He wrote three monumental works including War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and the novella The Death of Ivan Ilych." Two were written by Tolstoy at his peak around 1865 to 1980, and Ilych was written in 1886 before Tolstoy started to lose his interest in fiction.
This is a collection of three stories that were all written at the end of Tolstoy's career, all written after 1890 when he was making the transition to non-fiction polemics. Only one of the three stories was published during Tolstoy's lifetime and that was Master and Man.
The first story in the book is Father Sergius, and it was written between 1890 and 1898. It is brilliant and ambitious. It is a story about a priest who dedicates his life to religion and purity. He lives in isolation and commits his life to God, and the story is about his search for truth. Unfortunately, he is still attracted to women, and that attraction or sexual passion frightens him and the story describes how he deals with that struggle to overcome his moral shortcomings or temptations. This was a favorite story of Tolstoy.
The second story, Master and Man, is simply superb. It is about two men on a trip by a horse drawn sleigh through the winter snows near a small village. They get caught in a blizzard while on a simple business trip. It was published in 1895, and is among the finest short stories ever written. It contains many signature elements of Tolstoy's writings including detailed descriptions of the Russian characters in a rural setting: "man, society, and nature" as described by Foote.
The last is Hadji Murat, written between 1896 to 1904. It follows earlier books on the southern wars including The Raid (1835), Wood-Felling (1855), and The Cossacks (1863). It is based on real events and lacks a strong central protagonist, and that is the weakness of the story. I was not excited by this novel and prefer Tolstoy's The Cossacks which covers a similar subject matter - that is set in southern Russia - but which has strong characters with strong human emotions.
Also, his most important fiction started in the 1860s with the release of The Cossacks in 1863. That story contains emotional elements and descriptions similar to what we read in Anna Karenina." by contrast, Hadji Murat was one of his last fictional works; and, Tolstoy expressed mixed feelings about the novel and its merits. It does rise to the same level as work from his prime.
Overall, this a good buy with two superb stories and one good story. Some of the works are available individually on line free from Gutenberg.
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