How Many Normal People Enjoy Tolstoy?

How many people enjoy Tolstoy? I guess me. But the question is, How many normal people enjoy Tolstoy? (I'm not normal, see.)

If you have ever, plan to, or may have at some point but cannot recall if you've ever read anything by Tolstoy, post it here. What do you think he lacked in his books? What do you think he did best? Which book did you read/like the best? I'd like to hear from you.

Though I seriously doubt I'll get anything more than like two comments on this, miracles have been known to happen. (And if you're queer for all things Russian like myself, you might have actually read it, normal though you are.)

Well, I can't with any veracity claim to be normal, I'm afraid - but writers and storytellers - who can tell? It's a wandering, weird bunch.

I have read Tolstoy - War and Peace. I haven't read Anna Karenina. But then (as you know) I'm all for Fyodor Dostoyevsky over all other Russians.

Tolstoy was rather verbose; it bothered me sometimes. But I loved the complexity.

I loved the complexity, too, and I totally hated that the russians talked french.

(But this may have something to do with the fact that I love the russians and with a passion hate the french.)

I haven't read as much Dostoyevsky as I would like to (I may have mentioned) and I can't help but feeling like I may be missing something.

Did you like War and Peace? I'm reading it now and so far Anna Karenina is better.

-- Tolstoy eats "Verbose" for breakfast. My brother and I call it issacasimovity because trying to read anything by Asimov is just as bad.

Dream Deep wrote:I loved the complexity, too, and I totally hated that the russians talked french.

(But this may have something to do with the fact that I love the russians and with a passion hate the french.)

I haven't read as much Dostoyevsky as I would like to (I may have mentioned) and I can't help but feeling like I may be missing something.

Did you like War and Peace? I'm reading it now and so far Anna Karenina is better.

-- Tolstoy eats "Verbose" for breakfast. My brother and I call it issacasimovity because trying to read anything by Asimov is just as bad.

It's true - Tolstoy and Asimov can both be interminably verbose; but if I recall correctly (it has been some time since I read Asimov) Tolstoy is long words, long sentences and long paragraphs - and Asimov was bit more balanced as far as sentence and parapraph. (Isaacasimovity - that's hilarious. ^_^)

But most definitely - you are missing out if you haven't read Dostoyevsky! The Brothers Karamozov is a book that can be read dozens of times - it seems there's always some new event, or bit of dialogue that wasn't there... A living book, in essence. ^_^

I'm all for Fyodor Dostoyevsky over all other Russians.

Solzhenitsyn for me, all day long.

backgroundbob wrote:

I'm all for Fyodor Dostoyevsky over all other Russians.

Solzhenitsyn for me, all day long.

Solzhenitsyn - a close second. But Chekhov's short stories are intriguing - and Aleksander Gogol... Dostoyevsky still rules the Russian literary world.

I've never read The Brother's Karamozov but I'd like to - assuming I can get my parents to schlep me to the book store. I've read something by Chekov, but to be perfectly honest, I've never read anything by Solzhenitsyn.

Glad you liked isaacasimovity, IMP. I seem to be afflicted by it, don't you think?

Dream Deep wrote:I've never read The Brother's Karamozov but I'd like to - assuming I can get my parents to schlep me to the book store. I've read something by Chekov, but to be perfectly honest, I've never read anything by Solzhenitsyn.

Glad you liked isaacasimovity, IMP. I seem to be afflicted by it, don't you think?

Oh, not too badly - not so verbose as Tolstoey-esque sentence lengths. ^_~ I wrote for some while after reading Tolkien and Dostoyevksy and Dumas in maddeningly long sentences - especially when I discovered the semi-colon. But I balanced out, I think. ^_^

Me? I think the semi-colon should have a day named after it.

Chekhov, true, a genius is Chekhov...

but A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich... the master at work!

I have tired to read Anna karenina, I really, truly tried. I got both books out of the Library and was determined to read it, but i got halfway through the first book and then out it down, never picked it up again except to take it to the library to return it (I think i even got a fine on it for returning it too late) I should try agiain, I should try to read Tolstoys books (at least one) but I probably will not in the near future.

dele24 wrote:I have tired to read Anna karenina, I really, truly tried. I got both books out of the Library and was determined to read it, but i got halfway through the first book and then out it down, never picked it up again except to take it to the library to return it (I think i even got a fine on it for returning it too late) I should try agiain, I should try to read Tolstoys books (at least one) but I probably will not in the near future.

Lol, that's all right. My favorite book is The Faded Sun and it took me at least six times to schlep myself through that!

-Dream Deep