Tag Archives: Tolstoy

Book Review:  Tolstoy by A. N. Wilson; Part Two: The Spiritual Seeker

After writing Anna Karenina, Tolstoy went through profound spiritual changes. He did not abandon literature, but the tone of his writings changed, reflecting his inner metamorphosis. Scorning the Orthodox church, he adopted a personal faith that included extreme pacifism, renunciation … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Tolstoy by A. N. Wilson; Part One: The Writer

This is a complex, opinionated biography of a literary genius. It is at its weakest when Wilson attempts to introduce his personal observations and impressions of Tolstoy’s life and thoughts as if they were the only possible interpretation, and at … Continue reading

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2023: A Personal Overview; Part Two: Some Stats

I recently finished compiling the statistics of how many original words I wrote in 2023. Every year I keep a small journal with important appointments and so on, and every day in that journal I write down my word count … Continue reading

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Book Review: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

This is a fun book to read. Award-winning writer George Saunders has spent decades teaching Russian short stories in his writing classes, and in this volume he chooses several of his favorite stories and expounds upon them at length. In … Continue reading

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