Resurrection

Again, part of my Russian Fiction binge - this one is by Leo Tolstoy and I was surprised to learn that not many people actually know about it. The characters that are both aristocratic and also of a lower class come through in the narrative voice in extreme amounts. I believe a strength of Tolstoy's is continuity in voice. He creates such strong character voices and it is also evident in "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" that there is a sense of the rich, but damaged character coming through these cracks in the narrative. 

As part of my Russian Fiction binge, I would like to share with you this exciting novel of redemption, prison, sin and glory. 

Characters:

Nekhlyudov is a character that was created by Tolstoy (I believe) to embody that cultural extreme of the rich and damaged. A brutal character with a dark and sinister sin that seeks redemption in helping a maid from imprisonment. There is a sense of foreboding that constantly follows him around like a shadow - and again Tolstoy's strength of character voices is (again, I believe) at one of its strongest points when we look at this mentally injured aristocrat.

Themes:

The theme of sin was the most explored in this novel. I think that it's fair to say that this is one of Tolstoy's lesser known works as it is overshadowed by "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" - these epics have included sin and redemption, but don't look at it in as much psychological depth as this novel. I really suggest that if you're just starting with Tolstoy, you pick "Resurrection" - it is just as deep as the epics and it is probably more interesting to read. 

Storyline:

By far, my favourite part was when he realises that he has sinned. There's a deep psychological aspect to it that I was interested in. Enthralled throughout the entirety of the book - I seemed to be captured by the use of psychoanalytical language. The words made everything that was light look dark and unhinged - a mental portrait of a damaged man in a damaged society. 

Verdict:

I give this book 9.

100% for characters: Tolstoy is amazing at capturing the voices of these characters and giving them an uncanny human element.

100% for themes: There will always be sin and redemption whenever we read Tolstoy, but I think that this novel really put it on a pedestal of majority exploration. 

100% for storyline: As is always, the reading experience of Tolstoy gets in very, very deep and meaningful. A societal construct deconstructed by a damaged character.