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Average rating3.7
Resurrection (1899) is the last of Tolstoy's major novels. It tells the story of a nobleman's attempt to redeem the suffering his youthful philandering inflicted on a peasant girl who ends up a prisoner in Siberia. Tolstoy's vision of redemption achieved through loving forgiveness, and his condemnation of violence, dominate the novel. An intimate, psychological tale of guilt, anger, and forgiveness, Resurrection is at the same time a panoramic description of social life in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century, reflecting its author's outrage at the social injustices of the world in which he lived. This edition, which updates a classic translation, has explanatory notes and a substantial introduction based on the most recent scholarship in the field. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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The description of the excesses of the statal machine which distinguishes itself through the cruelty and injustice of its punishments clearly foresees the advent of communism. The anatomy of Nekhlyudov's enlightenment reminds me on The Death of Ivan Ilych . Heidegger should have used it extensively to shed more light on the condition of the “they-self”. An important part of Tolstoy's book deals with the distinction between the animal and spiritual aspect of the human nature. Although that since 1899 the cultural code has changed and in today's world the animal and the spirit peacefully coexist (Mr. Hyde is no longer our enemy, he became a marketing tool that helps us sell ourselves more efficiently), no longer being disociated (the animal is spiritual, the spirit - animalic), I apreciate Tolstoy's quest for authenticity and his taste for existential drama; apparently a century ago people still believed in something.