Customer Reviews

Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is Tolstoy's first trilogy, his first ever attempt at fiction. Semi-autobiographical and full of precious recollections of those great little things in life we all cherish so much, it is already a magnificent introduction to Tolstoy's great insightful mind and his striving for love and goodness through his characters. One Russian critic called "Childhood, Boyhood and Youth" the poetry of one's childhood. It truly is. Among the numerous little occurrences and funny stories, you can deeply feel the purpose of the book: love is everything that matters in this world and without love, our existence loses its meaning and our aspirations are dead. You can see it especially in Mother's letter and the character of Natalia Savishna. If you decide to read this wonderful book, make sure you picked the right translation. There are two slightly different versions of this work, thanks to the Russian editor Katkov, who made a lot of changes to the original without Tolstoy's consent. This "bad" version is represented in C.J. Hogarth's translation (Everyman's Library). Coupled with plain poor translating, it made reading the text unbearably dry and boring. Don't buy this translation! You will not find original Tolstoy there! After this book was published for the first time by Katkov, Tolstoy wrote a letter to him, where he complained about the changes. I have read both versions and I can say: the difference is significant. The most spicy, candid and beautiful moments are just not there. I would recommend translations by Prof. Leo Wiener or Rosemary Edmonds, although I haven't read much of the latter. As long as it begins as "Childhood" and NOT "The History of My Childhood", it should be alright. This book is not as consistent and in-depth as Tolstoy's later works, but for a 24-year-old officer, who had just begun to express himself on paper, this is a really magnificent work, easy to read and full of emotions. This is why I am giving it five stars.

Most people when they think of Tolstoy, War and Peace comes to mind. Others, Anna Karenina which is in large part due to Hollywood, the popular media and the numerous translations available over the years (Constance Garnet, Maud, etc..).

When people think of Nineteenth Century Russian Literature as whole, names like Dostoevsky, Pushkin and Chekhov come to mind. "Crime and Punishment", "Eugene Onegin" and "The Cherry Orchard" are works we might randomly associate with the novel, the narrative-poem and the plays of the great Russian masters.

Childhood, Boyhood, and Youth is that work which stands on the periphery, not only of Tolstoy's works but also of Russian literature in general. It feels Russian, the characters are Russians but the influences come from French literature (Rousseau) and Germany (Schiller, Goethe). There is a Bildungsroman element but I wouldn't want to label it a novel of development. There is also something more. Feeling, wonder, innocence, they too appear in the French and Germanic influences but there is also a great deal of sensation (a "novel of sensation"?). Reading this book, I could feel the narrator's home, I could feel his emotions. It is a work that explores the visceral aspects of being young, growing up and trying to find one's way in society.

Tolstoy's work often carry a great philosophical and moral weight. He was heavily influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer and his theories about the "will-to-live" and the endless cravings of "desire". Not only that, he was reading up on the works of the Shakers, their celibacy stance. The Kreuzer Sonata and The Devil are essentially works in which Tolstoy is maddened with lust and morality.

Here, you could say is the lighter Tolstoy, a Tolstoy of impressions, beauty, and tender emotions. There is no moralizing or foreboding, no fear of judgment, no murdering of wives. It is novel that looks forward to Proust in its dreamlike presentation of being young. While reading this book I felt like I disappeared into the child I once was and still am. A true hidden treasure and also the perfect example of how all Russian literature is not necessarily dark and murky.

I have read most of Tolstoy's major work including his most well known short stories. This is an early work from 1852 to 1856 and it is considered to be semi-autobiographical. It is not up to the standards of his later works, although it is long and detailed and made up of three stories that flow together as one.

Tolstoy was born in 1828 and he was in his twenties when he wrote this early work. He his famous for detailed physical descriptions combined with emotional drama. For example, read that wonderul short story Master and Man that combines those two elements. The present work has the detailed descriptions but lacks the emotional appeal and lacks the great characters that we see in other works, i.e.: a crying youth because he is humiliated is hardly a great emotional experienece.

Tolstoy remains as one of the leading writers of novels. His impressive legacy includes three of four monumental works including War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and the novella The Death of Ivan Ilych. According to his own estimate, he has over 400 works - as he describes in one of his non-fiction works.

Tolstoy's writing can be divided into three phases: the early years up to 1860 to 1861, the mid-career years from approximately 1861 to 1890, and his final years when he turned to non-fiction polemics. His most important fiction was written in the middle period, and it started with the release of The Cossacks in 1863. That story contains emotional elements and descriptions similar to what we read in Anna Karenina. His writings before The Cossacks contains his famous detail but lacks the same level of drama and emotion.

The present work is a good example of his early work pre-1961. Tostoy follows a Gogol like approach to produce a lengthy and detailed account of a young man growing up. The narrative is about a young man living in rural Russia. He goes on to attend university in Moscow and he is the son of a landowner as was Tolstoy himself. The story covers the boy's experiences from around the age of ten to the age of twenty. The character is based on one of Tolstoy's childhood friends and includes other characters based on real people that he knew. The story is a work of fiction. Tolstoy's own father died when he was still young as did his mother who died before his father.

This is a very slow read. It took me a week on and off to get through 314 pages in small font. Readers should not confuse this work with his famous works that came in his mid-career. The prose is excellent, especially the description of the thunderstorm about one third of the way into the book, but the story lacks drama and charm. Considering the author and his complete body of work, this is just 4 stars among the stories by Tolstoy.

As a side note, this is a beautifully bound hardcover book.

This semi-autobiographical youth memories are characteristic for the life of a young member of the Russian tsarist high society.

The main character wants to be a young man `comme il faut': `The comme il faut people I respected and considered worthy of being on terms of equality with me; the comme il ne faut pas I pretended to despise but in reality hated. The lower classes did not exist for me, I despised them completely.'
This stands in sharp contrast with: `His tendency of ecstatic adoration of the ideal virtue and a conviction that the purpose of man's life is continually to perfect himself. At that time it seemed very possible to improve all men, to destroy all the vices and miseries of mankind.'
But as the young man states himself: `noble words seldom go with noble deeds.'

His life is not without problems: his father, who loses all credit with his son, is a big gambler and doesn't give a damn for his estate. His mother adores her husband and forgives him everything. But she dies when the main character is still young. He receives an aristocratic education and, unsurprisingly, his life goes on very smoothly with `dancing' problems, adolescent loves and student exams.

This book contains beautiful pictures of the Russian countryside and lively childhood memories, but it is rather innocent stuff.
Only for Tolstoy fans.

For a picture of the lower classes (still not the `people of the abyss'), I recommend Maksim Gorky's `My Childhood'.

One of my favorite novels is "Anna Karenina"; this trilogy starts off as strongly. In the first volume, "Childhood," the immediacy of experience is palpable, the vividness of sensations is high, the emotionality is less diluted by philosophical wonderings. Tolstoy's writing is evocative, clear, and engaging in this book. His writing becomes increasingly abstract with each volume in the series. As his protagonist moves through adolescence, his uncertainties, moodiness, and fickle nature bogged down the narrative, I thought. Of course, this reflects the state of mind of the young man, but in comparison with the brightness of the first volume, made for some tedious reading. The books do, however, show how masterful Tolstoy was from the beginning of his career.

When this book first hit the stores in Russia about 150 years ago, folks didn't think too much of it, seeing it merely as a minor work by one who had read Dickens. Tolstoy himself claimed that no one taught him more about the art of fiction than Dickens, and the literary circles of Russia were Dickens-fanatics, Russia recieving his works only after England.

But beyond being similiar to David Copperfield, this book has moments in it that match parts of Karenin and War and Peace in beauty and texture if not in scope. What's amazing about Tolstoy is that his earliest work (this and his early war sketches) seem as artistically mature as his later, epic masterpieces. The death-obsession and intense philosophical and spiritual doubts that plagued Tolstoy later in life did not all of a sudden erupt while writing Anna Karenin; but rather they were always there in one form or another... an echo of adolescent sadness.

Work comes before pleasure, in most cases that is. In this particular case - they both arrive and leave hand in hand. For my most recent book report we were given a choice of books to read - classical works from the minds of literatures finest minds. That did not mean they had to be old or dusty, just well versed and full of ideas and emotions which get you thinking. However in aid of a change - helped along by Mr Madden's request for more classical works of literature I chose this. One of Tolstoy's earliest and certainly one of his finest pieces, and certainly worthy of an appraisal in NBR. It's not the usual Star Trek - its ten times better ( I never thought I would say or write that! ). I agree entirely - indeed to fully appreciate and to understand English, you must have a tolerance and knowledge of all types of genre, what is specified within them and how they relate and use the language- This is particulae genre is just another of my favorites.

Many people refer to this book as Tolstoy's first trilogy. I tend to disagree. He had set out to cover his life in as much intricate depth as was humanly possible, and he truly did. The three separate sections - Childhood, Booyhood, Youth - are merely boundries to differents times in his childhood - and to a further extent, a helping hand to help the reader notice that his writing and grammatical maturity grows as the book goes on. This is his one and only autobiography - were although most of his books are completely based on fact - this books seems to have almost rebelled and taken a distinctive stand as a mixture of fact and fiction. Precise recollections of the little things in life everyone loves and needs. For was it not Tolstoy himself who said - 'You can argue and change the big things in life, that can be done - its the little ones which you can't change, which make life up itself.' Or that could have been Homer Simpson - either way, it fits in very well here. It provides an imaginative insight to Tolstoy's great mind and his thriving for love and goodness through his factual characters. A Russian critic called it the reviving of one's childhood - all I can say to that is 'Well done, you read the title!'.

Among the many occurrences and funny escapades, you can deeply feel the purpose of the book - love. He emphasises it is everything that matters in the universe and without love our existence loses its meaning and our hopes, are yearnings and aspirations are dead. You can see this passion and love especially in Mother's ( refering to his mother this way throughout the book ) letter and in the wonderous character of Natalia Savishna. Tolstoy goes into great depth as to the tragedy of his mother death - his fathers life as a business man, and his dearest friends and brothers. Many of his friends happen to be adults in the employment of his father - and he learns to despise the boundries of class and wealth which separate him from them in the end. The book is full of his ideas of right and wrong, his frustration which he is not afraid to release and the bravery to admit he was once a child too, that is, he was ignorant, rude and certainly later in the book behaved like some modern day teenagers. He seems to have a love for poetry and the arts, quoting some phrases which he had said later in life - but perhaps had thought of early as a teenager. 'Art is bringing people together' - the simplest yet most informing quote he made was referred to in this book - and indeed it provides more of an insight to his masterful, complex and inlfuencial mind.

If you want to read this book insure you pick the right ( that is the good ) translation. There are two slightly different versions of this book, one of which is was by the Russian editor Katkov,. He made a a great deal of adaptments to Tolstoy's original without consent. This version is C.J. Hogarth's translation . Coupled with poor translating it made reading the text boring, it took the life and love from the book which Tolstoy had so tenderly mingled into it. It is not the Tolstoy many have come to love writing there. After this book was published by Katkov Tolstoy wrote a letter to him in which he complained about the changes. I have both read and heard about both versions the difference is significant. The most grand, intimate, loving and beautiful moments are not there. I would suggest the paper back translations by Rosemary Edmonds. As long as it begins as "Childhood" and not "The History of My Childhood" all will be well, and you will be able to appreciate both Tolstoy and his works for what they truly are. This book is not as in-depth as Tolstoy's later works - perhaps due to the fact that when describing childhood - simplicity ( not in word choice or description ) is the best policy to follow. For a young man who had just begun to express himself, his morals, his universe on paper this is a really magnificent piece, bursting at the seams with factual knowledge, ideas, emotions, views and the wonder that is Tolstoy.

These books are fiction in the form of autobiography. The first was Leo Tolstoy's initial published work. Since the age of nineteen, the introduction notes, he had wanted to be an author in order to get to know himself. As the story begins, it is learned that the narrator, Nikolai, and his brother are to go to Moscow with their father to continue their education. The tutor, Karl Ivanych, contrives to have himself included in the move. Playing Robinson to the children means performing scenes from THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON and this is described. The father of the family, Piotr Alexandrych, is enterprising and chivalrous Nikolai avers.

In the first thirty-eight pages everything is here-- the serfs, a hunt scene, the monetary issues regarding the management of the estate, the matrimonial fortune brought to Piotr Alexandrych and the need to segregate those funds, the tutor from Germany, the use of the French language, the family retainer, the holy fool. The boys are called home from Moscow because their mother is ill. She had not left her room in six days and dies in dreadful agony. CHILDHOOD was completed in 1852.

BOYHOOD commences with a description of a journey during a thunder storm. One of the servants has been appointed the alms-giver. In Moscow the family lives with the maternal grandmother. After the mourning period-- it lasts a year-- visitors are received. Nikolai gets into trouble as he fantasizes that unlike his brother, Volodya, and his sister, Lyuba, he is adopted. The tutor, St.-Jerome, Karl's successor, does not wish to remain at his post for reason of Nikky's misbehavior. Volodya, a year and some months older than Nikki, is sent to the university. University students wear uniforms. The grandmother dies, leaving everything to Lyuba in her will. Nikki prepares for the Faculty of Mathematics because, he claims, he likes words such as sine, tangent differential. The novela was completed in 1854.

YOUTH opens with the friendship of the narrator and Dmitri. He is nearly sixteen and it is the year he enters the university. The plan is for the brothers to stay in Moscow near the university while Lyuba and her father travel to Italy for a couple of years. In the absence of the mother and the grandmother, dinner is no longer ceremonial. It is no longer a joyous family festival. The narrator, Nikolai Petrovich, fears being snubbed. After he passes his university entrance exams, his father assigns specific horses for his use, there is a dinner celebrating the event, and he is compelled to make a number of formal visits. At the visit to Dmitri's family, the Nekhlyudovs, ROB ROY is being read aloud.

During the summer Nikolai plays the piano, (both brothers have become interested in girls). He also reads French novels. The author devotes an entire chapter to the concept comme il faut. The father remarries. Nikolai fails his first exam. YOUTH was completed in 1857. It is clear that the short novels were preparation for the author's subsequent masterpieces, ANNA KARENINA and WAR AND PEACE.

"Childhood Boyhood Youth" is an example of a brilliant author's first work. Childishly innocent at times, this small book aims not to stun with scope, but rather to present the simple life of a young Russian man growing up. This is precisely what "Childhood Boyhood Youth" does. And charmingly as well.

Tolstoy is best known for giants such as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina". While this lacks the huge punch "War and Peace" might give the reader, it has its own little quirks - the book is funny at times, sad at others and remarkably realistic. Semi-autobiographical as it is, it's very easy to get into the story and relate to the characters (based, obviously, on Tolstoy's own experiences). Readers coming from "War and Peace" will find equally descriptive, solid writing but including a touch more innocence and, ironically enough, youth to it.

"Childhood Boyhood Youth" is not a splendid novel for the ages. It is, however, a small opening novel to a remarkable author's career. Readers new to Tolstoy will want to continue to his later works (and may even appreciate them more). Readers looking back will find a different type of book, but one that still stands tall as a Tolstoy book, and a good one at that. In that same vein, it's an excellent novel about growing up and accepting the numerous responsibilities that come with age. It looks at the whole picture of growing, the nice moments and the bad in a quiet, clear reminiscent manner.

For a different take on Tolstoy, here's a nice little book. "Childhood Boyhood Youth" is easy to read, enjoyable and interesting. Warmly recommended.

In these three connected stories and in a semi-autobiographical way through a young boy called Nicolas Petrovitch, Tolstoy recalls his earliest experiences and influences in an insightful and readable manner. Prominent in Childhood evidently are recollections of his parents, his father a stern presence, a man of business, but also a gambler and a man of contradictions in his behaviour and in relation to his family; his mother largely absent when their father takes the boys away to the countryside, the young boy only returning to see his mother on her deathbed. The short account of these early years however also picks up initial impressions of friendships and a first childhood sweetheart.

How the family household is affected by the mother's death is seen in Boyhood, the family reunited in his grandmother's household. This section also deals with Nicolai's education and preparation for university, the young lad coming to an awareness of himself in relation to his brother and others around him. The blind acceptance of how things are and always have been in relation to society, family and relationships starts to waver, replaced by questions on why things should necessarily be so and cultivating ideals - youthful ideals certainly, but formative ones nonetheless. Attempting to identify his place in the world, Nicolai attempts to apply philosophical observations to them, realising however that abstract thought that doesn't take into account the human element is worthless.

The narrative continuation of Nicolai's growth and education falters somewhat in Youth, which contains rather more poetic reminiscence and youthful philosophising. The details of his university entrance examinations and an early introduction into making social calls are not particularly interesting, but there are some interesting meditations on love, duty, beauty, nature, happiness and virtue - qualities that Nicolai is unable to reconcile with an ugliness of appearance that shames him, but he determines to improve himself morally and physically. These latter part of the book isn't always greatly interesting and tends to stray from the purposeful direction of the earlier parts, but overall, this is an intriguing and thoughtful account of a childhood from Tolstoy's unique perspective.