Customer Reviews

A Confession

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Tolstoy takes the reader through his personal spiritual struggles as a young adult. Tolstoy, saturated with worldly knowledge, begins to understand the implications of a life purely devoted to rational and explanable thought: a meaningless existence. Scorning the stubborness of many past thinkers and speculators, Tolstoy heralds faith as the only avenue to true meaning. To be rich in the knowledge of men is weak and ultimately inconclusive, but to believe in an ultimate creator, inherent with purpose and direction, bids a life soaked with a paucity of excitement, conviction, and optimism goodbye. Tolstoy masterfully paints the tragedy of his early years, only to inevitably reveal an eternal triumph which exists in a victorious union with the divine. Simple, straightforward, and genuine, Confession allows the reader to reflect and speculate about his or her own existence.

When reading A Confession I felt as if I were listening to a wise, animated friend. This book spoke to me. Tolstoy convincingly details the reasons not to live only to conclude that the best thing to do is to continue living. Since it is not a particularly well-known Tolstoy work, I thought it deserved some promotion here. It really is wonderful.

Tolstoy's Confession was written during his time of deep internal spiritual struggle. Upon his renunciation of a life of aristocratic wealth and worldly pleasure, Tolstoy longed for the sense of true peace that he saw in the peasant class. Thus he embarked upon a search for meaning and happiness through a life of simple faith, manual labor, and poverty. He formulated his own Chrisian philosophy based on Christ's Sermon on the Mount stressing the existence of the Kingdom of God within the human heart, civil disobedience, and total pacifism. This "law of love" is explored deeply in confessional form throughout this autobiographical work. Although this particular approach to living the life in Christ ultimately did not cultivate in Tolstoy the deep inner peace that he yearned for, I feel that many of his ideas can be beneficial to people both within the Church as well as not. Regardless of the validity of his doctrine, it cannot be denied that this is an authentic, genuine, and very human confession of a man searching for God and some meaning to life on earth. Although I personally disagree with many of Tolstoy's points, I still hold his Confession to be a universal work that deserves a fair exploration by all who have ever felt a similar need for inner peace and true reconciliation with God.

Whilst reading the Aegypan Press's publishing of "A Confession" I realized it was in large print, had numerous editing errors (I counted 50), and did not provide any copyright information. For a short ESSAY, the publishing caliber of this book is abominable. I am an avid reader but had I been just graduating from the 5th grade, I could have done a better editing job than this. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!
To buy this version of Tolstoy's "A Confession" would be to disgrace one of the most lucid and personal essay's in literature. I strongly recommend investing in this book published by another press. The afterword, containing Tolstoy's dream is a poignantly intimate and yet applicable summation of his struggle to find meaning and rest for life - a passage that has the beauty of poetry and one that will stay with me forever.

I first read, A Confession, more than 15 years ago, when as a confused teenager, I was looking for some meaning to my life.

Who hasn't gone through this?

Through reading a biography of Tolstoy, I found out about, A Confession.

Immediately after reading this book, I felt a sense of relief that someone had put into words that which is always in the back of all our minds:
The question of, What is the Meaning of Life?

A Confession is a simple, straightforward account of Tolstoy's religious and spiritual crisis at the age of 50, when his family, fame, wealth, etc., lost meaning for him.

The two-year period, on which A Confession is based, details in depth his struggles, and eventual salvation.

This memoir gives great comfort, and peace to anyone who asks, "is this all there is." The book also shows the brilliance of the one of the world's great authors in communicating across the ages to humanity at all levels.

Mike Gosling (mgosling@bna.com

The Aegypan (hardcover) edition of this book is a scandal and should not be on the market: almost every page boasts its typo -- most are harmless, but some, such as "whore" instead of "shore," leave one breathless.

I'm a student who takes a philosophy class every semester, despite the fact that it does absolutely nothing for my graduation requirements. I always do well in the philosophy classes, but there is one part I hate: the reading. I was convinced that there was no point in philosophy that one could not talk through with another person; the words and semantics in philosophy, meant to clarify arguments when spoken, simply seemed a muddle to me when read. So it was with trepidation that I picked up my latest assignment--Tolstoy's Confession. I read it, and was shocked to find myself completely engrossed. Here, finally, was what I'd been looking for...the On the Road of philosophy, the self-effacing Jack Kerouac of the field. Everyone who's had worries about the fleeting nature of life and everyone who's worried that it all means nothing, this is your book.

An engrossing account of Tolstoy's spiritual crisis, in which he grapples with the apparent meaningless of his life and existence in general.. As a person who went through a similar experience, this book meant a lot to me -- we had so many common feelings and struggles. It is very well-written and doesn't take long to read... well-worth it! My one complaint is that the book kind of leaves you hanging -- he goes through what led to his crisis but you're left wishing to know how his faith develops... but, there are other books by him about it.

not being a Christian, this book was recommended to me as a good primer. indeed, Tolstoy's argument is made with such passion and such utter disdain for the dogmatic tradition of the church that his "confession" is an appropriate starting block for anyone who wonders why spirituality is at the core of every decent person. he nearly won me over. an easy read that will fill you with deep thoughts. truly, brilliant. just don't forget to also check out Tolstoy's other religious writings.

This is an interesting book for me, because I didn't know how Tolstoy came to his particular faith. I read 'War and Peace' years ago, but only discovered recently that the second half of his life produced rather different writing. And this book explains how and why the change came inside him at the age of fifty. Talk of a mid-life crisis! He describes the black dog of despair and the blind philosophical alleys he went down, before trying out the church. He gives it a go, before leaving it behind with a vengeance - but interestingly, he stays with God. All in all, its a fascinating insight into the struggles of a great author, previously a nihilist, who suddenly wakes up and discovers that literary success doesn't mean anything to him any more, and wonders, 'What now?' I recommend it to anyone whose asking the same question.