Customer Reviews

Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales

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I read this book with my 5-year-old son and we both enjoyed these wonderful stories. The stories are divided into several groupings, such as "Tales for Children" -- a misnomer, because all of these stories are suitable for adults and children alike -- "Popular Stories" "Folk Tales" and others.

Tolstoy -- known for massive novels and obscure philosophical essays -- was actually quite adept at the short story, as this book demonstrates. These stories make excellent bedtime reading for children, who, with a little explanation from mom or dad will readilly understand and appreciate them. These stories are also useful for adults, and I would especially recommend some of them to ministers, priests, or deacons, who could use the stories in their sermons to illustrate the points of human nature.

One of the greatest of the Russian writers, in a form and translation that even children can follow and be moved by. There is no better quality family time than reading these timeless tales together. There is no more fulfilling solitude than to curl up with this collection and read it alone by the fireside. Take your choice! I started with my kids and then finished when they went to bed.

Tolstoy is one of the great masters of fiction -- and of Christian fiction. And the stories you will find here are many of his best. His love for humanity shines through. These stories are so direct, so concrete, and they ring so true. One can't help reading them with a reverence that borders on awe.

The translation, too, by Louise and Aylmer Maude, is exquisite. It is done with such authority that it feels spontaneous and seamless, as if one is reading the actual words of Tolstoy, rather than those of some lesser intermediary. The Maudes are by far my favorite translators of Tolstoy.

The book is well done in every respect. I love everything about it -- right down to the bright whiteness of the pages; the paper quality is very good.

I recommend this book highly. It is one of my most prized volumes.

This book belonged to my father and he used to tell me stories from it when I was small. All parents should try to read this to their children - I remember being both mesmerised and confused by the stories : mesmerised because of their simplicity and flow, and confused because they led to deeper questions on society,humanity and God. Even if you are agnostic, you can read it for its human and literaray value.
After reading this you will have a hard time deciding whether Tolstoy is better as a novelist or a short story writer.

Moby Dick used to be my favorite book. What more is there to say? Tolstoy is a master storyteller. If you like good writing, this book is for you. If you like Christian writing, this book is even more for you. This one will make a great gift.

These simple short stories are incredibly moving and thought provoking. Truly extraordinary!

I read this book it was 20 years ago, it was a chinese version
and translated by a professor, now I have two children and one
of them is teenage, so I ordered thru amazon with English version,
I am so proud to tell you, I am so sure my dtr will learn something
from this book, thanks to God, mdy

This is a book of very short stories (except for the first one, which is 60 pages or so). Each of them has a point to make about morality or Tolstoy's brand of Christianity. Some of my favorites were "The Three Questions," in which a king tries to figure out the most important time, the most important people, and the most important actions, and "Where Love Is, God Is," which gives an example of the "Whatever you did to the least of these" passage in Matthew 25. "The Imp and the Crust" was another interesting story, about how a devilish imp gets an honest farmer to sin is to increase his harvests.

The stories are generally short and simple ways of illustrating an idea. They're not what you'd call great, complex literature, but I enjoyed the depth behind them. They aren't stories you read and forget about-- several of them give you something to think about even after you set the book down.

This is the first Tolstoy I've read, I think. This particular collection is very much Christian themed. Nearly every story relates to how the teachings of Christ helped a mans life. The stories are very well written, but after the 5th or 6th story talking about Christ, I had to put it down for a while. I did find a very interesting story about a bear hunt that Tolstoy was involved in that made the book worth getting, unless you can find it in another book. It's also a well illustrated look into the lives of people in Russia at the turn of last century.

These stories are good if you see this great writer as a man in transition of thought. He was unique in his individual passage out of Orthodoxy. I wanted to see what he wrote after his two big novels, said by many to be the best novels ever written. I lived in Russia six years and am still involved in Russian business after seventeen years. It takes a long time to understand the great Russian writers (or Russians in general,) and Tolstoy is one of the hardest to understand. A Russian saying is "Born Russian, born Orthodox," but Tolstoy rejected that, saying the "the Kingdom of God is within you" rather than behind the iconostasis in one of those beautiful but confining churches. He was excommunicated in 1905 for preaching his brand of freedom--the date of the first great Russian revolution. These stories, in simple forms, express his individuality. I love the children's book "Three Questions" by Jon Muth based on Tolstoy's short story in this collection. I gave "Walk in the Light and Twenty-Three Tales" to a 10-year old Russian girl in Los Angeles. She read it in three days after school and could discuss every part of it. You have to consider the author's evolving frame-of-mind, the atmoshere of approaching revolution. He recognized God as Love, an understanding that permeates Jesus' healing mission and carried on for years until, as Tolstoy points out, the priests took over. Subtly or not, that is what seeps though his tales. Enjoy.

Frederick R. Andresen, Author of "Walking on Ice, An American Businessman in Russia."