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Twenty-Three Tales

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While thousands of books have been written to tell us what Christianity is all about, there are few works outside the parables in the Gospels themselves that actually show us what it really is all about. In this book you will find some stories that are short and simple, others longer and more complex in structure, but all of them with the signature of the literary giant who after receiving world recognition for his masterpieces "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" converted to Christianity and gave up the then popular idea of art for art's sake for one where art always serves a higher purpose. That is very clear in this volume, where the stories simple plot lines and explicitly stated "moral of the story" at the end of each one make few demands on the reader in regards to interpretation, but nonetheless leave one pondering on its meaning long after having finished it. At a time when the term "Christian Fiction" has sadly come to mean catastrophic, apocalyptic tales with Jesus a harsh, merciless judge who has little in common with the gentle Teacher in the gospels who talks to people in parables; preachers, priests, and other clergymen would do well to encourage people to read this book which drives home the meaning of timeless Christian truths (i.e. love of one's neighbor, self-sacrifice, redemption through suffering, the futility of man's efforts without God's grace, etc..) in a way few others have been able to do.