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Resurrection
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Resurrection
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Resurrection
Audiobook20 hours

Resurrection

Written by Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by Neville Jason

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

When Prince Dmitri Nekhludov is called for jury duty on a murder case, he little knows how the experience will change his life. Faced with the accused, a prostitute, he recognises Katusha, the young girl he seduced and abandoned many years before, and realises his responsibility for the life of degradation she has been forced to lead. His determination to make amends leads him into the darkest reaches of the Tsarist prison system, and to the beginning of his spiritual regeneration. Based on a true story, Tolstoy’s final novel is a deeply moving and compassionate tale of human frailty and reformation.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 1, 2012
ISBN9781843795759
Author

Leo Tolstoy

Leo Tolstoy grew up in Russia, raised by a elderly aunt and educated by French tutors while studying at Kazen University before giving up on his education and volunteering for military duty. When writing his greatest works, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy drew upon his diaries for material. At eighty-two, while away from home, he suffered from declining health and died in Astapovo, Riazan in 1910.

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Reviews for Resurrection

Rating: 3.878934640193705 out of 5 stars
4/5

413 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    If I wanted to read an evangelical tract I'd go to a Christian bookshop. As the great works of the literature canon go it's one I wish I'd by-passed.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I haven't read any Tolstoy for years, and I had very high expectations for this novel. What a disappointment. There's no subtlety, this book just clobbers you on the head, with plot, characters, themes, everything. While a lot of the criticism of the criminal justice system is interesting and, sadly, timeless, I found the story to fail as a novel.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Alles bij elkaar goed leesbaar en soms zeer treffend in zijn persoonsbeschrijvingen. Vooral interessant als sociaal document: over het boerenleven, maar in de eerste plaats over het gevangeniswezen in Rusland in de jaren negentig van de 19de eeuw. Psychologisch zeer sterk, maar de spanning is niet vergelijkbaar met die van Anna Karenina. In essentie is de problematiek dezelfde als die van Raskolnikow bij Dostojevski, en de slotconclusie loopt ook op hetzelfde uit.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Worth a read but take it with bucket of salt. Morality goes in a bit of a maze and dose not come back out
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The narration was amazing and imparted meaning to the text that I think would have been lost in reading it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I just finished Leo Tolstoy’s novel “Resurrection”. I was fascinated by it. It began with showing me my own youthful innocence, and then how my passions and egotism combined with the ungodly, egoistic, ultra-individualistic, sexualized view of the world which we euphemistically label Romanticism, let me into deep sin though because of my foolishness and the foolishness of our faulty and proud thinking, I did not even understand it as sin at the time. And I, misled by the foolishness and pride and lack of understanding of others, also did the same things, and imitated the world around me in also treating others with pride, selfishness, and lust. And I hurt people permanently. Instead of lifting them up in their lives and leading them to higher things, I pulled them down and gave them a permanent sadness about the evil of others and the pitiless, cold, randomness of human relationships.
    I have read many Russian novels over this past year—by Dostoyevsky, by Tolstoy, and by Gogol. But so far among all the novels I've read, even including “War and Peace” by Tolstoy, “Resurrection” is so far the best one. Why do I say that? All these Russian authors are Christians, and as Christians they want to show the redemption in Christ to a society which is increasingly rejecting it, without being considered reactionary by that society. For the increasing mood and worldview of the enlightenment was to turn away from Christ, and to embrace humanism. And with humanism, must come man-centeredness, self-centeredness, and nihilism. Tolstoy, in spite of his ambition to write a great novel, and perhaps because of it, succeeds in doing it, though not without some cost. This cost is that no one in our age talks about this novel. But surely, many will have been influenced by it and others will in the future read and be influenced by it. May the Spirit of God use it for their own redemption as Tolstoy must have wished. Edmund Saley
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The attempt by a man of conscience to redeem himself for a sin committed years earlier against a peasanta woman whose life he ruined, despite her refusal to admit that any thing he had done had ruined her life. A story of alienation in a world of an uncaring government and church. A good book, but it doesn't rise to the best of Tolstoy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great narration!
    Tolstoy’s views on the judicial system officials reminds me of Hannah Arendt’s Eichman in Jerusalem : A Report on the Banality of Evil.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    In his youth, Prince Dmitri Nekhlyudov fell in love with Katusha Maslova, an orphan girl raised by his aunts. Unbeknownst to him, their brief affair resulted in pregnancy and Katusha was turned out of the house and left to find her way in the world. Many years later, Dmitri finds himself on a jury where Katusha is one of three accused of a crime. He learns Katusha turned to prostitution to survive. He is so worried their relationship will be discovered that he fails to advocate for her during jury deliberations, and she is sentenced to penal servitude in Siberia. This experience has a strong effect on Dmitri. He feels at fault both for Katusha’s life circumstances and the sentence. He is also disillusioned by the court system, and shocked at the plight of the lower classes. Dmitri intercedes on Katusha’s behalf, working on legal appeals to reduce her sentence. He also believes he should marry her to improve her lifestyle (never mind whether Katusha wants this …). He puts his affairs in order and prepares to accompany Katusha to Siberia, while also advocating for other prisoners who have been unjustly convicted. Published in 1899, Resurrection was Leo Tolstoy’s last novel, and through Dmitri he describes a dramatic shift in his own views on social issues of the day. As a treatise, it was probably quite effective. As a novel, I found it lacking in both plot and pacing. Dmitri saw himself as noble, but was actually weak and cowardly. Katusha is the stronger person, and I wish she had figured even more prominently in the novel. The ending is downright preachy, as Dmitri has a kind of “born again” experience and finds new purpose in life. Meh.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tolstoy takes his readers on a journey through a Russia that is sinking under the weight of a conservative administration led by Tsar Alexander III in the last decade of the 19th century. We view it through the eyes of Prince Nekhlyudov, (but many believe it is Tolstoy himself). It is virtually a police state where the vast majority are peasants barely released from serfdom controlled by a system that can lock up, deport or murder anybody that agitates against it. The landowning elite have authority that seems self perpetuating and live a life that can completely disregard those that are under their power. Prince Nekhlyudov is one of those landowners who having served in the army has become corrupted because as Tolstoy says Military service always corrupts a man, placing him in conditions of complete idleness . But Nekhlyudov has a conscience and it is beginning to stir, he is concerned about his affair with a woman married to one of his friends in society and is thinking of extricating himself so that he can marry the young Princess Korchagina. He gets a summons to do jury service and to his horror recognises one of the accused as a servant of his family, who he had seduced when on leave from the army. Katusha Maslova is on trial for the suspected poisoning of a client and we learn that since her dismissal from service with Nekhlyudov's family she has become a prostitute. Nekhlyudov begins to see that Katusha's downfall is his responsibility and when her conviction is a result of a mal administration that he could have stopped he feels doubly responsible and vows to put things right.Nekhlyudov's position in society and his family's influence gains him entrance to the upper echelons of the government and judiciary that serves the Tsarist regime. he becomes frustrated and then angry with the self serving people with whom he meets in their official capacity; he follows due process but even with the best lawyers he is unable to squash the conviction and sentence of hard labour in Siberia, he therefore plans to follow Katusha to Siberia and marry her, if necessary, in an effort to offer her his protection. When he finally gains access to the prison he finds that Katusha is no longer the innocent girl he seduced and she sees him initially as a nuisance then a meal ticket as he struggles to gain her trust. Part one of the novel takes us through the workings of the judiciary system and Tolstoy's acute observations pins the corruption and mal practice squarely on the shoulders of those who serve within it. We witness the lifestyle of the rich as Nekhlyudov becomes increasingly uncomfortable in their presence, because his eyes are opened by their complacency and misuse of power. When he gains entry to the prisons themselves we witness the appalling conditions under which the prisoners are held, but human spirit manages to survive. We see the same thing when Nekhlyudov visits his estates and attempts to free the peasants by giving them rights to the land. They are immured in the system and they resent any change, rather like some of the prisoners.In this first half of the book; Tolstoy's writing and observations are full of interest and he bring the scenes he depicts to life, while at the same time doing a hatchet job on the church, on evangelism, on the legal system, corruption in high places and the landowning elite. However I find the character and actions of Nekhlyudov more problematic, I am not entirely convinced by his conversion to the lot of the poor and underprivileged and he comes across more of a sponge or even a cypher, soaking up everything around him, I feel his isolation and increasing discomfort, but am surprised at his resolution which seems a little out of character. This changes in the second and third parts of the novel which portrays the prisoners enforced journey to Siberia. The novel seems to breathe once the prisoners are led out of their fetid prison with Nekhyludov following as best he can; it is a sort of exodus and as horrific as the journey is and the conditions of the halting stations are, on the three thousand mile journey, there is less pessimism and more time for Nekhyludov to come to terms with his guilt and for Tolstoy to convince his readers. The relationship with Katusha deepens and broadens and the concentration on the plight of the political and criminal prisoners gives the novel a storyline and coherence that contrasts with the machinations of the first part which takes place in the claustrophobic city. This is an epic novel and it needs the vastness of the Russia landscape in which to work it's magic. Tolstoy's [Resurrection] is a ringing indictment of Alexander III's Russia. It is also the story of one man's and probably one woman's redemption from a life led for purely selfish reasons. Along the way it eschews the benefits of socialism. but is profoundly pessimistic that such a system could work because human nature would always work against it. Hope of salvation is for individuals to come to understand in their own terms the words of Christ at the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel according to St Mathew. The journey for Nekhyludov ends with him finding peace and liberation:"And it happened to Nekhlyudov as it often happens to people living a spiritual life. The thought that at first had appeared so strange so paradoxical, laughable even, ever more frequently finding confirmation in life, suddenly appeared to him as the simplest incontrovertible truth......................The answer that he had been unable to find was the same that Christ gave to Peter: to forgive everyone always, forgive an endless number of times, because there was no man living who was guiltless and therefore able to punish or reform." Some readers of [Resurrection] have found it too preachy, but I think this is missing the point. Tolstoy is concerned with setting out the wrongs of his world and the role that people play in it, but his message is that it is up to the individual to find their own redemption, however they can. Resurrection is a word that immediately evokes a religious connotation and it is no accident that Tolstoy should choose it as a title for his novel, however it is only in the final few pages that this is made explicit.[Resurrection] is not a quick read but then it is nowhere near the length of [War and Peace]. The writing is superb throughout and if the first part was a little slow to get going by the time the prisoners started their trek to Siberia and Tolstoy embarked on one of his grand set pieces then I was hooked. This is a classic and I am sure it would benefit from a re-read, but as I found it uneven this time round, a four star read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This novel isn't as well known as Anna Karenina or War and Peace, but it was a pleasure to read. I've read quite a bit about Tolstoy and know that Resurrection took him ten year to write, and, by the conclusion, he was ready for it to be over so he could move on to something else. Knowing about his desire to move on, may have flavored my thoughts about the book's ending being rushed and quickly concluded. The story involves a lower-classed woman who is sexually taken advantage of by an estate owner, like Tolstoy admitted to doing later in his life. Is this part of that old bit about writing what you know? Whatever, it was some very nice writing and touched on many of Tolstoy's favorite themes.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just wonderful. Tolstoy is so sharp, so modern, so biting. He may be my favorite Victorian ever.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of the greatest novels I've ever read. True Resurrection!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Alles bij elkaar goed leesbaar en soms zeer treffend in zijn persoonsbeschrijvingen. Vooral interessant als sociaal document: over het boerenleven, maar in de eerste plaats over het gevangeniswezen in Rusland in de jaren negentig van de 19de eeuw. Psychologisch zeer sterk, maar de spanning is niet vergelijkbaar met die van Anna Karenina. In essentie is de problematiek dezelfde als die van Raskolnikow bij Dostojevski, en de slotconclusie loopt ook op hetzelfde uit.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    On trial for murder is a young prostitute, Maslova. She is innocent. Among the jury is Prince Nekhlyodov who discovers that Maslova is in fact Katusha - a young servant-girl he seduced and got pregnant years back. Now she's sentenced to ten years of penal servitude. Nekhlyudov realizes that he have ruined Katusha - that he himself have lived a selfish, materialistic life - he embarks on an extreme mission to better himself. This path toward redemption is fascinating. How he tries to help Katusha now in prison - and helps other prisoners, how he denounces his life among the elitist, upperclass society, how he give away his fortune and land, how he travels to isolated parts of Russia and meets the poor, the outcast, the criminals - following in the footsteps of Katusha, whom he have promised to marry. We also follow Katushas road toward redemption - a prostitute she has lost all self-worth and is brought back to life again in prison-life and through the kind hand of Nekhlyodov. I liked the first two-thirds of this novel a lot. Then the novel descends into an exploration of many of Tolstoy's religious and political ideas - they are weaved into the story - but somehow the story is pushed aside to give way for Tolstoy's own views of the church, the poor, the establishment, the criminals etc. Nonetheless I'm glad I read it. I found so much to ponder upon in Prince Nekhlyodov "self-improvement" mission - much rang very true and beautiful.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Big book. Big themes. but, a surprisingly easy read, sped on by the minutiae of well observed people. One of several key books for trying to understand the Russian pysche.In essence a man of great privilege trying to undo social injustice but, perhaps not being apprecated by those he was helping and certainly not by those he was taking to task.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I certainly admire Tolstoy's relentless pursuit of truth and his courage in standing up to both the Russian government and the Church over the latter part of his life. He advocated for the poor and while I don't particularly agree with all of the fundamentalist views he increasingly took (e.g. chastity, refraining from alochol, socialism, non-resistance to evil by force), his aim was to improve himself and ultimately mankind through his writing.Unfortunately I think the combination of essentially preaching through his works and his advancing age negatively impacted the quality and artistry of his writing; at 70 as he was authoring "Resurrection" (20+ years after Anna Karenina), I believe he was past his prime.There are still flashes of brilliance here (including the very first paragraph of the first chapter), and it is still Tolstoy after all, but I think "Resurrection" is probably a book only a Tolstoy fanatic would love.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    If I wanted to read an evangelical tract I'd go to a Christian bookshop. As the great works of the literature canon go it's one I wish I'd by-passed.