A Confession

Rating:
Summary: Poor confession compared to Augustine and Lewis
Review: After starting off with some coherence, Tolstoy ends up rambling on aimlessly during most of the work, finally managing to get down to what he is trying to say within the closing pages. Unlike St. Augustine in his Confession, and C. S. Lewis in his confession (Surprised by Joy), however, Tolstoy seems to be a bit confused about two of the areas on which he writes: the relationships between science, philosophy, and religion, and the relationships between the Church, Christianity, and being a follower of Christ. And, in reading his concluding remarks, it is not apparent to which faith system he subscribes. Although this work is important to those interested in attempting to understand the mind of Tolstoy, in my opinion one seeking true confessions should instead turn to Augustine and Lewis. (Note: You will save a lot of money by buying used the Tolstoy collection "The Portable Tolstoy", which is almost 1000 pages in length and includes Confession, rather than purchasing Confession for probably almost the same price on its own.)

Rating:
Summary: a great defense of disbelief, as well as a search for truth
Review: Dogmatic religion has never recieved such a blow. Here is a man whose simplicity and sincerity permeate every page. At about the age of fifty, unable to ignore the deeper questions of life (Why, and What for?), Tolstoy began a search for meaning rivalling any undertaken by a man before or since. From Socrates to Schopenhauer to Solomon to Buddha, and, finally, to Christ, he studies the greatest minds of antiquity and today, rejecting everything that refuses to face-up to the ultimate problem of human life. The result is a profound affirmation that shatters his existing world-view and replaces it with a life entirely dedicated to God. Brilliant!
Also recommended: Resurrection (the Vera Traill translation) and the Death of Ivan Illych and other stories, also by Tolstoy, Selected Essays by Tolstoy (esp. The First Step and What is Religion?), and The Brothers Karamazov (Andrew MacAndrew translation) by Fyodor Dostoievsky.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Important Books in Literature
Review: 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 ([e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Philosophy one can read
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: brilliant
Review: never read tolstoy?
an excellent beginning.... trust me u ll be forced to find out
more abt the guy!
already read his fictional works? (war and peace, anna karenina)?
u ll be amazed when u read this..
a highly engrossing work....abt his spiritual crises ...writtien during a very turbulent time in his life..this time u ll find out abt the man behind the great books...makes u THINK...abt urself and abt life itself!
"what is life anyway? why do I live? what is life for?"

Rating:
Summary: 'The meaning of life is within us '
Review: The starting point of this work always fascinated me. Here is a great genius of mankind, recognized throughout the world as an immortal creator of Literature. He is the father of a large family and has a wife he has loved and who has loved him. He has great wealth .In other words here is a person who seems to have almost everything most human beings strive for in their lives and do not attain in any way close to the level at which he has attained them. And yet it all turns meaningless to him, and he in despair asks the question of whether there is anything to truly live for, what can give life true meaning. For he too senses that Death will take him and all his worlds, and their meaning away.
His answer comes from within his own personal Christian faith. It is not a formal church faith but rather has to do with the message of God he hears in his heart, the message of love for all of mankind. Meaning is to be found according to Tolstoy in living in a spiritual way in which stress is placed in goodness with others and sharing with them whatever one has to give.
The meaning of life is living according to this voice of God he hears within.
This is the answer Tolstoy gave, but the evidence of his life suggests it did not satisfy him. For his questionings and doubts persisted throughout his lifetime, and his life did not end in some great gesture of affirmation and love but rather in his running from the once- beloved wife, who for years had embittered his life, as he hers.
This work cannot of course compare to Tolstoy's great novels in scope or even in human interest. It is a look at a great man's ' soul' at one stage of his life but in giving that life omits many of the great skills Tolstoy made use of in other writing.
As spiritual guide it has never seemed to me to provide the kind of answers to life meaning I have been looking for.
Yet I understand how it may be of much help and consolation to all those who have suffered crises similar to that of Tolstoy.


Rating:
Summary: A Journey Unfulfilled
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: A Journey Unfulfilled
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Candid and insightful reflections.
Review: Tolstoy's honesty at his own selfish motives and his dissapointment with the true value of his accompleshments is wonderfully refreshing. His writing is so personal and open that I don't think anyone can walk away from this unmoved. I was dissapointed that he rejects the concept of a personal active God in the conclusion of his search.

Rating:
Summary: Candid and insightful reflections.
Review: Tolstoy's honesty at his own selfish motives and his dissapointment with the true value of his accompleshments is wonderfully refreshing. His writing is so personal and open that I don't think anyone can walk away from this unmoved. I was dissapointed that he rejects the concept of a personal active God in the conclusion of his search.