Resurrection

Sweetness and light among shame and confusion. The greatest of all novels is Leo Tolstoy's final novel, Resurrection. Its effect upon a reader is immense and immediate. * Independent * My all-time favourite is Resurrection. Its themes of social injustice and personal redemption resonated in the Seventies, when I first read it. This, I thought, is what all books should be like: serious, committed and passionate -- Howard Jacobson * Guardian * In Resurrection … the return to the land, as the physical correlative to the rebirth of the soul, is beautifully rendered…The sun glimmers on the river, the colt nuzzles, and the pastoral scene enforces on Nekhlyudov the full realization that the morality of urban life is founded on injustice… The account of the eastward transportation of the prisoners is handled with a breadth of design and aliveness which transcend any programmatic purpose. When Tolstoy opened his eyes on actual scenes and events … his hand moved with matchless artistry. -- George Steiner The greatest of all novels is Leo Tolstoy's final novel, Resurrection. Its effect upon a reader is immense and immediate. Even after eight readings of various translations, I continue to feel its spell and admire its complexity… This brilliant, troubling novel at first out-sold Tolstoy's earlier novels, even War and Peace. It was criticized for its outspoken contents. It remains a grand panorama of discontent -- Brian Aldiss * Independent *