Michael Katz is the C.V. Starr Professor Emeritus of Russian and Eastern European Studies at Middlebury College. He is the author of two previous books on Russian literature and the translator of more than a dozen Russian novels into English, including major works by Herzen, Chernyshevsky, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Jabotinsky, and S. Ansky.
Fictive words with the bite of reality to them were weapons of choice not only for Tolstoy, but for his wife and children. In this fascinating assemblage of stories and counterstories against one of the late great tales, Michael Katz shows us the family fighting back. -Caryl Emerson, A. Watson Armour III University Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Princeton University -- Caryl Emerson Over a hundred years after it was written The Kreutzer Sonata retains its ability to shock and disturb. Michael Katz's superb introduction to the firestorm provoked by Tolstoy's late novella includes a wealth of materials that were heretofore unavailable to English readers. - William Mills Todd III, Harry Tuchman Levin Professor of Literature, Harvard University -- William Mills Todd III For anyone interested in Tolstoy or the modern understanding of marriage and sexuality, this volume will be indispensable. Containing fiction and commentary by Tolstoy, his wife and son that has never before been translated and only recently become known, it changes our understanding of one of Tolstoy's most important works. This volume is an event in the understanding of Russian literature. -Gary Morson, Frances Hooper Professor of the Arts and Humanities , Northwestern University -- Gary Saul Morson Congratulations to Michael Katz with his excellent work as a translator, editor, and compiler! It is really important for all interested in Tolstoy's work and life to have Kreutzer Sonata and S.A. Tolstaya's constellation of stories under one cover. It's a great accomplishment! -Galina Alekseeva, Yasnaya Polyana -- Galina Alekseeva The Kreutzer Sonata Variations has been assembled as a kind of dossier. Mr. Katz provides a new translation of Tolstoy's story and surrounds it with material that sheds light on the furor that it touched off ... The book adds momentum to a revisionist view of Sophia [Tolstoy] that has gathered speed recently. -William Grimes, New York Times -- William Grimes New York Times The Kreutzer Sonata Variations ... pairs Tolstoy's controversial novella with the stories his wife and son wrote in pointed response, adding further shadings to the Russian author's final chapter. -Megan O'Grady, Vogue -- Megan O'Grady Vogue