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Title: Master and Man, and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) by Leo Tolstoy, Lev Nikolaevich, Graf Tolsto-I, Paul Foote ISBN: 0-14-044331-2 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: November, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Short for Tolsoi, but excellent
Comment: For Tolstoi, this qualifies as an "O. Henry surprise-type ending" since you aren't expecting the wealthy merchant to sacrifice his own life for that of his lowly serf. This seems especially true since Tolstoi gives you several examples throughout the story of how the master undervalues his loyal servant.
For example, Tolstoi tells you that he is underpaid even for a serf. Also, his shrewd master always manages to manipulate and maneuver the servant into buying his goods from him, instead of from the store in the village, by making it look like he is doing him a favor in the process. This way he can overcharge for everything and thereby takes back what little money he is paying his servant anyway. The servant is well aware of this but is resigned to the situation.
Another interesting thing is how they get into a life-threatening situation in the first place. The workaholic merchant decides to press on at night in a severe blizzard, rather than remain safe in a farmhouse they have happened on in the snow, because he is impatient to get on to his next deal, and doesn't want to miss out on a possible opportunity.
I thought the time-obsessed businessman was primarily a late 20th century invention, but not so. The wealthy landowner and businessman regards even a few lost moments of time as unacceptable, and so they venture out into the fatal storm. They get lost in the driving and trackless snow on the way to the next town.
Tolstoi describes this poignantly. At several points, the master is certain they have come back to where they started and so are just going in circles, but the snow is coming down so hard that the horse carriage's tracks have already been covered up, and so he can't be sure. At that point he realizes the situation is hopeless.
Finally, the master parks the horse and carriage under a tree and they huddle together and try to survive until morning. But only the servant survives, his wealthy master in the end sacrificing his own life for that of his servant, by deciding to keep his servant warm instead of himself.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very powerful story of humanity
Comment: I, too, have to disagree with this 'english class' in their dull-assesment of this story. This must be a very young class of students who haven't experienced enough of human nature to fully appreciate and understand the complexity and beauty of the 2 characters in this wonderfully touching story. This is the first story that has ever made me weep openly while reading. The second, also by Tolstoy, was Strider: The Story of a Horse. If you liked Master and Man, you must find this one! That's why I'm here today; looking to replace my lost copy.
Rating: 5
Summary: No, not dull... very deep and powerful.
Comment: I felt I had to respond to the above comment by saying that this is a masterfully written short story and a moving account of a Master who makes the ultimate sacrifice, whether knowing it or not, to his lowly, faithful servant. The story contrasts well the attitudes and lives of rich masters and their voluntary slaves.
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Title: The Sebastopol Sketches by Leo Tolstoy, David McDuff ISBN: 0140444688 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: July, 1986 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov ISBN: 0679413278 Publisher: Everyman's Library Pub. Date: 30 June, 1992 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Kingdom of God Is Within You by Leo Tolstoy, Martin Green ISBN: 0803294042 Publisher: Univ of Nebraska Pr Pub. Date: January, 2002 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Leo Damrosch ISBN: 0451527321 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett ISBN: 0553211757 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 June, 1984 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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