I signed up for Honors 203R (cross-listed as Russian 342) the night before class started. I had realized that one of my classes was going to be really lame, so I dropped it and signed up for Tolstoy in Translation. I was a bit worried about having so much reading to do, but I would rather read than research how to build an airplane from scratch and present it to a class of Honors students. I also found myself just committing to something I thought might be good for me. Anyway, it turned out to be my favorite class, blah, blah, and I literally was inspired by the literature. War and Peace is a real book. I learned about truth and Zeno's Paradoxes (look them up on Wikipedia) and lust and all sorts of good stuff, all in the context of aristocratic families through times of a real war, Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and peace--hence the title. Yup. War and Peace is about war and peace. Anyway, the next tome I perused was Anna Karenina. Talk about uplifting and depressing at the same time. I don't think the lessons were especially new or earth-shattering, but they were definitely true. Basically, adultery is trash and benefits no one. But again, truth. What is truth? The last Tolstoy novel we read was Resurrection. What is truth? A recurring Tolstoy theme. But also, forgiveness is the only way to joy. But don't take my word for it. Read these books. All 2609 pages of them. Learn about joy and truth and forgiveness. I was regularly dumbfounded at the nuances of characterization Tolstoy captured, little feelings his characters experienced that I, too, have experienced and never thought possible to be put to words (I'm not talking the adultery here). I guess I'm not as special as I thought. Or I guess I'm more literary than I thought. Or maybe I'm a Russian seeker of truth at heart. I believe that more people are seekers of truth than realize. It's just some take a bit too Faustian of an approach. Anyway, I am definitely a convert to Russian literature. Thanks go to Alex for his expertise in capturing those moments of triumph for which words simply are inadequate.
I signed up for Honors 203R (cross-listed as Russian 342) the night before class started. I had realized that one of my classes was going to be really lame, so I dropped it and signed up for Tolstoy in Translation. I was a bit worried about having so much reading to do, but I would rather read than research how to build an airplane from scratch and present it to a class of Honors students. I also found myself just committing to something I thought might be good for me. Anyway, it turned out to be my favorite class, blah, blah, and I literally was inspired by the literature. War and Peace is a real book. I learned about truth and Zeno's Paradoxes (look them up on Wikipedia) and lust and all sorts of good stuff, all in the context of aristocratic families through times of a real war, Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and peace--hence the title. Yup. War and Peace is about war and peace. Anyway, the next tome I perused was Anna Karenina. Talk about uplifting and depressing at the same time. I don't think the lessons were especially new or earth-shattering, but they were definitely true. Basically, adultery is trash and benefits no one. But again, truth. What is truth? The last Tolstoy novel we read was Resurrection. What is truth? A recurring Tolstoy theme. But also, forgiveness is the only way to joy. But don't take my word for it. Read these books. All 2609 pages of them. Learn about joy and truth and forgiveness. I was regularly dumbfounded at the nuances of characterization Tolstoy captured, little feelings his characters experienced that I, too, have experienced and never thought possible to be put to words (I'm not talking the adultery here). I guess I'm not as special as I thought. Or I guess I'm more literary than I thought. Or maybe I'm a Russian seeker of truth at heart. I believe that more people are seekers of truth than realize. It's just some take a bit too Faustian of an approach. Anyway, I am definitely a convert to Russian literature. Thanks go to Alex for his expertise in capturing those moments of triumph for which words simply are inadequate.
