The Cossacks - Softcover

Tolstoy, Leo

3.8

8,704 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420926748 ISBN 13: 9781420926743

Publisher: Digireads.com, 2006

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"The Cossacks" is one of Tolstoy's greatest works. In this semi-autobiographical work we meet the central character of Olenin, a young man of twenty-four who has yet to make anything of himself in life. Olenin joins the Russian army and is assigned to a remote post. There he falls in love with a beautiful young Cossack woman who has already been promised to another man, a Cossack warrior. What will become of Olenin? Will he fight for the love that he has found? Read this gripping narrative set in pre-revolutionary Russia and find out for yourself.

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Review:

When you think of Tolstoy, you most likely think of his epic novels, like Anna Karenina or War and Peace. You probably don't think of his shorter pieces like The Cossacks, a shorter novella that is considered to be the author's autobiography. The book centers around an unhappy Muscovite nobleman named Dmitri Ol�nin who joins the army in search of adventure and purpose in his life. He winds up in the Caucasus and is intrigued by the geography and the simple people who live there. Along the way, he discovers himself and falls in love for the first time, and in turn discovers the pain love can bring. We meet a cast of characters that includes the manly Cossack soldier Lukashka, the beautiful Cossack girl Maryanka, and the larger-than-life grandfather figure, Uncle Yeroshka, each of who play an important role in the life education of Ol�nin. Since this has always been one of my favorite books, I was curious to see how it translated into the audiobook format. The voice work is done by Jonathan Oliver, an English actor who has over a decade of experience reading audiobooks for the blind. At first, I was a little thrown by his English accent, as I know many Russians personally, and I always lent a Russian accent to The Cossacks characters in my mind. But as the story progressed, I got used to Oliver's accent and it became very natural sounding, as he took on the life of the characters. He also did a wonderful job of changing out his vocal style as each different character spoke, making it easy to tell who was speaking as the conversations took place. I especially liked his portrayal of Uncle Yeroshka, the colorful old man of the Cossack village who takes Ol�nin under his wing. Oliver's voice bellows and rings out with intensity, bringing the character to life in incredible fashion. Oliver is obviously very familiar with the story as well as Tolstoy in general, and he adds touches here and there to make the story even more special. For example, he reads the descriptive sections with the same enthusiasm as the speaking roles, painting a perfect picture of the Cossack village and the activities of its inhabitants as they go about daily life. He also sings their songs with a convincing air, staying in character the whole time. As far as classic literature goes, this one is an easy listen. It is not too long, and the story moves quickly, filled with adventure and a touch of innocent romance. Plus, it is a great introduction to Tolstoy without getting lost in the epic length of some of his other works. Highly recommended. --MISH MASH, http://mishmashmusic.blogspot.com/

About the Author:

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) was a Russian novelist, social reformer, pacifist, and moral thinker. Tolstoy is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all novelists, particularly noted for his masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina; in

Paul Foote was, until his retirement, a University Lecturer in Russian and Fellow of the Queen's College, Oxford.

David McDuff was educated at the University of Edinburgh and has translated a number of works for Penguin Classics, including Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.

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