Hadji Murat

I thought Tolstoy could only write tomes.  Long, long dramatic tomes.  So when a friend, Claudia Floyd, recommended Hadji Murat to me - a 125 page Tolstoy book - I had to read it.

Many have said this is Tolstoy's greatest book.  I am not sure how that is possible if Anna Karenina is the best novel written (though some would say Ulysses is), but I now can compare.  And I have to say, for action and drama, Anna Karenina certainly has it, but Hadji Murat, a true story of a warrior during the Chechen revolution, keeps pace.  Since Tolstoy well-researched the life of Hadji Murat, one cannot quibble with the facts.  And the tragedy of the story . . . well, let's just say it rivals any other tragedy.

The book is as beautifully written as anything I have ever read - though I have been told my next book, A Man in Moscow, is stunningly written so we will see.

Hadji Murat does not disappoint, and although it isn't a page turner like some, it is an eloquent political read that will allow you to say you have read something by Tolstoy . . . in three hours or less!