Tales of Army Life

Tolstoy's early life was one of privilege and ease. The turning point in his life came in 1851 when, to escape gambling debts, he fled with his elder brother to the Caucasus and joined the Russian army.

He served as an artillery officer during the Crimean War where he served with some distinction. However, he was appalled at the suffering and misery caused by war and he left the army at the end of the Crimean Campaign.

These experiences radicalized Tolstoy and his remaining life was spent in a long campaign promoting pacifism and radical politics.

This book not only dramatizes the campaigns Tolstoy experienced as seen through the eyes of young officers but points to his later convictions. No details of the horror and pointlessness of war is spared the reader nor the contrast with the simple lives of the country folk they encountered compared with the 'sophisticated' lives of the Russian officers.

Dettagli