The Kreutzer Sonata

Author: Leo Tolstoy

Rating: ⭐ 4/5

Date Read: 2014/02/27

Pages: 128

I really used to think that Tolstoy was pretty sane, for the most part. Then I went and read this little book, and now I have to give up that idea because, seriously, this book is completely…bizarre. But mostly in a good way.

I find it strange that, in Tolstoy’s Russia, your companion on the train may have just happened to have murdered his wife (that’s not a spoiler; it’s on the synopsis in the back of the book, and we find out about it right upfront). He gives all these reasons why the bitch had it coming, including some random stuff about why marriage is bad, and why it’s totally wrong to have sex for reasons other than procreation, but he also talks about how children ruin marriages (which is actually somewhat supported by empirical research, sad sad, but I digress). So I think the main point is that no one should ever bang anyone for any reason, ever, because it leads to jealousy and death.

Anyway, this is a great novella, but a little bit too awkward in theme for me to give it my usual “Tolstoy deserves all the stars” rating. Definitely worth a read, though, and you can probably knock it out in a day (I didn’t, because I started reading this while I was way too busy with other stuff, and that might have impacted what I thought about this in a negative way. Oh well.).

Tolstoy slyly inserts this little bit of intertextual commentary, which I found amusing “These sufferings were so intense that I remember I was tempted to go out on the track and throw myself under the train and so end it.” Well played, sir. I’ll end with that.

Actually, I’ll end with the suggestion that you really do listen to the Beethoven sonata that lends its name to this novel. Classical music and Tolstoy! All you need is a fur coat, a lorgnette, and maybe a nightcap or two. Combine those with the polar vortex we’ve been having recently and you’ll be in a very 19th century Russian mood.