Showing results for "Leo Tolstoy" in Science Fiction & Fantasy

Leo Tolstoy, best known for the novels Anna Karenina and War and Peace, also wrote short stories that expound on Christianity. The Godson is a moving parable about a man finding a way to understand himself, the events around him, and his purpose in life. The story is about a son who was born to a poor peasant who rejoiced and went to a neighbour to ask him to become godfather to the boy.

Iván Ilich es un funcionario de la administración zarista cuya principal aspiración, como la de sus colegas, es escalar peldaños en su carrera para mantener su bienestar y así seguir formando parte del mundo burgués en el que ha vivido siempre. Casado por conveniencia, al poco tiempo descubre el hastío que le produce la familia y centra su vida en el trabajo. Una monótona existencia que cambia repentinamente con la llegada de un importante personaje a su vida.

This is the story of the labourer Emelian, who got married to a beautiful woman. When the king of the land saw Emelian’s wife, he fell in love with her. The king and his advisers thought up various schemes to get rid of Emelian, but they all backfired, so the couple lived happily ever after.

For an atheist it’s a great deal, though it does suggest atheism may have a weak point. For those of faith it’s a matter of jam now and purgatory tomorrow. A bargain many artists feel is something they can live with. For agnostics it’s usually a question of can the afterlife really be that bad, would workplace regulations reach all parts of heaven and hell. However, in this volume the terms are agreed and the Devil pays his fees and the character his dues, each happy to wait a few decades for the eternal payback.