<![CDATA[A Confession]]>

false <![CDATA[A Confession]]>

26244

Confession is Leo Tolstoy's memoir of midlife spiritual crisis. In 1879, having written War and Peace and Anna Karenina, the 51 year-old Tolstoy began to believe that his life was meaningless. Confession is his account of the limited satisfactions he derived from his aesthetic and intellectual triumphs, and of his first yearnings for real faith. This book marks the turning point in his career as a writer: after 1880 he would write almost exclusively about religious life, especially devotion among the peasantry (in works such as The Death of Ivan Ilych and Resurrection). Near the end of Confession, Tolstoy describes the desolation he felt upon deciding that he could not solve his crisis of faith by taking refuge in the church. "I have no doubt that there is truth in the doctrine," he writes, "but there can also be no doubt that it harbors a lie; and I must find the truth and the lie so I can tell them apart." Confession does not find the full Truth, but it offers an inspiring example of a man rejecting the lies that cling to unthinking orthodoxy. Its final, exhilarating, heart-rending account of a spiritually awakening dream ranks with the best of Christian mystical writing. --Michael Joseph Gross

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A Confession

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5 10 false false Thu Jan 10 11:11:54 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 10 11:34:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Sep 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 09:47:34 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 18 08:15:15 -0700 2009
It would do the world a lot of good if arguments (political, religious, or o...more...]]> 5 1 false false Fri Jun 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:35:39 -0700 2009 Fri Jun 05 12:54:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false true Sat Jan 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Dec 28 12:46:59 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 17 13:18:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 18:49:08 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 19 17:20:31 -0800 2008
note #2: I've developed an odd habit of setting books aside for a good length of time when I'm *almost* finished, so even though I really just finished it, I read about 95% of it over a week ago, I think.

This is definitely...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu May 15 10:02:59 -0700 2008 Tue May 20 11:17:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Aug 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 25 22:55:51 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 27 19:10:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jan 02 16:22:28 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 16:25:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 06:23:56 -0800 2009 Sun Apr 19 12:08:47 -0700 2009
I am a m...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Sun Jan 11 20:02:04 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 15:18:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 13:58:23 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 14:01:33 -0800 2008

Regardless of what he says, I think there's plenty to learn from all of his writings, even the ones he did just for the money.]]> 5 0 false false Fri Apr 10 11:48:38 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 10 11:49:46 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Fri Jan 11 08:55:16 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 09:03:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri May 29 20:43:45 -0700 2009 Fri May 29 20:45:09 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Aug 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 08:48:46 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 08:49:42 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sun Dec 21 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 12:07:38 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 21 18:14:43 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Fri Oct 19 12:51:38 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 19 12:57:07 -0700 2007 I read this in Russian, actually, so it was obviously a different version. It is non-fiction and desi...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1996 Tue Jul 17 09:55:33 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 28 11:53:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Nov 01 22:01:48 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 01 22:14:27 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 25 20:02:46 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 17:11:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=26244