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Hadji Murad (Modern Library Classics)
by Leo Tolstoy

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25868.Hadji_Murad?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Hadji Murad (Modern Library Classics)" border="0" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167768152m/25868.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25868.Hadji_Murad?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Hadji Murad</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/85.Leo_Tolstoy">Leo Tolstoy</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/8403454?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 4 of 5 stars<br/>This is an amazing story; it's took me forever because I read it in Russian (with the help of the English translation).  Tolstoy shows how the events effect every aspect of society, the Tsar, Chechens, officers and peasants.
<br/>My favorite parts are the ones that follow Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich.  The way Tolstoy describes his rule mirrors in many ways the horrific and ignorant ways of the Bush administration.  This is my favorite passage so far, it's just teeming with beautiful sarcasm: 
<br/>"God, through His servants the priests, greeted and praised Nicholas just as worldly people did; and weary as he was of these greetings and praises, Nicholas duly accepted them.  All this was as it should be, because the welfare and happiness of the whole world depended on him, and though the matter wearied him, he still did not refuse the universe his assistance."
<br/>Overall, this is an amazing story of a great man who is a tragic victim of greed, bureaucracy, and war.  The main tragedy is that Hadji Murat isn't even given the chance to die fighting for a cause or love, but who's nobility and greatness nevertheless makes an indelible mark on the young Tolstoy, who was able to tell his story years later.  
<br/>Great, great novel, not really very popular (Oprah didn't promote this one).
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/172757?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Joe's review
rating:

recommended for: People who are interested in the clash of differing cultures
status: Read in December, 2007

This is an amazing story; it's took me forever because I read it in Russian (with the help of the English translation). Tolstoy shows how the events effect every aspect of society, the Tsar, Chechens, officers and peasants.
My favorite parts are the ones that follow Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich. The way Tolstoy describes his rule mirrors in many ways the horrific and ignorant ways of the Bush administration. This is my favorite passage so far, it's just teeming with beautiful sarcasm:
"God, through His servants the priests, greeted and praised Nicholas just as worldly people did; and weary as he was of these greetings and praises, Nicholas duly accepted them. All this was as it should be, because the welfare and happiness of the whole world depended on him, and though the matter wearied him, he still did not refuse the universe his assistance."
Overall, this is an amazing story of a great man who is a tragic victim of greed, bureaucracy, and war. The main tragedy is that H...more

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