The Liberation of Tolstoy: A Tale of Two Writers

This first annotated translation of Ivan Bunin's The Liberation of Tolstoy is a timely accompaniment to the ongoing revival of the Russian writer, both in his homeland and the West. Written in 1937, more than two decades after Leo Tolstoy's death, The Liberation of Tolstoy--equal parts biography, memoir, and literary study--serves as a dialogue between two great writers on the proklyatye voprosy, or "damned questions," of life.

"Marullo and Khmelkov have not only supplied us with a graceful translation, they have provided annotations, more voluminous than Bunin's original text, that display a breathtaking depth of knowledge about Bunin, Tolstoy, and Russian literature and culture in general. This is an invaluable contribution." --Publishers Weekly

"All Slavicists, indeed anyone who is interested in the unique individual Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, will welcome the long-overdue translation into English of Ivan Bunin's masterpiece." --Slavic Review