War & Peace and Sonya
by Judith Armstrong
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Description
At eighteen years old, young Sofya Behrs, called Sonya by friends and family, married one of the greatest authors the world has ever known--Leo Tolstoy. Sixteen years his junior, Sonya spent a majority of her married life in confinement while pregnant and nursing, as she bore, raised, and educated thirteen children. At the same time, she toiled as Tolstoy's copyist, editor, translator, and publisher, rewriting countless drafts of his timeless novels by hand. For forty-eight years, the show more Tolstoys lived in a passionate and combative union, joined by love and literary drive, until the author deserted his wife abruptly in 1910, shortly before his death. In War and Peace and Sonya, Judith Armstrong imagines Sonya's underexplored story, describing the couple's simultaneous devotion to and ambivalence about each other and their shared passion for great literature and creativity. Sonya was Tolstoy's muse, model, and assistant. Though she shaped his books and raised his family, history has placed her squarely in her husband's shadow. Only in recent years have the truth of their marriage, the extent of her writings, and her personality come to light. This fascinating fictional biography features original photographs from Sonya's life and gives much-needed perspective on the true nature of this powerful matriarch. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I’ve never seen a biography of Tolstoy in the bookshops, but now that I’ve read Judith Armstrong’s War and Peace and Sonya, I think I’d probably leave it on the shelf – I feel that I know quite enough about the great Russian writer now!
Judith Armstrong is a former Melbourne academic who used to teach Russian literature and culture, so it is safe to say that this novel is impeccably researched. Based on the diaries of Tolstoy and his wife Sofya Andreyevna Behrs, known as Sonya, it tells the other side of the story that formed the basis of The Last Station, the film that showed the sorry state of the Tolstoy marriage and depicted Sonya as a nagging wife harassing the genius about the contents of his Will, so much so that he show more felt he had no option but to get away from her.
The question that arose for me, time and again as I read this engaging novel was: whose voice is this? Ostensibly, Sonya is the narrator, looking back over her life after Tolstoy’s death, and using her diaries to substantiate what she says. She tells us about what she reads in Tolstoy’s diaries too: sometimes they left these diaries about to be read, in lieu of direct communication about their feelings. Sometimes Sonya consulted his diaries on the sly…
To read the rest of my review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2011/12/28/war-and-peace-and-sonya-by-judith-armstrong/#... show less
Judith Armstrong is a former Melbourne academic who used to teach Russian literature and culture, so it is safe to say that this novel is impeccably researched. Based on the diaries of Tolstoy and his wife Sofya Andreyevna Behrs, known as Sonya, it tells the other side of the story that formed the basis of The Last Station, the film that showed the sorry state of the Tolstoy marriage and depicted Sonya as a nagging wife harassing the genius about the contents of his Will, so much so that he show more felt he had no option but to get away from her.
The question that arose for me, time and again as I read this engaging novel was: whose voice is this? Ostensibly, Sonya is the narrator, looking back over her life after Tolstoy’s death, and using her diaries to substantiate what she says. She tells us about what she reads in Tolstoy’s diaries too: sometimes they left these diaries about to be read, in lieu of direct communication about their feelings. Sometimes Sonya consulted his diaries on the sly…
To read the rest of my review, please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2011/12/28/war-and-peace-and-sonya-by-judith-armstrong/#... show less
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Author Information
11 Works 53 Members
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Sonya Tolstoy; Leo Tolstoy
- Dedication
- To Piers and Lucien in Paris
- First words
- My husband is now dead.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Biography & Memoir, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 823.92 — Literature & rhetoric English & Old English literatures English fiction 1900- 2000-
- LCC
- PR9619.3 .A737 .W37 — Language and Literature English English Literature English literature: Provincial, local, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 24
- Popularity
- 1,110,647
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.33)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
