Winter Reading

 

 

When Autumn turns to Winter, I return to the Russians. 

I first read Tolstoy's "Kingdom of God" in my early 30s, when I was reading everything by Tolstoy and Dostoevsky that I could get my hands on (plus Turgenev, Pushkin, Gogol, and Chekhov). 

In that book, Tolstoy states unequivocally that you cannot have both the Nicene Creed and the Sermon on the Mount: you must choose. Either Constantinian (Imperial) Christianity or the teachings of Rabbi Jesus.

I knew he was right, chose the latter, and never looked back. 

It took me much longer to appreciate Chekhov. I have found that he must be read and re-read until the bleakness of his vision overwhelms. It is then that you discover the depths of his compassion for suffering, and often insufferable, humanity. In the process, you may also find the sources of the "Kingdom of God" within yourself.