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Every Friday, at 11:00 am, on the library’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page, the library will stream a brand new recording of local thespian, Joseph Coté reading aloud selections from a wide variety of fascinating and entertaining books of fiction and non-fiction.
For April 11, Coté will read aloud from Leo Tolstoy’s novel Hadji Murat.
Summary: Based on historical events, Tolstoy’s beloved final novella tells the story of the rebel leader Hadji Murat―whom Tolstoy described as “the leading daredevil of the Caucasus” ― and of the precarious alliance he forged with his enemies during his final days.
Set during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the early 1850s and expressing empathy for the resistance of the native peoples of Dagestan and Chechnya, Hadji Murat raises significant questions of power, imperialism, and betrayal, and remains moving and relevant today.
The theme of struggle while remaining faithful resonated with an ailing Tolstoy as he approached death. His letters suggest that this work gave him a brief, final moment of vigor.
Just as the author struggled with failing health, his meditation on a man refusing to give in to the demands of the world helped him to complete the book, although he did not intend to publish it and was only concerned with its completion. In addition to the theme of resistance, determinism is a major theme, as it is in War and Peace. An even clearer theme is the struggle between Christian Russia and Muslim Caucasian Imamate, the classic West vs. East theme found in Russian history and works of fiction, a theme that still manifests in wars between Chechnya and Russia.
Click the links to find the library’s YouTube Channel and Facebook Page.
Thoughts to share? Book ideas to suggest?
Contact Joseph at friday-explorations@usa.net