New approach instead of new finds. A. Zorin's new book on Tolstoy

Abstract

V. Makhlin's article deals with the recently published book The Life of Leo Tolstoy: An Experiment in Interpretation [Zhizn Lva Tolstogo: Opyt prochteniya] (Moscow: NLO, 2020) by philologist A. Zorin. Noting that in his attempt to reconstruct the context of L. Tolstoy's life, Zorin does not pursue sensational discoveries, be it facts or rumours, Makhlin argues that the author's main goal was to bridge the gap between three different aspects of Tolstoy's image: that of a man in daily life, an artist engaged in creative work, and a religious proselytiser with his beliefs. According to Makhlin, Zorin managed the task brilliantly by employing a unique method, namely an ‘integrated approach' to writing a Tolstoy biography. The biographer tries to portray Tolstoy's life using the writer's own words, leaving to himself the task to comment on, rather than interpret, the events he describes. It is this precision as well as avoidance of personal judgements that, in Makhlin's opinion, make Zorin's book so precious and make it stand out among other Tolstoy biographies.