Sevastopol

Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.7

Word count: 241K words
Chapters: 25

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Sevastopoli by graf Leo Tolstoy. Author: Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910. Language: Finnish. Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature. Release Date: Aug 11, 2016

Editor's review

Sevastopoli is Tolstoy's set of Sevastopol stories written against the background of the Crimean War; this electronic edition is a Finnish translation released by Project Gutenberg. Its value lies in the anti-heroic narrative Tolstoy formed after experiencing the battlefield himself: he does not write of the splendor of parades but of fear, exhaustion, incidental courage, and meaningless death in the trenches, reducing war to the everyday experience of ordinary people. This approach later deeply influenced his own long-form works and offered another ethical perspective on war literature. The Finnish translation suits readers interested both in Tolstoy's early writing and in Nordic-language translation. Read it as a whole made up of several stories, noting the shifts in narrative perspective among soldiers, officers, and the narrator, and the moral questions implied beneath the calm tone.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying Tolstoy's early works and war writing
History readers interested in the Crimean War and battlefield narrative
Researchers with Finnish reading ability who follow literary translation
Literary readers who enjoy anti-heroic war depiction and value ethical perspective

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers with no Finnish who only want Chinese or English versions
Readers expecting a complete long-form plot or heroic legend
Readers sensitive to war details and graphic cruelty

Reading tips

Read in story order and note changes in perspective and tone between pieces, treating them as a progressive whole.
Before reading, learn the basic background of the Crimean War and the siege of Sevastopol; this significantly lowers the threshold of understanding.
Note where the narrator inserts commentary and compare it with the characters' voices.
If studying translation, compare passages with Russian or English versions to observe how Finnish handles military and colloquial vocabulary.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language is this book written in?

This is a Finnish translation, not the Russian original, nor Chinese or English. Project Gutenberg records the language as Finnish, so readers need Finnish reading ability or must use translation tools and comparison versions.

Is it a full-length novel?

Not in the traditional sense. It consists of several stories Tolstoy wrote against the background of the siege of Sevastopol, usually regarded as a set of interrelated battlefield narratives; read it as a whole rather than expecting a single main plotline.

Can I use this version without any Finnish?

You can use it as one version for comparative study, but it is not suitable as introductory reading. Without Finnish, it is better to first read a Chinese or English translation of the Russian original, then come back to compare this version in order to appreciate the choices made in translation.

What background should I know before reading?

At minimum, know the basic situation of the siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean War and that Tolstoy himself experienced that battlefield as an officer. This background helps in understanding the narrator's position, the credibility of the soldier's perspective, and the origin of the work's anti-heroic tone.

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About the author

Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910 Author

Leo Tolstoy (Tolstoy, Leo, graf, 1828-1910) is a highly important writer in the history of Russian literature. Public information about his nationality and exact dates of birth and death is limited; the library records only his name, the number of his works, and representative titles. The library holds 81 of his works, with representative titles including Anna Karenina and War and Peace (Sota ja rauha). These titles show that he excelled at presenting characters' fates and inner conflicts against broad social panoramas, with calm narration and a reflective quality, while questions of family, morality, and the course of history run throughout. His works have been translated into many languages and have a lasting readership and wide influence.