I found this book annoying. I understand that Tolstoy was a very important figure in Russia especially during this time, but I found the characters very unlikeable. Bulgakov was the only character who seemed to have a backbone and any thoughts of his own. The hangers-on in this story seemed to me like obsessed groupies who hung on Tolstoy's every word and were just waiting for him to die. At the beginning of the story I found his wife Sonya to be the only one who was somewhat normal, but that quickly changed once she transformed into a needy, desperate and all-around annoying wife who was emotionally unstable and extremely insecure. I hate to say it but the only reason I kept reading the story was to find out when he was going to die. It was a relief when he finally did. In the same style as 'The Killer Angels' and 'Gods and Generals', which were both amazing books, the author did a great job tying in the journals and writings of Tolstoy and of those people who were a part of his life, but I still didn't care about the people in it. I have been unable to get through a Tolstoy novel up until now and have tried numerous times. I find the self importance and focus on ones 'Station' aggravating and exhausting!
Alternating narrators from Count Leo Tolstoy's household tell of his attempts to balance his philosophy of poverty and his privileged lifestyle by living humbly in his final days. "In the end, it is not the people around him who speak most eloquently for Tolstoy, but the sincerity of his own words--and those of Parini in his kaleidoscopically rich and skillful novel," said Publisher's Weekly. This reader usually likes to either read the book OR see the movie - not both. However, after reading this engrossing novel, I MUST see the movie!
