The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories

About this book

The title novella presents a jealous husband's confession after a night of music and suspicion, unfolding as a fierce argument about marriage, desire, and society's hypocrisies. Alongside it, Tolstoy includes shorter tales of wasted opportunity, foolish pride, and unexpected mercy, Ivan the Fool, Polikushka, The Candle, and others. Written during his late moral period, the collection favors blunt speech over charm, pressing ethical questions rather than offering easy comfort. Readers should expect discomfort as well as brilliance. For those exploring Tolstoy beyond War and Peace, these stories reveal the uncompromising conscience that made him as controversial as he was revered.