Leo Tolstoy - Hadji Murad - 2003

Цитата:
This is the partially fictionalized account of the last days of Hadji Murad, a renowned and feared Chechen -more precisely, Avar- warrior in 1851-52. Feared by the ruthless Imam Shamil, ruler of Chechens and other Caucasians, Murad is forced to defect yet again to the Russians, who recieve him warmly but suspiciously (he has switched sides before). Murad keeps telling the Russians he won't be of much help unless they support him in getting his family safe and back from the cruel Shamil. Some of them incline to do so, but others fear he might be just spying on them. The action drags on, with no resolution arrived at, until Murad makes his final dash.

As literature, the story is incredibly well written; as background information on the origins of the still-going-on Chechen war, it is priceless. Tolstoi show here his very literary genius: in only 125 pages, he conveys a portrait of many characters, each and every one with his/her own full personality. It is marvelous how Tolstoi can give a whole personality to even the minor characters in a short work.

The depictions of landscapes and circumstances are also masterful, and you can really feel the cold wind and see the wooded mountains of that magnetic and troublesome corner, neither fully European nor Asian.

It is, then, the story of a real man who got caught between the despised Russians and the murderous Chechen leader, really a tragic figure in the sense that he has to make decisiones in front of certain death for him and for his family, whom he deeply loves. Great literature tends to be that which posts credible and appealing characters in limit-situations, and this is clearly one of the best. Refreshing to read an action-packed, well-written, historically interesting story with compelling characters.

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