Ivan the Fool
10 Installments—Entirely free
(Preview)
Members' Rating:
from 19 Ratings and 6 Reviews
Tags: Classics, Short Stories
ISBN:0192838091
About the Author
Born into an aristocratic Russian family, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was able to enjoy a life of luxury from the very first. Throughout his life, however, and perhaps inspired by personal losses from which even his financial comfort could not protect him, he remained intrigued by philosophical questions about the nature of human existence. Through military service and well into his career as a writer, Tolstoy sought higher truths and found the materialistic lifestyle of many around him to be quite empty. Best known for his novels Anna Karenina, War and Peace, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy was an extremely prolific writer, with a full catalog of short stories, plays, and non-fiction to his name.
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IVAN THE FOOL.
In a certain kingdom there lived a rich peasant, who had three sons--Simeon (a soldier), Tarras-Briukhan (fat man), and Ivan (a fool)--and one daughter, Milania, born dumb. Simeon went to war, to serve the Czar; Tarras went to a city and became a merchant; and Ivan, with his sister, ...
Member reviews
4/5
Reviewed by Carole888 on Aug 19, 2010
An Excellent Read!!
I enjoyed reading this and it was beautifully written too. The message is simple and effective. Work hard and things fall into place.
3/5 
Reviewed by guglielmo on Aug 9, 2010
Ivan the Fool
An entertaining and thought-provoking piece from the Russian maestro.
4/5
Reviewed by chardman on May 18, 2010
Simple Living Explained
This was a great story showing how simple living can free you. Some would probably read this as a treatise trying to promote a socialist or communist viewpoint, but I see it more from a Christian perspective. It shows how desiring a simple life can lead to 'wealth' in the ways that truly matter. It was an ironic twist that the "fools" seemed to be the wisest people in the story.
4/5
Reviewed by jscanlas on Jan 28, 2010
good story
nothing beats hard work!
4/5
Reviewed by changolote on Oct 23, 2009
nice moral
Perhaps a nice moral for today--the honor of hard work, necessity of sharing.
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Ratings for 'Ivan the Fool' by Tolstoy, Leo
| anthamay | | 2008-12-07 | |
| babblative |  | 2009-03-22 | |
| boookywooky | | 2011-07-10 | |
| Carole888 | | Read review | 2010-08-19 |
| changolote | | Read review | 2009-10-23 |
| chardman | | Read review | 2010-05-18 |
| forever_es | | 2011-10-17 | |
| geezler |  | 2009-08-19 | |
| guglielmo | | Read review | 2010-08-09 |
| jscanlas | | Read review | 2010-01-28 |
| Mahyarg | | 2008-11-25 | |
| maria.alii | | Read review | 2009-01-06 |
| mmreyna1 | | 2009-06-20 | |
| rashmi.gowda | | 2011-10-02 | |
| reader_rabbit | | 2010-09-25 | |
| sahayra | | 2011-04-28 | |
| stu73 | | 2009-12-09 | |
| suednimm | | 2009-01-10 | |
| wishes2891 | | 2009-01-11 |
Ivan the Fool
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