Book Talk: When Tolstoy Wrestled with God

Continuing our discussion series on “Soul Struggles with the Russian Greats,” Nathan Nielson, Founder and Director of Books & Bridges, will examine the crisis of meaning that nearly toppled a world literary titan. In his autobiographical masterwork “Confession,” Leo Tolstoy describes his descent into the abyss. In agonizing bouts of depression, he obsessed over the question, “What meaning can life have that death won’t destroy?” Godlike in his literary powers and prophetic in his vision, Tolstoy nevertheless fell prey to what Dostoyevsky called “the accursed questions” of existence. But at the end of a long wrestle, Tolstoy came to see something deeper – the simple intuition and Christian ethic of the Russian peasant. Nielson will explore the psychological and spiritual honesty of this book and how, though it makes the reader flinch, can ultimately lead to peace. A Q&A and refreshments will follow. This event is organized by Books & Bridges — a humanities forum of ideas and conversation. Our mission is to facilitate discussion on the best of human thought. We explore the wisdoms of the world and apply them to modern life. We have no political, religious or ideological affiliation. In a society divided by uncivil discourse, the beauty of the humanities—novels, history, philosophy, poetry, ethics and epics—lifts us to our better angels.