Finished: Resurrection (Tolstoy) An interesting story of the personal redemption of a man. Apparently Tolstoy's last "major" novel, it definitely is more about getting the message across than really having a story element, if that makes sense. It covers the horrors and atrocities of how Tolstoy viewed the Russian peasants being treated in the 1800's, especially as it followed some characters through prison, and on a great march to exile in Siberia. The main character, Dmitry Nekhlyudov, is a prince who has all the wealth and advantages in the world. As a 19 year old, he falls in love with the servant girl, Maslova, at his aunt's estate. He is a good person, pure and true with good ideals. She falls in love with him as well. At the end of his visit, he leaves knowing he's in love. When he comes back, he's not so pure any more, because he has joined the army and has been "jaded". He has now experienced physical love and selfishness, and more importantly, being praised for making the most selfish choices and being ridiculed for making magnanimous choices. So, in two years, he has changed. When he sees Maslova again, though, all the old feelings come back and he loves her still. She loves him too, but this time, things aren't so pure. He doesn't force her into physical intimacy, but he is very insistent, so they sleep together. Neither are really pleased with the outcome, and he leaves early the next day for his post in the army. Maslova is embarrassed and doesn't know what to feel. Of course, she becomes pregnant, so is made the outcast, especially when Dmitry never bothers to come back by his aunt's. He doesn't know about the baby, but he also doesn't come back just to see her. Maslova has the baby, who is taken away and dies. She is kicked out of the house by the aunt, and has to make her way on her own. She is beautiful and beguiling to men, so she becomes a prostitute. She has been doing this for nine years when she is arrested for poisoning a customer in order to rob him. She is innocent of the crime. Her landlady actually did it...but Maslova is charged and has a trial. Low and behold, the very spoiled, rich, and not-sure-what-to-do-with-himself-these-days Dmitry is assigned to her jury! He recognizes her instantly, but she does not recognize him. The trial goes along and the jury actually decides that she had no reason to rob the man, so she is not guilty of that. Then, they say, (as she admitted) that she is guilty of giving the customer the drink, but she didn't know it had poison in it. What the distracted jury fails to write down in the ruling is that she is guilty of the poisoning, but that it was unintentional, so she should go free. Reading only the "guilty", the judge sentences Maslova to four years of hard labor in Siberia! Dmitry is devastated, especially since he had a hand in the erroneous verdict. However, it's more than that. He becomes a changed man over night! He realizes that she never would have been forced to live the life she lived if he had stuck to his original good morals and not abandoned her. He finds out about the baby, and is even more distraught for her. From that night on, he makes it his mission to submit an appeal to get her free, and to go so far as to marry her to bring her back from the dreadful circumstances. But that's not all....Dmitry's epiphany is all-encompassing. He also realizes that the peasants on his own estates are starving and dying and barely able to make a living. He goes to each of his estates and decides he'll give up most of his wealth and let the peasants rent and run the lands, AND take in all the profit from the lands themselves. But that's still not all...Dmitry witnesses the horrible conditions of the prison and even finds out that there are other innocent people there. He becomes an advocate for these people. He's actually able to get several people freed. His friends and family and most of the government officials he talks to can't understand why he'd bother with the subhuman of the species, but nothing deters him. He has....a complete resurrection of his soul and morals. Maslova, isn't really all that keen on seeing Dmitry once she recognizes him. He tells her his plan, and she wants nothing to do with it. However, she does start warming up to him. Dmitry goes to St. Petersburg to process his appeals, and they are turned down. His last hope is to appeal directly to the Emperor, so he does. That appeal will take some time though. Meanwhile, the prisoners are rounded up to be marched and cattle-car trained to Siberia. Dmitry takes care of all his personal business and declares that he will follow them to Siberia and still marry Maslova. He meets many interesting prisoners along the way and hears their plights and their complaints about the government. Tolstoy takes these moments to go off on his tangents about Christianity, and the hypocrisy of the government, and the church, and the rich in Russia, making their money off the misfortune of the poor. He describes the horrible conditions of the prisons, and really preaches about the unfairness of it all. Alot of this is done through stories that prisoners tell Dmitry, or through Dmitry's own thought processes as he talks to himself and realizes how the world has played out for the rich and the poor. Anyway, Maslova actually ends up falling for another prisoner, Simonson, and he for her. Simonson, knowing Dmitry's purpose of traveling with them, asks Dmitry's permission to marry Maslova. Dmitry, though taken aback, says that's up to Maslova. Maslova decides she wants to be with Simonson....but we're left with the thought that she did it more to keep Dmitry from "throwing his life away on her" and "marrying beneath him" than for the love of the new guy. Though...at the very end, the Emperor comes through and Maslova's sentence is revoked! She tells Dmitry she will follow, Simonson wherever he goes, though...so maybe she does really love Simonson? Dmitry is a little bit unsure what to do with himself after his hopes are rewarded and dashed all in the same night. However, he does go forward with the thought that his actions won't stop there...he will continue to be an advocate for the poor and innocent in the prisons, and the poor in general. The book ends with a huge biblical section which Dmitry reads and comes to realize that if only man could be as "good" as God intended and truly care for each other as human beings, even when they have done wrong, then the world would be a better place. Probably not my favorite of the Tolstoy's, but the parts that dragged are typical of his preaching that he does in the other books I've read too. The story itself was just not as developed as his others. Still, a book I'd been wanting to read and I'm glad I did! :-)