Tolstoy or Dostoevsky

Book excerpt: The first book of criticism from the acclaimed author of After Babel—a “provocative and probing” look at Russian literature’s most influential writers (The New York Times). “Literary criticism,” writes Steiner, “should arise out of a debt of love.” Abiding by his own rule, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky is an impassioned work, inspired by Steiner’s conviction that the legacies of these two Russian masters loom over Western literature. By explaining how Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky differ from each other, Steiner demonstrates that when taken together, their work offers the most complete portrayal of life and the tension between the thirst for knowledge on one hand and the longing for mystery on the other. An instant classic for scholars of Russian literature and casual readers alike, Tolstoy or Dostoevsky explores two powerful writers and their opposing modes of approaching the world, and the enduring legacies wrought by their works.