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Tolstoy Estate, The

Conte, Steven

  24 Reviews

When a German medical unit establish a field hospital in Leo Tolstoy's former country estate, army surgeon Paul Bauer meets Russian writer and custodian of the estate, Katerina Trubetzkaya. It is 1941 and a brutal Russian winter and an ignominious retreat are on their way ...

Threaded through with the Tolstoy classic War and Peace, and with a close attention to detail, this captivating book is a story to savour as it balances the horrors of war with the universal power of literature. [Large sized book]

Pages
410
Year
2020

Reviews

HUNTLY 001
16-10-2024
4-4.5. A good read. Interesting to read about WWII from the perspective of a German, but without in any way lessening the horror of what the Nazis did. The Tolstoy link added interest.
AUCK 050
29-08-2024
A wonderful read which encouraged much discussion in the group.
TAUR 016
07-08-2024
Overall opinion was 5/5. Very well-written and the best book we have read for a long time.
AUCK 224
21-06-2024
Definitely not like any other war story. Well-written with wonderfully rounded characters. Surprising, exciting, sad and satisfying.
NELS 040
07-05-2024
The group all enjoyed this book. Good to see the subject viewed from a different perspective.
RAUM 001
17-04-2024
Engaging and showed a different point of view of the war.
WHANG 008
06-03-2024
The book drew us in until we were gripped by the story. It shed light on a time and place we knew very little about. A very satisfying book to read.
ALEXA 013
11-01-2024
We all really enjoyed this, even though a few of us wouldn't ordinarily read this genre. Someone read it in a day or so as was so enthralled.
WELL 153
10-01-2024
Generally positive response to this book. The visceral descriptions of medical procedures in the challenging conditions of war were difficult to read. The love story was compelling, and many wanted to read 'War and Peace' after this. The strong Russian female character was appealing. Historically this was interesting as it was from the German viewpoint for a change. Recommended for all readers - especially those with a medical interest.
CHCH 481
15-12-2023
Engaging - gave us chills (literally!) about the German-Russian war. Well drawn characters and portrayal of soldiers during war time.
CHCH 503
01-11-2023
Quite a different insight into the 2nd World War. We enjoyed the variation of this book. A bit slow in the middle.
WHANG 023
25-09-2023
Everyone that read it, really liked it.
AUCK 065
13-09-2023
We all found the book fascinating and two of us are going to read 'War and Peace' again. We had a very interesting discussion about learning from our mistakes - men and war and guns.
NAP 023
21-08-2023
Everybody loved this book - one of the best we have read! Characterisation is superb and storyline very strong!
AUCK 009
21-08-2023
Unanimous verdict. 5/5. We all loved this book and couldn't put it down. So beautifully written, so descriptive, so clever. Some of our group have been stimulated to re-read 'War and Peace'.
FEILD 006
11-08-2023
A wonderful sad love story with an insight into a period of history we knew little about, the German invasion of Russia. They were so confident of winning in a climate and terrain they were ill prepared for. The circumstances surrounding this love story prevented it going far, but some beautiful writing of feelings and overcoming political adversity.
NAP 017
31-07-2023
Enjoyed by all members. Quite eye-opening about details of war/soldiers in Russia ( Germans). Learned much about Tolstoy's background which was interesting to all.
QUEEN 006
02-06-2023
Once settled into reading this book all our group found it thoroughly engrossing. The characters, the storyline, the style of writing, the setting - all so well portrayed and developed. Notes and questions very good too.
UPHU 002
18-05-2023
All at our discussion group enjoyed the book - well written and all agreed they could feel/see the conditions in the Russian winter of '41 at Tolstoy's estate. The main character, Paul Bauer, was sincere and dedicated to his role as a surgeon.
NELS 015
13-04-2023
This book was enjoyed by all members of the book group. More than a couple were tempted to tackle 'War and Peace' after this story. They found the glimpse of life at the front very real and it was a very well told story.
AUCK 069
23-03-2023
Liked the story, some loved the medical/surgical descriptions and others didn't. We found the main character 'not very German'. The letters were a bit of a jolt, but some really liked them.
WELL 041
17-11-2022
We all decided that this beautifully written book was definitely the best we read this year. Carefully crafted, wonderfully detailed characters - we just loved it. A joy to read.
NAP 005
10-09-2022
This was a bitter sweet novel of war, love and literature and we all rated it very highly. There were horrifying accounts of the numbing cold, the unpreparedness of the German army, the pointlessness of war and the varying ways that individuals deal with it all. Tolstoy's estate and War and Peace somehow brought it all to life.
WELL 001
07-09-2022
The group enjoyed the book. The characters were well drawn and the descriptions of surgery in the field hospital very vivid. The most disagreement in our discussion was over the use of the later letters which interrupted the historical sequence of the narration, and whether they should have been left until the end. Recommended.