A new character enters the scene

>A new character enters the scene.
>He's able to describe them and leave you with a particular initial impression in only 1-2 sentences.

How did this mad man write so well?

>He's able to describe them and leave you with a particular initial impression in only 1-2 sentences.
that's not true tho

He was extraordinary at shifting perspectives, and his character descriptions were usually him moving into a first-person-esque POV, while still writing from a third person POV. The result is the particular impression that the new character has on the major character of the given chapter -- but, again, the magic is that Tolstoy never "reveals" how subjective the description is to that major character. Then, he quietly links these subjective descriptions from various perspectives together to create an "objective" reality of a character.

One thing is that he describes his characters with psychological rather than physical details for the most part. So when the characters interact you get a much deeper impression or understanding of who they are. That's why even minor characters of his can have incredible depth.

Extremely high empathy and an excellent eye for details.
Tolstoy would take long walks in the woods and cry because the pain of the world would overwhelm him.

kek

If this is true then maybe I have a shot

What's a work an entry level reader can use to get an idea about Tolstoy? Obliviously I've got Anne Karenina and War and Peace on my radar, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to take on such huge books yet.

He has a fuckton of short stories, just pick one or some collection

The Death of Ivan Illyich

Well this one seems to fit the ticket. Is Wordsworth a good publisher?
Doesn't say what translation it is either, from what I've heard the Maude translations are Tolstoy approved? I don't wanna buy something and the next day find a thread where everyone says the edition I picked is shit.

>Is Wordsworth a good publisher?
look at the cover and tell me yourself

I always ask myself: are tehy really trying to create the worst possible covers? It cannot be that nobody on the publishing-house actually sees how ridiculous their covers are.

Either the oxford or penguin classic edition is good. The oxford one has How Much Land Does a Man Need which is excellent.

I dunno man, covers are confusing. I have in which people said the translation is great but look at that cover. The back cover is even worse.

I guess this edition works. Penguin seems to be less hated.

Their War and Peace cover is quite ridiculous.

I started with AK and didn't regret it. Its great length was actually a good thing, because it gave me time to adapt to and truly understand Tolstoy's style and ideas. So picking either of those for a start shouldn't be a mistake.

I thought the cover for the idiot wasn't so bad

Forgot image.

This one also looks good. Buying books is too hard.

His short story "Valour"

Alright I decided and ordered this one.
Now I'll just wait for 20 people to tell me I'm a retard for picking this edition.

>tfw all of your characters occupy the same Jungian sub-space and people are on the verge of discovering how much of a hack you are

Nobody understood humanity better than him. He writes with detached familiarity. Like he's a human writing for an alien species, trying to make them understand all the little things about human behaviour and thought.

His genius will never be topped.

t. college freshman who thinks he's smart because mommy is proud of him

What translation of the Death of Ivan Ilyich?