The True Story of Konstantin Levin

Pavel Basinsky is a writer, journalist, and literary scholar. His captivating documentary books about the life and work of Leo Tolstoy have raised a new wave of interest in society towards the phenomenon of the "Yasnaya Polyana apostle" including "Leo Tolstoy: Escape from Paradise", "Saint Against Leo", "The Lion in the Shadow of the Lion". "The True Story of Anna Karenina" was awarded the "Big Book" prize. In his new book "The True Story of Konstantin Levin", Pavel Basinsky continues his literary investigation. Rereading the most mysterious work of Leo Tolstoy, along with his drafts and diaries, Basinsky seeks to answer the main questions. Why is Konstantin Levin needed in "Anna Karenina"? Why does Tolstoy give him half of his novel with Kitty and without? How is Levin reflected in the other characters of the novel - Oblonsky, Vronsky, Anna, and even Karenin? Who is the prototype of Konstantin Levin? Tolstoy himself or, as always, is it much more complicated? The book is illustrated with photographs from the archives of the State Museum of L.N. Tolstoy and the museum-estate "Yasnaya Polyana". "By different paths, through sin and virtue, the two main characters of 'Anna Karenina' ask themselves the same question: WHY? Why live if there is no love in the world, thinks Anna and throws herself under the train. Why live if I will die, thinks Levin and continues to live". Pavel Basinsky