The True Story of Konstantin Levin

Pavel Basinsky is a writer, journalist, and literary scholar. His fascinating documentary books about the life and work of Leo Tolstoy have sparked a new wave of interest in the phenomenon of the "Yasnaya Polyana apostle" including "Leo Tolstoy: The Escape from Paradise", "Saint Against Leo", and "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. By rereading the most mysterious work of Leo Tolstoy, along with his drafts and diaries, Basinsky attempts to find answers to the main questions. Why is Konstantin Levin needed in "Anna Karenina"? Why does Tolstoy give him half of his novel with and without Kitty? How does Levin reflect in the other characters of the novel — Oblonsky, Vronsky, Anna, and even Karenin? Who is the prototype of Konstantin Levin? Is it 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 "Yasnaya Polyana" estate museum. "In different ways, 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 a train. Why live if I will die, thinks Levin and continues to live". Pavel Basinsky