Leo Tolstoy: which book should you start with?

Ivan Ilyich is a respected judge who has built himself a comfortable, honourable and well-ordered life. One day, after an ordinary fall, a strange pain appears in his side, and never leaves him. Little by little he realises that his illness is serious, and that his family would rather pretend to see nothing. Facing death, he wonders whether he has really lived. This short story by Tolstoy has lost none of its force: it asks the question everyone ends up asking, about what really matters. Written in a simple, direct style, it is easy to read in the language you are learning.

In 1805, in the salons of St Petersburg, everyone is talking about Napoleon. Pierre Bezukhov, an awkward young man who is about to inherit a huge fortune, is looking for meaning in his life. His friend, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, goes off to war to escape boredom, while young Natasha Rostova is bursting with joie de vivre. From Austerlitz to the burning of Moscow, Tolstoy weaves together great battles and family life, love and war. We watch his characters grow up, love, make mistakes and change, like people we know. With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great novel in the language you are learning.