Three uneven stories collected in this edition--
First, "Father Sergius," I found ironic. Sergius exemplified a rigorous ethic of morality, dedication, and discipline to higher purposes. In response to his fiancee's dalliance with another, he not only breaks with her but enters a monastery to contemplate and isolate. But this takes him down another path (remember, he must excel at everything he does) and he becomes a miraculous saint who can heal the infirm. His miracles take him down a different path and he breaks from this ends up...where he began in the story (I'm trying to dodge being a spoiler). I suggest the theme could be this: If you want God to laugh, plan something.
Next, the title story for this collection, "Master and Man," I found moving. It seems a Russian telling of Jack London's, "To Build a Fire." I felt Tolstoy in complete control of his craft. His sentences (even in translation) seemed taut, his pacing appropriate, his theme powerful. His paragraphs have a visual quality that predates cinema. Again, this story turns on irony and the moment of bliss at the end for the Master reminds me of the moment of redemption for the one thief being executed next to Jesus, who asked, "Remember me when you enter Paradise." Life can be lived in a moment--just ask Bret Harte, who wrote "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."
Last, the novella, "Hadji Murat," I found strong in realistic detail but overplayed in the romantic idealization of the title character. Hadji Murat is a walking Alamo, a drawn-out Battle of Little Big Horn, and Pearl Harbor in the flesh. The message that the Russian system of governance where all matters pass through the Tzar, good or bad, plays out in Hadji Murat's turbulent life. It seemed as if the story could have been trimmed (I know, say that to Tolstoy!) but some scenes seemed unnecessary. Of the three, and the longest, it seemed the weakest.