Two Hussars

by Leo Tolstoy

"Two Hussars" from Leo Tolstoy. Leo Tolstoy is widely recognized as one of the greatest of all novelists, particularly noted for his masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina (1828-1910).

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Russian Literature, Russia, Historical Fiction

78 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1856

About the author

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Russian: Лев Николаевич Толстой; most appropriately used Liev Tolstoy; commonly Leo Tolstoy in Anglophone countries) was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist fiction. Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. Tolstoy is equally known for his complicated and paradoxical persona and for his extreme moralistic and ascetic views, which he adopted after a moral crisis and spiritual awakening in the 1870s, after which he also became noted as a moral thinker and social reformer.

His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent Christian anarchist and anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reviews

[Luciano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesante novela corta. Puede parecer que dice poca cosa o que no pasa mucho en ella, pero creo que cumple muy bien con ese intento que Tolstoi llevaba adelante (junto con otros autores rusos del momento) de retratar su época. Es lo primero que leo del autor y la verdad es que su pluma, sin dejar de ser sencilla, es muy bonita y envolvente.

Me gustó mucho el manejo de la temporalidad en dos tiempos, en dos generaciones, remarcando sus diferencias y sus formas de impactar en los otros e interactuar con ellos. El autor desarrolla a los dos condes Turbin (padre e hijo), ambos húsares (de allí el título) a su paso por una localidad pequeña quizá cercana a Moscú. Su personalidad es muy distinta y también su forma de interactuar con la gente del pueblo. Pero las diferencias generacionales también se ven entre los habitantes de la ciudad y su forma de interpretar lo que los húsares hacen.

La descripción de la localidad y todo su espectro social, en el pleno siglo XIX me pareció interesantísima: el realismo ruso tiene esa ventaja de permitirnos viajar en el tiempo, conocer otro mundo y otra cultura. Tolstoi lo hace muy bien. Recupera varias de las problemáticas del momento: la guerra (probablemente por la fecha de publicación de la obra, 1856, se trate de la guerra de Crimea); y sobre todo, el juego, verdadera estafa y ruina de muchos, pero aun asi parte central de sus formas de sociabilidad.

Tolstoi muestra a partir de los dos protagonistas en quienes se centra el foco en las dos mitades del libro, cómo cambian esas formas de sociabilidad en el paso de dos generaciones. El autor no toma postura, no hay tiempos mejores y peores, sino simplemente diferentes. La posición de narrador en muchos sentidos suele mostrarse bastante neutra, distante.

Eso puede hacer pensar que el libro o la historia transmiten poco, aunque claro, no es así. Si uno se remite también al inicio, creo que hay una insistencia que atraviesa toda la obra en torno a los cambios, en cómo el mundo, en tan poco tiempo puede modificarse tanto. Y esa es una reflexión tan interesante como actual, en tiempos en que la tecnología (característica de la modernidad y de la posmodernidad) cambia las formas de vida hasta en lo más cotidiano, y las formas en que las personas se conectan y comunican.

Estoy seguro que valdrá la pena seguir explorando la obra de Tolstoi, y en especial sus libros más famosos. Este es un buen punto de partida, además muy alineado a los preceptos principales del realismo ruso, que dicho sea de paso, me encanta leer. Buen cierre para esta parte del año, en la que la inminencia del reto de Goodreads me llevó a buscar lecturas cortas.

[Fil · Rating 4 out of 5]

3+

Consiglierei questo racconto agli amanti di Tolstoj che vogliono leggere qualsiasi suo racconto ed ai lettori che hanno paura di cimentarsi con i lunghi romanzi russi. Tutti quelli che hanno letto "Anna Karenina" o "Guerra e pace" valutandoli tre stelle, quasi certamente non ameranno questo racconto. Diciamo chiaramente che non è al livello dei "Capolavori". Per scrivere "Guerra e pace" Tolstoy ha impiegato circa sei anni, per "Anna Karenina" quasi cinque. Questo racconto lo ha finito nel giro di un mese. Ed io l'ho letto nel giro di un giorno. Non può essere certamente paragonato ai due capolavori.

Questo racconto ha una particolarità. L'ottavo capitolo termina con le parole "(il protagonista) partì per sempre dalla città di K." Il lettore inizia il nono capitolo pensando a dove andrà il protagonista, il conte Fëdor Turbin, e legge invece "Erano passati vent'anni." In un solo secondo, si viene proiettati direttamente vent'anni dopo. Il primo ussaro viene "sistemato" in una decina di righe, in cui si sintetizza l'intera sua vita dopo la partenza dalla città di K., ed entra in scena il secondo ussaro. Sono quasi due novelle separate. Se un lettore vuole approcciar Tolstoj potrebbe banalmente leggerne una delle due. Non penso che quaranta pagine gli metterebbero molto paura.
Lo stile è scorrevole: in questo racconto non sono presenti le sue "tanto temute" digressioni. L'unico problema potrebbe essere un gioco di carte russo, da noi sconosciuto, che occupa quattro righe: questo gioco di carte e queste quattro righe si ripetono in entrambe le vicende.
Questa ripetizione non sarà l'unica tra le due storie. Una delle tematiche più complesse si raggiunge forse quando un personaggio minore esclama "ho perduto la mia giovinezza!". Esclamazione che non bloccherà nessun lettore e si ripeterà in entrambi i racconti. Anche le tematiche delle due storie, prese singolarmente, sono davvero molto semplici. Probabilmente la tematica più complessa della seconda parte si raggiunge con «Eccola la felicità: vivere in un angoletto tranquillo, con un'affettuosa, intelligente semplice moglietta: questa sì ch'è una solida, genuina felicità!»

"Due ussari" potrebbe essere utile ai lettori che non hanno mai incontrato i personaggi russi per cominciare a familiarizzare con i nomi. In questo romanzo sono presenti pochi personaggi ed è semplice capire che Liza e Lizocka sono la stessa persona. Con i tanti personaggi di "Guerra e pace" o "L'idiota" di Dostoevskij un lettore non troppo a suo agio con i nomi russi potrebbe avere qualche problema, soprattutto nelle prime pagine.

Chi dovesse utilizzare questo libro per approcciare i russi non deve commettere l'errore di pensare "questo libro non mi ha trasmesso niente; non vale la pena dedicare tutte quelle ore ad altri libri di Tolstoy". Sarebbe un ragionamento totalmente assurdo.

Neanche il grande Tolstoj potrebbe, in quaranta pagine, farti completamente coinvolgere dai personaggi. Si riesce già a vedere l'abilità dello scrittore nel rappresentare il carattere dei personaggi, ma è impossibile provare per loro qualche sentimento.

I suoi magnifici personaggi sono, secondo il mio parere, il punto di forza di tutta la letteratura di Tolstoj. In questo caso non sono molto profondi, però offrono spunti interessanti. Il conte Fëdor Turbin è un personaggio ambiguo: si comporta come Robin Hood in un caso (ruba ad un baro per ridare i soldi alla vittima del raggiro), e come un ladro egoista in un'altra situazione. Una sera si comporta da sciupafemmine, e poche ore dopo da gentiluomo.
Interessante è anche il rapporto tra i due ussari ed i loro rispettivi "servi". ll primo continua a insultare il suo aiutante però in fondo...

Ho scritto che un lettore potrebbe banalmente leggere una sola delle due novelle per apprezzare la facilità dello stile. Chi invece vuole apprezzare questo racconto non può ovviamente farlo. Il punto di forza del libro è infatti il confronto tra i due ussari che si ritrovano, a vent'anni di distanza in una situazione molto simile, ma hanno due caratteri completamente diversi. Significativo è il fatto che l'ambientazione sia la stessa ma il periodo no. I primi otto capitoli si svolgono in un paio di fredde giornate invernali, mentre gli ultimi otto in un paio di splendide giornate primaverili (siamo nel maggio 1848).

Tolstoj vuole confrontare due epoche storiche, come si intuisce dalla frase riguardante il cambiamento dei tempi, collocata all'inizio del nono capitolo: il capitolo del passaggio tra i due ussari e le due epoche.

«Erano passati vent'anni. Molt'acqua era corsa sotto i ponti, dal tempo di quegli avvenimenti; molta gente era morta, molta ne era nata, molta se n'era fatta adulta e vecchia; e ancor più nascite e morti c'erano state nel mondo delle idee: molto di bello e molto di brutto, fra quanto era vecchio, era sparito, molto di bello, fra quanto era nuovo, s'era sviluppato, e molto, anzi molto di più, fra quanto era nuovo, incapace di sviluppo, mostruoso, aveva fatto la sua comparsa...

[Magrat Ajostiernos · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

Una ingeniosa novelita sobre la decadencia. A ratos me sentía de nuevo en 'Guerra y paz', en aquellas fiestas por todo lo alto de los Kuragin... :)

[Phoenix2 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two Hussars is a tale spaning through two generations. It has lush, social critique, a comparison of two generations, and gives some food for thought. Well written and with the just right pace.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of two eras in which the past is mythologized, although I don’t know if I necessarily agree with Tolstoy’s position. The older Count Turbin is a scoundrel who gambles, mistreats his servants, and womanizes, but is loved and respected by all because he’s authentic and honest. His son is embarrassed by his late father’s reputation and is more “honorable,” which is to say he only talks down to servants instead of slapping them; he gambles, but doesn’t take it seriously; and he womanizes, but in the bungling way that lacks the self-confidence to pull it off. As a result, the older Turbin is remembered as a lovable rake. His son is known merely as a jerk. If only things were like the “good old days,” the elders lament. But weren’t the heroes of the “good old days” just more open in their behavior as scoundrels? Are they really more laudable simply because they were more honest in their rakish ways? How much is Tolstoy being ironic here? I’m sure this story has sparked some great critical discussions, which I look forward to reading in the near future.

[Sergei Ter-Tumasov (Սերգեյ Տեր-Թումասով) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Мне определенно не нравится ранний Leo Tolstoy: темы он выбирает какие-то неинтересные, герои все несимпатичные, нравы дикие, но пишет нормально, читать можно!

Удивило, что здесь присутствует (как мне показалось) сарказм, что нетипично для Leo Tolstoy!!!! Из минусов - невыразительный финал, из плюсов - отсутствие философии (как, например, в The Kreutzer Sonata).

[El Convincente Gon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guerra y paz si en vez de una selva fuese un bonsai.

[Cintia Andrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Divertidíssimo e o posfácio do Calvino é uma belezinha também.

[Merche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conde Turbin e hijo
Novela decadenciaejrcito ruso. Excesos de soldados. La vida desde distintos puntos de vista.

[Alok Ghimire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked it up at my library just because it was written by Tolstoy. The story telling and character formation, I found, in spite of the book being written long ago "War and Peace" were awesome. The transition of times gives the reader a hint of nostalgia of his own.

[Maria Stanciu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Destul de plictisitoare nuvela dar am cules câteva idei interesante. E vorba despre conflictul între două generații, felul cum fiecare percepe o situație, sensul vieții.

[Kasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing much happens, yet it's so beautiful and seems like such an authentic insight into real people's lives, even though the first half of the novel takes place well before Tolstoy was born. To paraphrase Babel, this novel really does read like the world narrating itself rather than something written by a mere human. Tolstoy is just such an incredible writer.

[Gabriel Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uma novela singela, onde eu poderia apontar dois destaques: a caracterização dos personagens, e a arte do "não dito", como sugere o posfácio de Ítalo Calvino.

Começando pelo último destaque, esse é um daqueles livros cuja leitura fica muito mais rica com o apoio das análises frequentemente colocadas em um prefácio ou posfácio. Na história de Dois Hussardos, há uma preparação para pontos de inflexão, e é possível até mesmo identificar o clímax dos dois trechos sequenciais da narrativa (hussardo-pai, e hussardo-filho). Apesar disso, "nada acontece". Isto é, acontece, Tolstoi chega a revelar o que aconteceria depois dos pontos de ápice da tensão, mas faz isso como se fosse algo por acaso, de menor relevância, e inesperadamente comum. É como se a conclusão esperada não fosse atendida.

Já em relação à elaboração dos personagens, apesar de que nesse texto não haja uma evolução deles e nem uma profundidade psicológica que aponte suas contradições, etc, isto é, apesar de que esses personagens sejam planos (talvez porque se trata de uma novela de menos de 100 páginas?), ainda assim é sempre notável a clareza, riqueza e a distinção com que as personalidades são descritas pelos autores clássicos russos do século 19. Em Dois Hussardos, é como se você pudesse compreender perfeitamente o que cada personagem faria, deixaria de fazer, ou já teria feito fora da história exposta no texto. O leitor rapidamente se familiariza com eles, e consegue identificá-los pelo tipo de pensamento e postura.

Em resumo, temos uma história simples, sem grandes reviravoltas, sem grande desenvolvimento, mas que mesmo assim permite acessar uma interessante gama de tensões e riqueza de detalhes.

[Ana Fernández Sánchez-Tembleque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué bonito escribe este señor

[~Trogo · Rating 2 out of 5]

this happened ig

[Tahmid Kabir · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring. Just bland and boring. First Leo Tolstoy story and I was bored out of my mind.

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 2 out of 5]

La celebración de una fiesta de las de época aristocrática. Un conde muy golfo que se desmadra y mucho postureo. En noventa páginas nos trasmite todo el golferío.

[Mbuye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1856, ‘Two Hussars’ is a timeless novella with a generational perspective about young men then and young men now. Naturally “then” carries an implicit meaning of greater honour, virtue, chivalry and integrity, while “now” almost always stands for the degeneracy of social customs and morals.

In his own classic way Tolstoy points out how this is both true and untrue, by taking the example of two generations, father and son, with the same name, Count Turbin, and how they reacted to almost exactly similar circumstances twenty years apart. It is for the reader to determine whether such a difference is due to defects in character, whether of father or son; or whether, in fact, society itself has changed, perhaps become degenerate, or simply whether hypocrisy governed both the past and the present.

The father is a lively scoundrel, who drinks, beats up his servant, borrows money freely, flirts with every girl he sees, and even seduces a respectable and innocent widow in his one evening in the town. He is made welcome wherever he goes, because together with his cheerfulness, he shows himself to be so open-handed and generous hearted that the servant whose teeth he had knocked out for insolence, says to the dog which he had neglected to feed: “He’s knocked my teeth out, Bluchy, but still he’s my count and I’d go through fire for him-I would!”

Nevertheless, he carries the reputation of a fearless man, a duellist, the terror of the enemy, and occasionally a brutal tyrant. In the space of one evening, he finds the time to attend a ball, dance with all the ladies, flirt with the girls at a gypsy camp, and endear himself to their husbands with the companionable manner in which he joined their revels, attend a card party where he observes a colleague losing badly to a cardsharp, challenges the sharp, recovers and restores the money to his friend and runs back to the widow for a final embrace and leaves her sleeping before finally for Moscow.

Now the son, also Count Turbin, about twenty years later. By a curious play of circumstances, he lands in the same village as his father had. Like his father, he finds no accommodation suitable for his rank and status. The son, unlike the father, is coarse, mean-minded and dishonest, savage to his inferiors, and overjoyed at winning at cards from an old lady. It happens that this old lady is in fact the beautiful widow whom the old Count Turbin had so gallantly seduced twenty years ago.

The son despises the society of the country people whose food and drink he does not, however, deign to refuse. Even the knowledge that his father had spent an agreeable evening with these same people more than twenty years ago does not induce him to display the least courtesy to them. His manners are insensitive and ungentlemanly, and by the time the evening is over, he fails in an attempted seduction of the widow’s daughter, Lisa. (Now, although never explicitly spelt out, there is always the underlying idea that the seduction of the mother by old Count Turbin had resulted in Lisa.) So it is as well that the son’s attempted assault had resulted in failure.

And finally, the second Count Turbin is a coward. Challenged to a duel by a subordinate, the count allowed his second to settle the affair so discreetly that not only was there no duel, but nobody else in the regiment even heard of it.

A simple tale but engrossing in its lavish detail and colour and gaiety, clashing with the sombre greys of time and old age, told with an astonishing economy of words.

[Ivan Alessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che dire? non mi ha sconvolto, ecco. forse perché me ne tornavo bel bello, col sorriso soddisfattamente gagliardo, dal bel-amì. ma anche qui sfacciataggine se ne ritrova eccome! gente disposta a tutto pur di riuscire agli occhi di altri, che siano giocatori o donnicciuole. vero è che molto poco invasivo, è una sveltina insomma. piacevole, sì, ma non ti struttura l'animo. c'è da dire, però, che leggendolo ho iniziato a comprendere una cosa: la relazione plastica tra lo spazio dell'azione e i personaggi. ho avuto l'impressione, nel primo racconto (soprattutto nelle prime parti), di uomini che si muovono in spazi minuscoli, e ho notato che i personaggi sovrastano l''ambientazione, risultando così enormi sballati, come in una miniatura dove le figure umane stanno a malapena nelle casupole. e questo è dato dallo spazio che lo scrittore concede ai suoi manichini letterari: se abbozza gli spazi con oggetti piccoli (candele, posate, carte, bicchieri...) ecco che gli uomini sembreranno dei giganti. e forse per tolstoj lo erano, nel suo racconto. questo ussaro le vince su tutti, sbraita, beve, picchia, urla, insulta, tutto esagerato, tutto smodato, anche nell'amare; è grande, è enorme, nulla lo può contenere.

[Kakha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мне очень понравилось, как писатель проник в мысли и чувства персонажей. Он смог передать их внутренний мир и психологию с большой точностью и глубиной. Каждый персонаж описан так живо и непосредственно, что кажется, будто мы знаем их лично.
Описание событий и окружающей среды тоже вызвало у меня яркие образы. Толстой умело передает атмосферу и детали, создавая полноценную картину происходящего. Можно почувствовать себя внутри рассказа, будто сам присутствуешь на местах действий.
Невозможно не заметить простоту и понятность языка, которым описываются события. Писатель не использует сложные слова и фразы, но все равно умудряется передать внятные и довольно глубокие мысли и эмоции разных людей. А это делает чтение рассказа еще более увлекательным. И на этот раз здеьс не было никакого русского имперского шовинизма бездумного захватничества.
В итоге, этот рассказ оставил у меня очень хорошее впечатление. Говоря честно, короткая история, описанная здесь, точно заставляет задуматься и чувствовать все происходя1щее вокруг более сильнее.

[Valeriya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perhaps one of Tolstoy's most underrated works but by no means his least talented one. I originally heard of this novella from Yuri Dud''s interview show with guest Leonid Parfenov, and Parfenov explaining that his infamous program Namedni was inspired by the introduction of this work. I appreciate how riveting the story is despite being so short and how it shows the contrasts of two generations. Tolstoy has this way of writing that really truly transports you to that time, and you feel like you are there. Somehow it makes me nostalgic for Russia in 1856 even though I obviously could have never experienced it, that's how phenomenal Tolstoy is as a writer. Another thing I loved about this novella is that a lot of the feelings and sentiments described in the work are still felt today, the night-long debauchery, the excitement of a young provincial woman getting to meet young men. This work is a legend and a huge thank you to Leonid Parfenov for mentioning it -- вы лучший!

[ForestGardenGal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short study of the personalities from two families and of two different generations in their respective times of young adulthood. Each time period takes only about 40 pages.

The men are depicted as wantonly careless hustlers, the women as ignorant simps being easily led about.

It seems that Tolstoy was making a point about how each generation struggles to differentiate themselves from their parents, to little or no avail.

It is my impression that this was likely a study in characters intended to be later developed and made a part of one of Tolstoy's masterworks, like a sequel to War and Peace, as it has definite potential but is too short to have the same sort of impact as his great novels.

An interesting read for lovers of Tolstoy, but others should be warned that this short work does not reflect the intensity or high quality of his novels.

[Cicuta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was boring...
Maybe I'm just reading too many books/tales of the same genre (that is to say set in tsarist/pre-rivolutionary Russia, apropos landowners and farmers... And nobilty... And matters of honour... And duels... And... Ladies... And... Goddamn), but oh well there's nothing left in my bookshelves. At least nothing that piqued my interest.

Back to this one in particular, I didn't even understand the point... The message... Or... Well whatever it was about? It wasn't hard, just difficult to focus on due to its... Boringness
I had to read other people's reviews to acknowledge the fact that it was making a comparison between two different generations, but still I haven't grasped what it was trying to say... My apologies

[Kavya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Two Hussars, not this edition, but from a volume of collected shorter fiction of Tolstoy. It again reminded me of why I like his writing so much— simple, elegant, precise. He does a great job of capturing minute differences between 2 generations, one from the early 19th century and one mid, through the juxtaposition a father and son. Their interactions with society, women, and their fellow officers is contrasted, and I enjoyed reading of their exploits, particularly the part with Lisa and her overzealous expectations of love and how they change upon meeting the younger Count Tùrbin (I don’t think that’s where the accent goes 😭). Very elegant story!

[when-cows-fly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Commentary on the inescapable cyclical patterns of life? The son is a lesser version of the father, a fiendish rouge (that everyone loved?)- Their mediocrity seems equivocal. While the Son takes on a more honorable character, he lacks the charisma that cemented his father in the minds of many (even though the dad was an absolute jerk to). Possibly about how nostalgia distorts our view of the past?

The female characters in this novella are boring. Most of their inner dialogue revolves around the men or contemplation of Tolstoy's token Rouseauist experiences.

[Tiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pai e filho, oficiais hussardos visitam a mesma cidade separados por um período de 20 anos e pernoitam por lá. Este é o mote desta história bem curta e simples: Podemos notar alguns contrastes entre a Rússia do início do século XIX (primeira parte) e a Rússia do meio do século XIX (segunda parte e época em que Tolstoi escreveu o livro) e também como a nova geração, na figura do jovem Conde Turbin, vê a velha geração representada pelo seu pai na primeira parte.

[Timothy Coplin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this story as part of the compilation of short stories titled 'The Cossacks & Other Early Stories'. Of the five stories in the compilation, I felt this to be the weakest; and I fail to see the relevance of the point Tolstoy was trying to convey, that being a generational difference among the ranks of Hussars. Surely he wasn't applying this to society as a whole.

[Denisa Cîrstea · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Luna aproape plină, deja pierzându-şi strălucirea aurie, plutea deasupra vârfurilor teilor firavi, care o acopereau la răstimpuri. Pe iazul, al cărui luciu era agintat într-un loc de lună şi se zărea printre alei, începuseră să cânte broaştele. Într-o tufă parfumată de liliac, chiar lângă fereastră, legănând din când în când florile umede, ţopăiau uşor şi se scuturau nişte păsărele."

[Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro corto de este autor ruso que describe a los húsares de aquel tiempo, donde no falta el juego y el amor, entretenida pero la verdad esperaba algo más viniendo de este autor, una novela de la que puedes pasar sin ella pero muy bien escrita, como casi todos los de esa época, lo que se agradece mucho

[Manfredi Mori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edizione Einaudi Centopagine del '73. Eccellente racconto di Tolstoy che nell'arco di appena ottanta pagine riesce a caratterizzare perfettamente almeno sette personaggi. Conseguire questo risultato con così poco spazio é straordinario. Consigliato a chi fosse interessato alle tecniche di scrittura.