Am Ende der Welt: Erzählungen

by Nikolai Leskov

Erzählungen / Stories:
1. Schafochs
2. Die Lady Macbeth aus dem Landkreis Mzensk
3. Am Ende der Welt
4. Der Linkshänder
5. Der Toupetkünstler
6. Der Wachtposten
7. Der Gaukler Pamphalon
8. Der Tolpatsch

Genres: Russia, Russian Literature, Fiction, Classics

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1875

About the author

also:
Николай Лесков
Nikolaj S. Leskow
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Lesskow
Nikolaj Semënovič Leskov
Nikolaĭ Semenovich Leskov
Nikolai Ljeskow
Н. С. Лѣсков-Стебницкий
Микола Лєсков

Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (Russian: Николай Семёнович Лесков; 16 February 1831 — 5 March 1895) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and journalist who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is credited with creating a comprehensive picture of contemporary Russian society using mostly short literary forms. His major works include Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (1865) (which was later made into an opera by Shostakovich), The Cathedral Clergy (1872), The Enchanted Wanderer (1873), and "The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea" (1881).

Leskov was born at his parent's estate in Oryol Gubernia in 1831. He received his formal education at the Oryol Lyceum. In 1847 Leskov joined the Oryol criminal court office, later transferring to Kiev where he worked as a clerk, attended university lectures, mixed with local people, and took part in various student circles. In 1857 Leskov quit his job as a clerk and went to work for the private trading company Scott & Wilkins owned by Alexander Scott, his aunt's English husband. He spent several years traveling throughout Russia on company business. It was in these early years that Leskov learned local dialects and became keenly interested in the customs and ways of the different ethnic and regional groups of Russian peoples. His experiences during these travels provided him with material and inspiration for his future as a writer of fiction.

Leskov's literary career began in the early 1860s with the publication of his short story "The Extinguished Flame" (1862), and his novellas Musk-Ox (May 1863) and The Life of a Peasant Woman (September, 1863). His first novel No Way Out was published under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky in 1864. From the mid 1860s to the mid 1880s Leskov published a wide range of works, including journalism, sketches, short stories, and novels. Leskov's major works, many of which continue to be published in modern versions, were written during this time. A number of his later works were banned because of their satirical treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church and its functionaries. In his last years Leskov suffered from angina pectoris and asthma. He died on 5 March 1895. He was interred in the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, in the section reserved for literary figures.

Reviews

[Vit Babenco · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is religion and there is faith, and they are two different things.
Noble Christian Pharisees do believe in Christ but their Christ is like a picture on a candy wrapper…

The picture in its frame stood on a table, before which the Princess was seated, lost in thought. The surroundings were beautiful: palms, arums, banana-plants, warbling and fluttering birds, and she was lost in thought. About what? She said to me she was seeking Christ…
This lady – may God accord her health – was the first to unfold to me the secret of how to find Christ; there He could be shown to all who wish Him to come under the palms and banana plants to listen to the singing of canaries? But will He come there?

The narrator, being still comparatively young, is appointed as bishop, to a very distant Siberian diocese. There he finds out that the clergy is dark and illiterate… Baptized natives pretend to believe but their faith is an incredible concoction of shamanism, Buddhism and Christianity… He considers missionary work poor and decides to go with inspection and this journey turns into the greatest ordeal of his life…

He spat in my eyes and then rubbed them with the sleeve of his reindeer coat.
“What are you about?”
“Rubbing your eyes, Bachka.”
“Get along, you fool…”
“No, wait a moment, Bachka – I’m not a fool. You’ll soon see again.”
It was quite true, when he rubbed my face with his fur coat sleeve, my frozen eyelashes thawed and my eyelids opened. But on what? What was to be seen? I do not know if it can be even more terrible in hell: all around there was profound impenetrable darkness – and it seemed alive, it trembled and cracked like a monster whose body was a compact mass of frozen dust and whose breath was life-destroying cold. Yes, it was death in one of its most awful shapes, and meeting it face to face, I was terrified.

The indomitable blizzard rages in the snowy wilderness… They are buried alive… They are lost… The deadly cold and harrowing hunger mean the sure death… But the primitive heathen saves him and after this moral lesson the bishop’s attitude to religion changes for good…

“What an enigma is the journey of this pure, exalted soul in such a clumsy body, and in this terrible wilderness? Why is he incarnated here and not in lands more blessed by nature? Why is his understanding so limited that he is unable to have a broader and clearer conception of his Creator?”

Good isn’t brought by religion, good is brought by the kindness of the human heart and soul.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a favorite book of mine. I've read it 4 times. The story is great. It is the enlightenment of a bishop into the true faith. The bishop is Orthodox and thus a 'true believer.' But he learns from experience what it means to be Christian and the difference between those who are cultural & instiutionally Christians and those who follow Christ whether or not they claim membership in the Church.

Many follow Christ - in all diverse manners - but not all are disciples. Think about any Gospel text - there is often a crowd around Him, following Him, gawking at Him, wathcing Him, trying to trap Him, hoping to see a miracle, wanting to learn from Him, hoping to touch His garment, wanting to accuse Him.

This is just as true today in every Christian congregation. The pastor has to come to recognize this truth. It is not the pastor's job to drive people away from Christ - Christ Himself did not do this and even picked as one of His chosen Twelve the one who would betray Him. Our task is to make Christ present so that many will follow Him and want to be with Him, and see Him, and hear Him, and touch Him, and have their faith strengthened, and their sins forgiven, and their ailments healed.

[Illiterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leskov develops humane ideas of goodness and faith within a fine portrait of Siberia and snowstorms.

[احمد الفيلكاوي · Rating 5 out of 5]

فكرة القصة قسيس تحاوطه الثلوج أثناء رحلته مع سائق العربة الذي يحتقره
ما يريد أن يوصله الكاتب أن من قد تحتقره بسبب شكله أو رائحته أو دينه قد يملك قلبا وفكرا افضل من كثير ممن تحترمهم ك
فيجب ان تحسن تعاملك مع الجميع وتعيش نقي القلب

[William Macrae]

A Russian archbishop travels to snowy Siberia to visit missionary outposts, gaining an appreciation for the realities of primitive life and how unreasonable it is to just “baptise” the native people and expect them to become conventional Christians. At the same time there is strong competition from Buddhist and Muslim presence. His journey begins with a horse drawn sleigh, then reindeer. Continuing with dogsleds, he is caught in a blizzard and his companion, an old monk familiar with the natives of Siberia, is separated, his driver releases the dogs and they have to continue on foot. During this near-death existence, sheltering under the snow, starving and enduring the awful stench of his unwashed companion, he re-evaluates his position in the church and becomes much more tolerant of what the polite gentility would call heresy. Despite the strong religious background, the book was found to be a readable adventure story.

[Božidar Mihajlovic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ovo je veoma dobra knjiga za sve religiozne ljude koji imaju misionsku orijentaciju tj. žele da svoju vjeru šire na druge. Glavni junak knjige, pravoslavni vladika smatra da je njegova vjera superiorna i da je njegova dužnost da propovjeda i krštava paganske narode. Tako odlazi na svoje misionarsko putovanje u Sibir a njegov vodič na sankama koje vuku psi je neobraćeni Tunguz koga vladika smatra divljakom. Ali nakon oluje u kojoj se "divljak" nesebično žrtvuje za vladiku i spašava mu život, on shvata da ovaj čovjek ima Božji zakon ispisan na srcu i da je veći i bolji vjernik od njega.
Ja sam teolog koji radi u crkvi koja je veoma misionski aktivna ali najbolje ljude sam vidio van crkve a ne u crkvi. Poput vladike i ja shvatam da prava vjera ne zavisi od toga kojoj crkvi ili religiji pripadaš več kakve etičke ideale imaš u svom životu.

[Trounin · Rating 3 out of 5]

О подвиге православных миссионеров сложена повесть “На краю света”. Требовалось просвещать дикие народы, забывающие себя в глухих и далёких местах. Потянулись туда мужи, тяжестей не испугавшиеся. Одним из таких был архиепископ Нил, составивший в 1874 году “Путевые записки”. Знал о них и Николай Лесков, что решил отразить в рассказе “Темняк”, представив тяжести проповедования в условиях севера. Немного погодя рассказ принял вид повести, дополнив яркие картины рассуждениями о текущем положении духовенства. Как всегда, проблема современников сводится к пониманию их измельчания. Дабы это в очередной раз продемонстрировать, достаточно ознакомиться с доставшимися на долю архиепископа Нила испытаниями.

(c) Trounin

[Dmytro Fedorchak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Чудова історія про православне місіонерство на півночі і місцевих жителів Якутії і инших північних народів. Гарно протиставляється «офіційне» священство з людьми, які догматично не до кінця розуміють ідеї християнства/православ’я, але з етичної точки зору бувають набагато «кращі» за тих же самих священників-місіонерів.
Книгу можна розглядати і як критику нещирого місіонерства, так і історію «людяності і етики», яка ширша релігійних догм.
Чимсь нагадало оповіді Толстого.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story about the difference between saying you love Christ and Showing you love Christ no matter the circumstances.

[Marc Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and moving in a way similar to Death Comes for the Archbishop but with true paganism and Buddhism vying for Christianity.

[Ahmed76 · Rating 2 out of 5]

أقصوصة عن فلسفة دينية مسيحية

[Anne-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was on the list of recommended reads this past spring in one of my English classes, and because it was pretty difficult to procure in a timely manner by way of interlibrary loan, I didn't get the chance to finally read it until today. Thank goodness for extended loan dates.

On the Edge of the World was fairly easy to read through, expressing ideas which are direct enough yet deeply profound; the translator did an excellent job of preserving the story in the spirit Leskov intended it, speaking to the heart of human dignity and what it truly means to be Christ-like. The book's synopsis does a much better job of summarizing it than I ever could, but what I will say is that Leskov (Russia's version of America's Mark Twain) artfully uses language that is both candid and introspective to make the narrator's journey completely relatable, regardless of a reader's religious persuasion.

Now I saw clearly that honest weakness is more excusable than mindless zeal... This passage found closer to the end of the story may seem to be a common sense type of adage, but bears so much meaning after having read the narrator's previous motivations.

This is one of those works I feel is a must-have for every person who wonders about the human condition and/or is serious about true spirituality. It's been a while since a work has humbled me this much, and has made me believe in the inherent goodness of our fellow human beings. I wholeheartedly recommend this story and will defiinitely be adding this to my personal library. It's an absolutely stunning work.

[Yousef Nabil · Rating 4 out of 5]

في حكايتنا هذه يتناول ليسكوف موضوعًا مهمًا ويقص علينا حكاية قد تبدو ��سيطة لكنها عميقة. تدور أحداث الحكاية حول الإرساليات التبشيرية التي واظبت الكنيسة الروسية على إرسالها من أجل تحويل السكان البدائيين في مناطق سيبيريا إلى المسيحية. عبر حكاية ليسكوف البسيطة والممتعة يمكننا أن نتعرف على مفهوم واسع ورحب ومتسامح للإيمان بدرجة ملفتة من خلال حكاية صادقة وممتعة.
ييقول الناقد الروسي بوريس إيخنباوم عن ليسكوف:
"لو لم يظهر ليسكوف لما اكتمل أدبنا الروسي في القرن التاسع عشر، والسبب الرئيس وراء ذلك هو أنه لم يكن ليصل -بدرجة كافية- إلى أعماق روسيا بجواليها المفتونين ، ولم يكن ليكشف بالقدر الكافي عن نفوس ومصائر الشعب الروسي بكل ما يتسم به من جرأة وعواطف وبلايا. لم يكن لتورجينيف أو تولستوي أو دوستويفسكي أن يتمم المهمة التي أتمها ليسكوف".

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a nice retelling of what missionaries were going through to reach very isolated people in Russia to bring them the faith, and the best attitude to have towards them. Even a bishop can learn a few lessons.
It reminded me of the great story of the Three Simple Men, by Tolstoy, it's really the same spirit.
It made me think of the amazing job done by Bishop now Saint Innocent of Alaska/Moscow.

[Matthew Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, for one of the required readings of the semester, I thoroughly enjoyed this. The way that the author blends the narrative together and paints vivid pictures of the story being told is quite fascinating. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoys America's Mark Twain to get a view of Russia's Leskov and find an international equivalent of great writing.