About this audiobook
Korney Vasilyev returns to his household carrying suspicions that affect the way he interprets what he sees. A conflict within the family develops from feelings that he treats as sufficient grounds for judgement. The consequences extend beyond the immediate quarrel, bringing questions of pride and attachment into a life that becomes increasingly distant from the home he once knew.
Leo Tolstoy tells the story through concrete events and changes in circumstance. Anger can make an action seem justified while preventing attention to the vulnerability of those affected. The passage of time does not automatically remove the meaning of an earlier choice, even when the people involved understand their positions differently.
The tale explores resentment, responsibility and the difficult possibility of recognising another person's suffering. Its plain narrative form gives moral questions a human setting, inviting readers to consider how strongly the need to defend one's own hurt can interfere with the capacity to see what has happened to others.
