Confession

Author: Leo Tolstoy
Translator: David Patterson
Publisher: Islamic Book Trust
ISBN: 9789670957494
Weight: 0.35 kg
Pages: 96pp
Year: 2022
Price: RM23

Confession is the nakedly honest disclosure of the mid-life spiritual crisis of one of the greatest literary giants, the story of the tortured mind of one of the most successful and revered authors of all time, the literary giant who wrote two great masterpieces, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, that continue to awe its readers.

In the first part of the story, Tolstoy explains his frustration over not understanding the meaning of life. He resorts to science, philosophy, metaphysics, and religious practices to learn the true  meaning of life. But, at every quarter, he is disappointed. Having not found a clear answer to his question and seeing suffering and death as inevitable, and thinking there is nothing but darkness ahead, he contemplates suicide, but he never attempted at it for he considered it cowardly.

In the second part, Tolstoy describes how the true Christian teachings helped him to answer the question. Generations of readers have been inspired by this heartfelt reexamination of religious orthodoxy and subsequent spiritual awakening. This timeless work is for anyone who has ever worried about the fleeing nature of life and speculated about the value of existence.