Fall Reading Group: Tolstoy’s Short Fiction

Instructor: Cameron Bellm
Fridays at 12-1 p.m. ET / 9-10 a.m. PT
October 30, November 6, 13 and 20
Live discussions on Zoom
Cost: $50
Max participants: 20
All readings will be provided in PDF form

Leo Tolstoy is one of the great masters of writing about human consciousness. Although he is best known for his lengthy novels “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” Tolstoy also produced a number of remarkable gems in shorter form, a collection of which we’ll explore together.

Throughout his life, Tolstoy was always concerned with questions of faith, spirituality and morality, but as he aged, he began to focus more intently on how we as humans cope with death and dying, and what kind of legacies we might leave behind.

In the month of November, when we remember the holy souls who have gone before us, we are all invited to reflect expansively and prayerfully on our own mortality. In the four stories we will read and discuss together, Tolstoy will be our guide to entering into a spirit of memento mori. Far from being grim and dour, Tolstoy’s interweaving of death into the rich tapestry of everyday life offers us a rich and rewarding way to enter into this season.

Course Overview

Readings

About the Instructor

For each session, participants will be provided with one short fiction work by Tolstoy via PDF. We will meet via Zoom during the noon hour on four Fridays (October 30, November 6, November 13 and November 20). The course will also include a message board where people can discuss the stories in between the Zoom meetings. At the beginning of each session, the instructor will provide a brief contextual overview of the week’s reading, but the bulk of each meeting will be spent in discussing the work itself, through close reading and observing the themes that develop along the way. Together, we’ll ponder Tolstoy’s stories, reflect on his spirituality, and consider our own relationship not only to the mystery of mortality, but also to the beautiful paradoxes of the human experience.

Week 1 (October 30): The Death of Ivan Ilyich (1886) (53 pages) Week 2 (November 6): Master and Man (1895) (46 pages) Week 3 (November 13): How Much Land Does a Man Need (1886) (14 pages) Week 4 (November 20): Alyosha the Pot (1905) (61 pages)

Cameron Bellm holds a Ph.D. in Russian literature from UC Berkeley, and her spiritual life is deeply informed by her literary training. A longtime contributor to the Jesuit Media Lab, Cameron writes on Catholic spirituality for a number of outlets. Her first book, “The Sacrament of Paying Attention,” will be published in 2027. You can find more of her work at cameronbellm.com.

Questions?

If you have any questions about “Fall Reading Group: Tolstoy’s Short Fiction,” email Mike Jordan Laskey at medialab@jesuits.org.

Art by Andrei Bodko

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Contributed by:

Cameron Bellm

Cameron Bellm is a Seattle-based writer and retreat leader, whose work has been featured in America Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, Red Letter Christians and Catholic Women Preach.