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Title: Not the icon that people make him out to be
Review: Sure, Tolstoy is a very good writer but it's a stretch to try and claim that AK is the "best novel ever written." I found it unfocused and slow in developing a plot. O.k., part of that is just the style of the writing of the time but that's not a complete excuse.While I enjoyed it to a certian degree because of the prose, this book is basically BORING (and that takes a lot for me to say; I read some pretty dry stuff). Even Tolstoy thought this book was crap when he finished it. He almost never published it. (Of course, what's bad for him is still better than most authors can do...)Personally, I think Dostoyevsky is a better and more interesting writer. Tolstoy is a classic, and I respect him for that, but don't assume he's great just because people (including Oprah) tell you so...
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