Childhood (Tolstoy novel)
Published when Tolstoy was just twenty-three years old, the book was an immediate success.It earned Tolstoy notice from other Russian novelists including Ivan Turgenev, who heralded the young Tolstoy as a major up-and-coming figure in Russian literature.It is one of the books in Russian writing to explore an expressionistic style, mixing fact, fiction, and emotions to render the moods and reactions of the narrator."Will the freshness, lightheartedness, the need for love, and strength of faith which you have in childhood ever return?What better time than when the two best virtues -- innocent joy and the boundless desire for love -- were the only motives in life?