What are the best books of Leo Tolstoy?

While Leo Tolstoy wrote several different books, there are two that stand out. They are “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace.” War and Peace deal with five noble Russian families during the Napoleonic Wars. It contains some philosophical works from Tolstoy, but it also focuses on how the wars affected the Tsarist nation, and the impact on the five aristocratic families.

Anna Karenina follows a woman who leaves her husband for another man. However, she finds herself still restricted by the laws of the Church and also questioning herself throughout. This book deals with a more political foundation than did War and Peace and explores the feudal system which was still thriving during the time it was written. There is speculation that Tolstoy fashioned one of the characters after himself, as many of the political standings and thoughts seem more in line with Tolstoy himself.

Although there are other works of Tolstoy where he is more open and honest in his dialogue, these two books have come to the forefront of anything he has written, and it is for these two works alone that he is remembered and revered for.