The Forged Coupon | Book Review

The whole story is revolved around a coupon which is forged by a kid, Mitya, who was persuaded by one his friend to repay the money which Mitya had borrowed from a some other friend. But he did not know that it will lead many people to commit the gravest of crime including murder.

This book as I found later, presents many of Tolstoy's own beliefs on good and evil, his moral preoccupations, and his view on Christianity. This was written in his last years of life, which makes it more insightful about what he thought in his dying years.

Its quite disturbing to understand from the book that how little desperate actions which seem harmless when committed, but later lead to crime of such heinous degrees. In the book we exposed to many characters which are morally sound at first but slowly and gradually they turn into raging monsters and descent into the abyss of depravity just because their circumstances. Good and evil is not that black and white situation where, good people do good since they want to, and evil ones do evil because they chosen it. Its not that straightforward, as its seems.

Talking specifically about book, it is relatively short novella, with the usual Tolstoy's way of dealing with questioning human nature more by characterization than the plot. The characters are realistic, we may relate them some way or other, and it is special achievement because of given short length of the book.

While writing these review I am stuck on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina right now, it might take more time to complete. But this short book can be referred to get used to Tolstoy and his writings.

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