God Sees the Truth, But Waits

A Leo Tolstoy Short Story

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Deaver Brown

God Sees the Truth, But Waits engages a subject that would have suited Dostoyevsky. But Dostoyevsky would have written it with a tone of fist-waving anger and frustration, while Tolstoy wrote this story with an accepting, non-violent attitude toward the grievances described. The protagonist has been wrongly accused of murder, separated from his family for 26 years, and by circumstance meets the real murderer in Siberia. Meanwhile, he has gained an important role in the Siberian community and is trusted by the warden and prisoners alike. He spies the murderer trying to escape and is threatened, but still does not speak out when asked to by the warden. This profoundly moves the murderer, who seeks forgiveness from the protagonist, who says, “Only God can give forgiveness.” The murderer confesses, the protagonist exonerated and is ordered released from prison, but is found dead when the release notice comes - a classic Russian ending.

Public Domain (P)2011 Christina Brown

Tolstoy is always good

I don’t enjoy this narrator. I find his halting folksy Americanism distracting at best and very annoying at worst.

like the commentary following the story

Not a fan of the narration but liked the commentary that followed the short story

Timely message!!

Sublime. Reminds me of the Lion of Judah publications archive my father passed down to me of my Russian great grandma's.

Only God can give forgiveness. Leo Tolstoy.

Tolstoy's character, the person who had been offended was asked forgiveness and the offended man raised it up to God. The confessor (the person who performed the bad deed) was able to accept forgiveness and was grateful and healed of his many sins.

Therefore both were healed at the same moment.

God asks us to forgive those who have trespassed against us. If we forgive first, than God will send us graces that will heal us and those we have offended.

"Remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye". Matthew 7:5.

Leo Tolstoy has it backwards.

Good Story, Poor Narration

The story is good, but a bit simplistic and predicable and the narration drove me nuts. So far I have not liked anything by this narrator. The reading is halting and stumbling. For a buck and twenty minutes it was still worth it, but there are many better short stories.