Childhood is a tender, emotional, and deeply human portrait of growing up, told with a honesty that feels almost painful. Rather than focusing on dramatic events, Tolstoy explores the quiet inner world of a child — his thoughts, fears, confusions, small joys, and sudden realizations. The story follows a young boy as he slowly becomes aware of himself and the people around him, discovering love, pride, jealousy, guilt, and loss for the first time. What makes this book powerful is its emotional accuracy. Every feeling is delicate and real, as if Tolstoy is not writing fiction but remembering his own soul. Childhood here is shown as a fragile state, full of warmth and innocence, yet constantly threatened by the adult world. Moments that seem small — a look, a word, a change in tone — carry deep emotional weight. As the boy grows, he begins to notice the imperfections of adults, the unfairness of life, and the sadness hidden behind everyday routines. This growing awareness slowly pulls him away from innocence, and that quiet separation hurts more than any dramatic loss. Tolstoy does not rush this process; he lets it unfold naturally, making the reader feel every step of emotional growth. By the end, the book leaves you reflective and slightly heavy-hearted, because it reminds you of your own childhood — the time when feelings were pure, mistakes felt enormous, and the world was both beautiful and confusing. Childhood is not just about being young; it is about the universal pain of growing up and realizing that innocence, once lost, can never fully return. (collected)
Childhood (pre-reform Russian: Дѣтство; post-reform Russian: Детство, romanized: Détstvo) is the first published novel by Leo Tolstoy, released under the initials L. N. in the November 1852 issue of the popular Russian literary journal The Contemporary.
It is the first in a series of three novels, followed by Boyhood and Youth. 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.
Childhood explores the inner life of a young boy, Nikolenka. 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.
In autobiographical Childhood Tolstoy described his homosexual attraction. In the novel Tolstoy recalls how he was smitten by Sergey Ivin, “whose striking good looks had captivated me from the first, and I felt an irresistible attraction towards him. Only to see him filled me with pleasure […]. Awake or asleep, I was forever dreaming of him.” Nevertheless, he tells no one about his first love then—not even Sergius. (Wikipedia)
