Walk in the Light collects short stories by Tolstoy revolving around Christian themes and moral lessons. As you might guess, looking at the other books published by The Plough Publishing House (Salt and Light: Living the Sermon on the Mount; Discipleship: Living for Christ in the Daily Grind; The Early Christians In Their Own Words), the intended audience would be readers looking for a religious theme. To that extent, it wouldn't matter if the author were Tolstoy or John Q. Christian, but since it is Tolstoy, a more literary examination is useful.

The collection is named after the longest piece in the book, "Walk in the Light While There is Light: A Story of Early Christian Times," which is an overly didactic parable about a Roman who keeps attempting to join the Christian brotherhood, only to be dissuaded by a mysterious doctor. When he finally joins the Christian commune, he discovers the life he'd always sought and berates himself for waiting so long. The moral of the story, handed down by an elder using a high-handed metaphor, is that it's never too late.

But while this story would perhaps not stand on its own outside such a collection, some of the shorter stories would. Some are parables -- about such topics as forgiveness, graciousness and kindness -- that transcend religion in their universal themes. Some tales are traditional folk tales retold; and some original stories take on the character of the folk tale: simple stories told in the context of ordinary lives, where the miraculous and the not so miraculous lead to a greater truth.

For example, "A Spark Neglected Burns the House" tells the story of neighboring families involved in an accelerating feud. One of the patriarchs advises his son to step back from conflict and make peace. This being a fable, the son does not take the advice and regrets it later. How many conflicts in today's world could be resolved by following similar advice?

In addition to the universal themes, this book is also interesting for its portrayal of early Christianity. In the story "Walk in the Light," the Christian commune is a socialist society where everyone works for the good of all. Even those from a Christian background will appreciate how foreign, how radical, the early Christian beliefs and practices were to outsiders.

As a literary work, Walk in the Light doesn't have enough strong stories to anchor a collection. However, the fables and parables would interest anyone fond of folklore, or those looking for inspirational reading, or anyone interested in finding a different side to the author of War and Peace.

The Plough Publishing House; ISBN: 0874869676.