Reading Tolstoy's The Devil: Establishing Context

As indicated in my post for 01-06-05, I planned to read more Tolstoy on same date.

I did exactly that last night. Here are the details. To begin with in order to make sense of any kind of work of art, it is best to understand context.

At this point, I'd like to remind you that Justin Kahn is Not a Professional Literary Critic. Having said that let's jump in.

Location: Carribou
Music: 1)David bowie's Heathens (Get it b/c the story is called The Devil? I was developin a whole them.) Not one of his best albums.
2)Sympathy for the Devil. This is sad, but I didn't listen to the original cut, but the fatboy slim remix.
3) Harry Chapin's People Stay the Same. I played this song when I read this passage from the Start of the Devil:

It is generally supposed that conservatives are usually old people, and that those in favour of change are the young. That is not quite correct. Usually conservatives are young people: those who want to live, and have not time to think, and therefore take as a model for themeselves a way of life that they have seen.

The similiarities between Tolsty's observations and Chapin's song are striking. Though, Chapin is a bit stronger on the Guitar.

I know. You think that's a lot of music, to be listening to but for a short story, the story is long (fifty pages in my edition.)

I would have stuck around Carribou longer, but it soon became obvious that no women were going to show and sweep me off my feet.

More on the story to follow.


P.S. Seriously. Who did Kill the Kennedy's. Contra the stone's it wasn't me. Was it you?