A review by erinbottger
The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny Brewer

5.0

I really enjoyed this semi-historical story of senior Henry Stuart who up-ends his life in Nampa, Idaho to relocate to Fair Hope, Alabama in 1925 for health reasons.

Brewer starts the book with Henry's doctor's prognosis and his choice of Southern destination. The retiree then divides up his earthly goods and says farewell to two adult sons and close friend, Pastor Will Webb. As a widower, Henry, once a professor, is now unencumbered and he begins going barefoot in anticipation of a new life in the footsteps of his hero, CountLeo Tolstoy.

The book then takes him South via train, then by steamer across Mobile Bay to the community of Fair Hope where he meets his new neighbor, Peter Stedman. Peter has purchased land and supplies for him in advance. Thinking he might have only a year to live, Henry vows to lead a simplified, productive life to the end, and following a major tropical storm, puts aside his books and writing in order to construct a circular cement "hut" he designs to live in. He pushes away his new friends- Peter and his wife, and the teacher Kate and her young daughter- in order to make his own cement brick structure by himself and meditate through physical labor. The amazing and practical feats of the solo construction project, in the end, drive the TB from his body and allow him a new lease on life.

In the final section, Henry comes out of himself and begins contributing to the community, aiding with post-storm repairs, delivering lectures on Tolstoy and Robert Frost, weaving rugs on his loom and greeting visitors to his Tolstoy Park Estate. Through it all, his final 20 years in fair Hope he revels in the beauty and nature of the woods and seashore, enjoys the companionship of his friends, and philosophizes about meeting death head-on.

The structure created by the real-life Henry stands today as a monument outside of Fair Hope. Author Brewer has brought to life the figure of the sage and man on this personal quest, fleshing out the thin historical evidence on Henry Stuart.

I quite enjoyed the book and the rich language used to tell the tale.