The book brings together two short writings by Lev Tolstoy centered on music, very dear to the author, and written at the same time: 1857 and 1858. The topic that unites them is music. It has an exceptional realistic narrative. Both texts are a reflection on the human condition.
In "Lucerna" the social criticism is more emphasized since the author admires the street musician and does not understand the attitude of both the spectators and the hotel employees.
In "Albert" he presents a very talented musician who is taken advantage of by some but is ignored and not helped with his alcoholism problem.
Despite their briefness the two stories are perfectly structured, since in both there is a presentation of the characters, there is a conflict and a final resolution that in both cases seems to remain open-ended.
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828-1910), Russian writer, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of world literature.