The War and Peace Reading Support Group week 2: Pierre has just inherited a LOT of money and Andrei is off to war.
We’re doing Russian Lit so we’re supposed to be in a solemn, profound, cerebral sort of state, but I have to say:
War and Peace is so badass!
Think of an epic-scale family drama with complex human beings rather than stock characters. Take the scene in which the old Count Bezukhov is dying. Prince Vassily knows that the dying count has dictated a new will leaving his entire fortune to his son Pierre, so Prince Vassily, his wife, and the count’s nieces will get nothing. This will is not valid because Pierre is illegitimate BUT Count Bezukhov has also written a letter to the emperor asking for permission to adopt Pierre. Prince Vassily asks Bezukhov’s niece, Katerina Semyonovna, if she knows where the will and the letter are, or if they have been destroyed. . .It’s a soap with a high IQ.
That Princess Drubetskoy is no poor, helpless old lady.
If the long Russian names in several versions—Count Nikolai Ilyich is also called Nikolushka, Nikolenka, Nikolashka, Kolya, Nicolas and Coco—confuse you, try not to backtrack. You will lose your momentum. Just keep going. The characters are so distinct and defined that before long you will match the character to the name.
How’s your reading coming along?
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
February 14th, 2011 at 07:07
Had a late start (so much for express shipping from Barnes and Noble) so made up for lost time. Reading Dostoevsky has taught me that with the Russians, it is best to keep the momentum going. Now I literally cannot put the book down.
The battle of Schongrabern left me quite breathless. I have to agree with Napoleon that the Russians fought valiantly. I find Prince Andrei truly intriguing and I suspect he’s going to be one of the most memorable characters in the story. After going through Dostoevsky, I don’t find the names quite as confusing anymore.
February 14th, 2011 at 11:05
Unlike other hefty books (The Magic Mountain–like watching a stalactite grow), W & P’s events are fast-paced, and most chapters bring about yet another small or epic conflict, some real or imagined slight.
Princess Dubretskaya, Prince Vassily and Princess Katerina–they’re all piranhas. Between the three of them, I’m trying to figure out who acted most despicably–but it’s a toss-up between Dubrestskaya and Vassily. But it’s hard to believe that Pierre, who was educated abroad, could be so clueless about his position as to remain apathetic all throughout the drama unfolding before him.
I’m a fan of W & P for the same reasons I love Dynasty–high camp drama!
February 14th, 2011 at 13:45
It is a good thing that “War and Peace” is not a popcorn thriller that I can finish reading over one weekend.
I have enough time to get well acquainted with Tolstoy’s characters, especially with the author’s almost obsessive attention to character development. How his characters look and behave was painstakingly illustrated, as well as what they think and feel, their motivations and fears, down to the tiniest detail. The end result is a group of characters that are very human, not mere archetypes.
I am immediately drawn to Pierre and Andrei. Yet, I am aware of their shortcomings. Even Prince Vassili and Princess Dubretskaya have their redeeming qualities. Having read only barely a quarter of the book, I am already attached to a whole lot of them. I would definitely struggle if/when one of them dies in the coming chapters. Reading the Moro-moro that was the courtship of Princess Maria was painful enough as it was.
February 14th, 2011 at 18:47
Hi, I really do not know how to go along with this, but I’ll just follow a literal diary. Here it goes:
Day 1: Introduction – 56
It opened with a French dialogue. Introduction excluded, of course. There were footnotes for translation. I don’t know any French so I resorted to those. And there were also various notes, which I did not bother reading. This is because those are located at the end of the book. I would have read them if they were on the same page, such as the case is in The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao. I gathered that since they were not conveniently placed, they must be for the nitpicker. I resolved not to be one this time.
So there was this soiree. Characters were introduced page after page. One might compulsively list them down, but I didn’t bother. I just read and went on with the pace, which I found really fluid. Then I couldn’t figure out who the major players were. Pierre appeared. Prince Andrei appeared. They made a lasting impact on me, what with the outburst of opinions that they had on that high society soiree. They must be the protagonists. I checked the blurb at the back. I was right.
And there was this Natasha, the woman in between according to the blurb. I doubt if she’s already menstruating at this point. And other characters came that I started to like. Vera. Boris. And a bunch of others that are described in detail. The princesses, counts, footmen. Their lips, hair, eye color, manner of speaking.
I made a reading plan. I am obsessing.
Day 2: 56 – 112
Another gathering, this time for a name day. I did not bother to research what a name day is. And a wealthy count was dying. Was it six or seven strokes? And everyone was on their toes.
Pierre inherited everything, much thanks to Anna Mikhailovna’s meddling. I do not like this new count anymore because I just realized that he was fat. I know that right from the start, but it seemed to me that he gained weight with every flick of the page. You can curse me now, but I can’t help it. But I would have rooted for him more if Catiche and Prince Vassily got their ways.
And there’s Prince Andrei, who was leaving for the war. But before that, characters were introduced, which were his sister Marya and his father. Perhaps all throughout this book, I will never cease marveling at the inclination of the author to character details. It’s like the words can come off the pages and recreate the scene in front of your eyes. The reader is so immersed that it doesn’t feel like reading anymore. It feels like you are being transported to that time and place. The little facial twitches, the dialogues, even the thoughts are so tangible.
And that’s the end of Volume One, Part One. Prince Andrei left on a dark autumn night. Ominous.
Day 3: 112 – 158
Now, here are the parts that I don’t like. War. Just a reminder, I never read a war-themed novel before because I don’t like war itself. And what was I thinking? This is War And Peace. But it’s supposed to be good, and I think it will be an achievement if I finish it. I gave it a chance as you see.
Soldiers were preparing and waiting for some action. New characters. There’s Nikolai Rostov, brother of Natasha and Vera. He’s not really new, but he was given more focus at this part. I did not like him at first because I did not approve of his flirting with another girl in front of Sonya. They may be cousins, but I’d like them to end up together. But after the confrontation with a certain Telyanin, whom Nikolai accused of stealing Denisov’s money, my heart went out to him. By the way, Denisov is Nikolai’s superior, who talks with a “gh”, like Nighkolai, Telghyanin. Well, those are just examples.
And the soldiers finally found the day that they were waiting for. Live battle scenes. Russians versus the French men at the river Enns. Or was it the Danube? Anyway, they did not exactly win the battle; the ratio was like one Russian to three French. They had a little victory though, and Prince Andrei, now an adjutant of the general Kutuzov, was sent to relay this news to the emperor.
Day 4: 158 – 201
Most of the diplomats did not find the victory substantial, which somehow broke Prince Andrei’s heroic heart. And there was news of another attack. Another live battle scene.
I don’t want to go through all the battle details because it involves a lot of talk about the military, which I really cannot write and which brings back a bunch of not so good memories. Reading for the past two days reminded of the my cadet training days in high school. Right flank, left flank, rifles, company commanders, salutes, epaulettes, marching, rests. Wow. It really feels awkward looking back.
And yes, at the end of Volume One, Part Two, I almost burst out. The captain Tushin was berated by the generals in spite of the valiance that he showcased. He was at a loss for words to defend himself, and here came Prince Andrei, giving him a lot of credit, for if it weren’t for his tactics at shooting cannonballs, their whole detachment would have been totally crushed.
And Nikolai. I used to like him, but I want him to die now.
February 14th, 2011 at 19:15
Found myself chuckling at the hilarity of what a Russian regiment had to go through in Braunau, Austria. If the troops were Pinoy, I could imagine them going, “Ano ba talaga, kuya?”
February 14th, 2011 at 21:01
Family stories always turn out as melodrama, don’t they? No matter how artfully they’re written? That is, unless they end in a bloodbath of some sort. Just don’t know if families are inherently melodramatic, or if melodramas have used family stories for so long that they’ve become conventions of the genre.
I’m really behind in my reading at this point, but have resolved to keep at it. It’s fun to go through the impressions of those who are ahead, like previews of coming attractions. Right now I feel like I’m settling into the novel, or it’s settling itself around me. It just keeps on and on and on, no fuss, at its own pace. Not quite like a Lav Diaz movie, because lots of things happen per chapter, but with the same hypnotic effect.
February 15th, 2011 at 21:46
I’ll join you in reading…yes,haha, so aptly described, a soap with high I.Q…and…I am discovering and seeing it in a new light…I read this when I was in college…I will be 40 in a year and a half… so I am enjoying this immensely… this is cool because this is a story of 5 aristocratic families wheeeeeee…
February 16th, 2011 at 14:58
After a bad start of beginning reading at chapter 3, I’m now getting comfortable with the book. I think because of the huge size of the pdf file, it got messed up when I converted it for my ipod reader, thus starting with chapter 3. Imagine my confusion when you were all talking about passages in French and I’m like, wala naman a!
Anyway, the names were confusing at the start, specially the way I started with chapter 3. On a good note, now it all kinda falls into place whatever derivative a character is addressed. It’s like a perception of a whole thing. 1/5 into the book and I can’t wait how the loose ends will be tied up.
Yes I’m way behind but on Friday I plan to camp in my room with a huge vat of brewed coffee. I also promised myself I’ll only drink vodka after I finish this book. Are there any of you into the Great Gatsby? This ate a lot of my W&P reading time – http://greatgatsbygame.com.