5 posts tagged “leo tolstoy”

Prior to reading War & Peace, I had no idea at all who the characters were or what the plot was. All I knew was that it was really, really long and widely considered the greatest novel evah. After reading it, I can see why the plot and characters aren't quite woven into our collective conciousness like, say, The Count of Monte Cristo. Even people who have never read it could tell you that it's about revenge. Not so with War & Peace.

First of all, there isn't really a linear, vibrant plot like Count. It meanders a bit, which makes it feel more lifelike but doesn't lend itself very well to synopsis. That's not to say that there aren't any exciting, catch-your-breath bits, because there are. Just not quite as many as other novels I've read.

I also understand why the characters aren't quite as well known. It's because there are approximately 20,000 characters. Not really, but there are a whole lotta peeps in this book. It mainly centers around two families (the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys) and Pierre Bezuhov, the weird, bespectacled loner. But all the peripheral characters are wonderfully realized as well, which is a large part of the book's charm.

THIS PART OF THE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

As soon as I was done reading I rushed online to read others' reviews. I had been waiting for weeks to see what other people thought of the characters and the book in general, so it was nice to break my self-imposed spoiler ban. The only thing I was surprised at was the general sense of disappointment over the first part of the epilogue. True, it did read a little bit like the ending of Harry Potter, with the domestic bliss and all the children named after dead or cherished people. (Although, thank God, the little Russian children got cute names like Petya and Andryusha instead of *snicker* Albus Severus.) But the ending was just so sweet. I liked seeing my characters leading a settled, contented life. I was thrilled to see them all as grown-ups, especially Pierre. Of course he's an excellent father. I was most surprised at how well Nikolay and Marya fit. I always looked at their impending match as being a disaster in the making. They're just so different. I'm glad that poor Marya got the family she wanted, and that Nikolay stands in awe of his wife's spirituality.

This is turning out to be wicked long, and it's just too hot to keep going, so I'm ending now on the note that surprisingly, Pierre was my favorite character by the end. I just like him, the big oddball. I think it's the combination of gentleness, absent-mindedness, and spectacles. Gotta love a guy in specs.

Yes, folks, you heard it here first! I AM DONE WITH WAR & PEACE!!!! I'll post my thoughts sometime soon (finals are kicking my butt) but I enjoyed it. Well, all except part two of the epilogue. First, only in War & Peace would there be more than one part of the epilogue. Second, that last half had no character stuff, just philosophical digression. It took me forever to get through, quite frankly.

Here's his view of the world and their temperments:

The Frenchman is conceited from supposing himself mentally and physically to be inordinately fascinating both to men and to women. An Englishman is conceited on the ground of being a citizen of the best-constituted state in the world, and also because he as an Englishman always knows what is the correct thing to do, and knows that everything that he, as an Englishman, does do is indisputably the correct thing. An Italian is conceited from being excitable and easily forgetting himself and other people. A Russian is conceited precisely because he knows nothing and cares to know nothing, since he does not believe it possible to know anything fully. A conceited German is the worst of them all, and the most hardened of all, and the most repulsive of all; for he imagines that he possesses the truth in a science of his own invention, which is to him absolute truth.

Oh dear. Where does that leave me, a German-Italian-French-UK-Irish-American? ;-) Gotta love the excitable Italian, dour German stereotypes.

I'm still chugging through W&P, to page 967 now.

SPOILER

Prince Andrey just kicked it, which blows. I figured he had to die, but I did enjoy him quite a bit. I would've married you! Call me! It's rather unfortunate that the poor guy kept getting all these philosophical insights while he was at death's door/dying. Tough break. Although, come to think of it, pretty much every character goes from one philosophical insight to another. Hm. [i]Edit: Oh, okay, Andrey is still alive. Now, I am happy about this turn of events. But really, Leo Tolstoy? You "killed" him and brought him back not once, but twice??[/i]

END SPOILER

Remember how I was whining about how tough War & Peace was to read? Well, I am pleased to say that it picked up and I am now past page 800. Woo! I'm actually quite proud of myself.

Some random, spoilery thoughts:

• Please, Leo Tolstoy, write more about your characters. They are engrossing and interesting, and quite frankly, I don't care about Napoleon or Alexander one iota.
• I'm struck by how well Tolstoy describes vastly different situations/characters. The spiritual awakening of Pierre and Prince Andrey are similar, but different according to their personalities. He also seems equally comfortable describing the regular family-life of the Rostovs and the emotionally abusive atmosphere of the Bolkonskys.
• I quite enjoy Prince Andrey. That is all.
• I also like Natasha, which is surprising. During the whole Anatole fiasco, though, I'm pretty sure I muttered aloud at the book,"Natasha, you IDIOT!" And then I was sad thinking about how that shite still goes on today.
• Pierre, I like you, but man. Pull it together, dude.

In sum, it's going well so far, and I hope it continues. I expect it will.

Wow, War & Peace is slow going.

I picked it up again after about a month's absence, and found it a bit easier to follow. I'm still only on page 144, which is pathetic for three or four days worth of reading. It's okay, but it hasn't sucked me in yet. I have yet to get into "the zone" where pages fly by and the story engages my whole attention. It doesn't help that the book I have is quite small with tiny print.

People who have read W&P, does it pick up, or is this as good as it gets?