Discovering Russian Literature discussion

We began to read this somewhere War and Peace but as you all see did not make it till the end.

Since I'm currently reading book 9 and will continue, hope there are others out there who might join as well.

These thread will be kept open so anyone can start reading this giant, and I'm guessing, there will always be someone interested in reading along.

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Happy Reading to You All!!!

Amalie wrote: "We began to read this somewhere War and Peace but as you all see did not make it till the end.

Since I'm currently reading book 9 and will continue, hope there are others out there who might join ..."

Amalie, could you give a hint what the beginning of the book 9 is about? I need to find my bearings. This numeration seems very different from the classical one. Thnx,

Bigollo wrote: "Amalie wrote: "We began to read this somewhere War and Peace but as you all see did not make it till the end.

Since I'm currently reading book 9 and will continue, hope there are others out there..."

Oh, never mind! I see the mapping from books to chapters in the adjacent thread now:)

Bigollo wrote: "Amalie wrote: "We began to read this somewhere War and Peace but as you all see did not make it till the end.

Since I'm currently reading book 9 and will continue, hope there are others out there..."

Oh, I'm sorry. I did not see this one. This section has 23 chapters. War between France and Russia begins. At least first 4 chapters are about Napoleon.
(If you have the volume version I think it's the third volume.)

This feels a little (may be a lot) like a history book. I actually learned a lot about the history than the fictitious characters here.

This is my second read of the great novel and when I got to these parts about Napoleon I admit to being much more skeptical of them this time around. I had to remind myself that Tolstoy was making a very specific, and very Russian orientated point; making Napoleon into a buffoon makes the case for the Russians fighting a "great evil" much more convincing.

However, from Napoleon's point of view he was trying to rid Europe of a powerful and dangerous foe, one that would always be a thorn in the side of Europe. Russia was (and still is) mistrusted and everyone was quite well aware that the Emperor of Russia was an autocrat in an age where revolution everywhere else was running away from (though the irony of Napoleon being an emperor too is not lost on anyone).

So, in short, I don't put much stock in what Tolstoy has to say about any of the actual historical figures since he was using them to make a greater point. I do, however, put a lot of faith into his interpretations of the actual events; the man did his research quite well in those regards. His understanding of the retreat from Moscow after Borodino is still more informed than what popular opinion holds to this very day (Napoleon's cold being the reason for the battle going the way it did is still used as an excuse).

For me, I read War and Peace much the same way I approach Tom Wolfe's 'The Right Stuff' - actual historical figures are used and distorted fictitiously to get at a greater truth and to capture the essence and spirit of the events being written about. Tolstoy speaks at length about the spirit of the army and of people in general (Natasha being the most obvious example) in how they can influence events around them.

And while I would not turn to this novel to learn about Kutuzov, or Barclay de Tolly, or Napoleon, or any of the real historical figures, I do think it does honestly and faithfully capture the spirit and essence of what happened in those few years and that's one of the many reasons why I consider it the greatest (and my favorite) novel ever written.

Glad to see this is moving forward. Count me in for discussions.