Jack Barrett > Recent Status Updates

Page 1000 and the propaganda is setting in. When my father made an offhand remark that the Russians only beat Napoleon because they were crazy enough to raze half their country I felt an impulse to defend the honor of the Russian army. Might be losing it.

I think Tolstoy might just be better at writing war. All the stuff about war diplomacy and the philosophy of war is great. The character development is way better. The comedic elements are biting and genuinely funny. Im back on board.

End of Volume 2. Significantly worse than Volume 1. Themes that were interesting in the beginning grew tired and certain sections felt bloated. Pierre carries, and I am making a point of going back and stickying the best quotes related to his arc. Everything else is a mixed bag at best. Not loving how Natasha’s character is written atm. Good thing there’s another ~700 for redemption.

Fuck aristocratic hunting. I hate aristocratic hunting. Just got through a section where they were comparing bitches. Literal bitches. One dude traded 3 families for one really fast bitch. I don’t care.

Did not learn more about napoleon and no regrets. Knowing the history would kinda be spoilers tbh.

Might need to learn some more about Napoleon before continuing

I’m going to tie a cop to a bear
I’m going to start using diplomat as an insult
I’m going to become Pierre

I’m doing the thing. Some goals for this:

Read in more than 2 weeks, less than 2 months
Keep a list of all the words idk excluding outdated articles of clothing
Don’t rush myself, look up the details and references
At least 20 pages daily

Had a good bit of scotch last night but just reread and can confirm that the Prince of Darkness/deal with the devil portion at the end of ‘Eula,’ which can be read standalone, is absolutely masterful writing.

Part 1 is the Lorax if the trufula trees were the economic inefficiencies of the post-reconstruction south. Then Part 2 is Lolita, but the narrator loses and the onceler reenters and marries Lolita and then convinces the devil to give him paradise BECAUSE THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE HIS SOCIETY IS BASED ON GIVES HIM LESS RIGHT THAN THE PURE CAPITALIST TO PARADISE ITSELF. Faulkner might be the goat.

Gonna try to get thru a larger chunk tmrw

Long