Josiah Harmon’s Reviews > War and Peace > Status Update

This book is so long!

Pierre is an idiot and Andrey thinks he’s Batman.

If only Pierre had shot Dolokhov in the face instead of the shoulder. Smh

I’ve finished Volume 1! The war is brutal and Napoleon shrewd. Nobody seems particularly happy and Russia seems all but lost as the imperial army faces defeat once again.

I finished Part 2! We now return to the adventures of Pierre in Moscow and St. Petersburg as he navigates his newfound wealth and the drama of Russian aristocracy. The sheer disconnect between the Russian nobility and upper class from the war itself is startling and just continues to point to both the beauty and sadness of Russian society at the time.

I’ve been busy so haven’t read much more but the book is getting interesting. Tolstoy’s description of Napoleon’s invasion is terrifying.

I finished Part 1 and began Part 2, which opened with narratives from Nikolay and Andrey. They have entered the Imperial Russian Army and are getting their first taste of war. The pieces of the story are slowly coming together.

So far, this is a fabulous book. It has the beautiful description of Russian society that I’ve read about in A Gentleman in Moscow and the depth of writing from The Count of Monte Cristo. Beautiful work.