Lisa’s Comments (group member since Sep 23, 2009)

Lisa’s comments from the Should have read classics group.

Welcome Gaijinmama! Greetings to the land of the Rising Sun!

Carolyn wrote: "Yes, I've heard that about Pierre in a couple of critical reviews. And no kidding about Helene - I thought that was amusing as well. He knows she's stupid and everyone thinks she's so witty.

That'..."

Yeah, Pierre DOES NOT fit into the head football player, Seth Rogan is a good pick.

Is everyone sitting down? Because I just won a free book! It was not on the firstreads giveaway, but in the group Chicks on Lit. They are having giveaways today for their anniversary and I won! The book is Saving Ceecee Honeycutt. I hope noone hurt their jaw when it fell open, but I about broke my hip dancing around the kitchen! I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for the firstreads stuff.

Is Pierre supposed to be somewhat of a self-depiction by Tolstoy? He definitely goes into more profile with him, and his attitudes and choices seem much more personal than some of the other characters. Spoiler-
he takes back Helene? Then she is touted as the intellectual of society? The whole thing makes me laugh and scream at the same time. Pierre reminds me of Fin from Glee.

Hello Maria! Welcome!

Welcome to the group K!

Aylin wrote: "I wonder if Tolstoy liked the opera/ballet - alomost sounds like "not". Maybe he preferred the peasant dances which he seems to depict fondly.

(it also sounds like opera and ballet were combin..."

That sounds hilarious! I'm not quite there yet, but the descriptions are not very flattering. "Slapping one foot against another" is not what I picture when I think of ballet. What do you think of Helene? I'm still surprised that she can be accepted back into society.

Hello there Ashley! Welcome to the group!

Aylin wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Oh, how I feel sorry for Princess Marya. In the first part, I felt sorry for her being stuck in the country with a OCD father. Now upon further reading, it is apparent that he loves ..."

Must agree with you. You feel sorry, but want to slap her and say "snap out of it!"
I'm a bit behind, but I just read about the return of Rostov to the army after his leave. I found it interesting to read the comparison between the two campaigns. We discussed in part 1 how disorganized the army was, rather like a bumbling buffoon. In this part the army is much harsher. There is no food, bad weather, etc. The part that sticks with me is when it said that they lost 2 men to battle but 1/2 the battalion to disease and starvation. Then the trial of Denisov and the trip to the hospital.. all just tragic. It looks like Rostov might be growing up after all.

Welcome to the group Aylin! Hope that you enjoy it.

Welcome Louise! Nice to meet you!

Did anyone see the 1984 inspired commercial by Motorola during the Super Bowl yesterday? At least, I can understand the references to the book now.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! Would you believe that it is the Year of the Rabbit! How great is that?

What does everyone think about the book so far? Is it what you expected? Any favorite parts or parts that bothered you?

Welcome Dragonfly! Welcome to the group!

It seems that 40-50 pages are the crisis point in a book. If you can't get into it by then, time to find another one! No problem! Thanks for trying Enid!

It seems that the Parts are the same, just not the pages. Good to know!

Carolyn wrote: "Interesting to hear more about the Masons. I didn't realize they were so religious, and especially Christian (maybe the gnostic side). It's nice to see Pierre maturing somewhat, although he still h..."

I have to agree with you about the Masons. I'm not really up to date on my Mason history, but I have never really connected them to Russia. Perhaps, after the revolution they went underground since the Church was outlawed in the Soviet Union. Pierre is having his midlife crisis early. Nice to see him trying to put himself back together again. Like Humpty Dumpty! LOL

Carolyn wrote: "Lisa - I have the Pevear version - where do parts 3-5 end for you? Page counts don't work and I'm not sure if the parts do. Does your Part 3 start with a sentence like "Prince Vassily did not think..."
Yes, mine has the same wording. That is nice to know, since the pages don't match up!

Hi Tammy! I bet it is warmer in Florida than in Colorado right now. Our high today was -3 degrees.
How I wish I was in the sunny state of Florida today!