Ziggy’s Reviews > War and Peace > Status Update

Russians flee Moscow. The French arrive. Looting and fires in the city. The Rostovs sacrifice comforts and possessions to save fellow countryman. Natasha and Andrei are reunited. Pierre goes from zero to hero.

WTF is Pierre doing? My ears are ringing after being boxed by Tolstoy’s philosophy of human movement and history. Gotta give him credit: unlike most people Tolstoy thoroughly provides examples and illustrations for his propositions. His description of the Battle of Borodino, of Napoleon, of Kutuzov are excellent. Emperors, generals, so-called geniuses, are as ignorant and powerless as the rest of us, he believes.

Will fat Pierre ever do anything with all his wealth and education? It’s a miracle that Andrei is remotely human, given that his father is a royal Dbag. Nikolai proved himself on the battlefield and gives Sonya a definite marriage proposal IF he survives. Never a good sign in a Russian novel. Tolstoy has the curmudgeonly belief that we have no free will and our lives are pointless. Yet he wrote a 1200pg novel.

Though massive in scope, Tolstoy seems to be most interested with internal, spiritual questions. What is the best way to live? How to be happy? Is it better to live w/o responsibility? To withdraw from society or to participate in society? To live free & alone or get married? To achieve glory or climb the social ladder? To love one person exclusively or to love all mankind?

Russians join the war against Napoleon. The absurdity of military presentation: after marching 700 miles, Russian army quickly changes into spotless, wrinkle-free uniforms to impress the Commander-in-Chief, only to find out he wanted the exact opposite, so that he could prove to their allies, the Austrians, that they needed more supplies. Andrei wants glory. Dolokhov gets it. Napol is clever. But Russ gets small win

A soiree. Wealthy aristocratic families and relations. A looming war with Napoleon. A mother’s willingness to humiliate herself to improve her son’s social status. The death of a father, the richest man in Russia, and the drama of inheritance. A pregnant wife abandoned by a disinterested husband who has chosen to go to war. A young man’s reversal in social status after huge inheritance. Teenagers in love.