War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
RG Gold Medal 2001
8th January 2001 at Max's House and 20th February 2001 at
The Fox Reformed and Shamsudeen's in Stoke Newington
Synopsis
War and Peace is a vast epic centred on Napoleon's
Bonaparte's invasion of Russia in 1812. It was conceived as
an example of Tolstoy's view that history proceeds inexorably
to its own ends with mankind appearing as an incidental instrument
of the historial process. Whilst so tendentious an approach
to the philosophy of history is difficult to accept today,
as one of the themes of Tolstoy's greatest novel, it adds
depth and perspective to a narrative that intersperses historical,
social and personal interaction. There are over five hundred
characters in the book, each one individually rendered, which
book presents a complete tableau of Russian society from 1805
to 1820, encompassing Emperors and their Ministers and Generals,
as well as countless officers, soldiers, nobles and peasants.
The story opens in 1805 at a soiree in Moscow, where
all the talk is of the recent proclamation of Napoleon as
Emperor. There then follows a long passage in which the three
principal characters, the artless and innocent Natasha Rostov,
the arrogant and cynical Prince Andrew Bolkonsky and the thoughtful
Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov are
introduced, together with a large group of their friends,
relatives and dependents. These people are show as they progress
from youthful uncertainties towards a more mature view of
life.
No summary can do justice to the magnificent and complex
interweaving of the protagonists' lives, with each other and
with the web of history. Tolstoy succeeds in expounding his
views of life by attributing to his characters the contrasting
qualities which he felt were to be adopted or eschewed in
order to reach a proper understanding of mankind's place in
the world. Thus, Prince Andrew progresses from a world-weary
cynicism to a calm acceptance of death while Pierre's turbulent
career culminates in the simple wisdom that life should be
accepted for what it is, and experienced emotionally rather
than be twisted by imperfect intellects into artificial forms.
First lines
"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family
estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell
me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies
and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist - I really believe
he is Antichrist - I will have nothing more to do with you
and you are no longer my friend, no longer my 'faithful slave',
as you call yourself! I see I have frightened you - sit down
and tell me all the news."
Published reviews
To read him... is to find one's way home ... to everything
within us that is fundamental and sane.
Thomas Mann
Our comments
How to sum up such a long and great book? We all enjoyed
War and Peace. At the first meeting, having read to
the end of the battle of Borodino, we had a wonderful discussion.
The characters are engaging - this is a book where you really
care about many of the people, in particular the key characters
of Natasha, Pierre and Prince Andrew. [Key though not very
literary question - who would you sleep with? Pierre or Andrew?]
The descriptions of the battle scenes are wonderful and capture
the chaos of war. Scenes of society life are entertaining.
But. By the end of the book we were all a bit disappointed.
The general philosophising started to dominate, the appearances
by some characters dwindled. You didn't find out what happened
to many people who had played key roles earlier in the book.
It felt towards the end rather as if Tolstoy wanted to get
it all over with, was rushing to a neat conclusion for four
of his characters but forgot to tie up his other loose ends.
His historical and philosophical points become more laboured
and less and less interesting or easy to read.
Does that mean we wouldn't recommend the book? These are
small criticisms to make of what is undoubtedly great and
absorbing literature. Read it. It may be long but it is definitely
worth it.
Related resources
Biography
on Pegasos site
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