48 Comments
Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

I'm not ashamed to confess that I spent most of the day today catching up on W&P chapters in english and russian, researching topics, combing through daily chats that have led me to even more tangents to research and discover. All my plans got cancelled, exercise discarded, domestic chores abandoned and phone not picked up - 'real life' be damned!:) Thank you to Simon and to everyone who contributes to discussions for making this such an enjoyable and enriching reading and learning experience! I can't believe it's only been a month!

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author

Think, you've got another eleven months of this! You'll have to pace yourself, or have a very understanding "real life"!

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Feb 5Liked by Simon Haisell

don't worry, Simon, I'm quite a sensible sort really:) Had a little cold coming on yesterday so needed a duvet day and W&P kept me company:)

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author

W&P is excellent company when you're stuck under the covers!

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Feel better and definitely cash in on duvet days when needed. Add some tea, too!

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Thank you! I think I need to schedule in some W&P duvet days again:)

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

Simon, I just wanted to express again my appreciation for your work on the daily and weekly summaries. I fully admit to finding the war chapters difficult to engage with (with the exception of some beautifully written descriptive passages) in the absence of this guidance. Merci encore. 🙏

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author

Thank you! I hope they grow on you as we go.

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

I also want to express my appreciation for what you're doing (and have put into the tip jar accordingly!). I read W&P once before in my life: 30 years ago as a young student sitting on trains across Europe on a long summer travelling around - very romantic. ..I've tried once since to read it but was too daunted to get far. The chapter per day target makes all the difference and I'm loving rediscovering this amazing masterpiece. I have no memory of what impression it made on me when I was young (though I know I did love it). Reading it now my primary impression so far is being greatly moved by Tolstoy's compassion and sympathy for the foibles of his characters. We should all be so understanding of the people we encounter in life!

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author

It is not far off 20 years since I first read War and Peace now. Ecuadorian cloud forests instead of European trains. Also romantic. Isn't it great to come back to it and move slowly through it, discovering so much more. Thanks for the tip and your kind words!

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

I mentioned this in one of the daily chats, but I wanted to make sure you heard it. The character descriptions and links are so useful to me, particularly now that we are in the depths of war. Thank you.

Being a paid subscriber is definitely worth it to me, too - just a plug that Simon did not solicit from me!!

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author

Thank you! I am glad they are coming into their own. I didn't know whether it would be worth it, so it's great to see them being used!

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Reading your overviews is a highlight of my Sunday. Many times you pick up on aspects of the book that struck my but aren’t fully fleshed out in my mind. For example, I was dismayed by the soldiers on the hill chat about the convent. So callous. Disgusting. The same the poor German father trying to shepherd his family over the bridge with the soldiers leering at his daughter. There’s something in these scenes that feels so true to life and also churns the stomach.

As far as characters? Denisov is my favorite by a landslide. He’s familiar to me. Rough around the edges but full of heart. ❤️ Reminds me a bit of my partner who I call rainbow brute.

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author

Rainbow brute! Ha, amazing. Denisov is a crowd favourite with a strong following. Thank you so much for your kind words, it means so much! I always feel I could say more, but the great thing about the community is others pick up and run with everything.

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I just reread chapter eight and am struck all over again by the tension Tolstoy orchestrates between the terrible chaos of the battle and the private mental worlds of individual men absorbed in the perceived opportunities for advancement, glory or respect from a superior. It’s both epic and startlingly intimate. As a modern reader thinking of faraway, catastrophic wars, I am gripped by Tolstoy’s unsettling portrayal of the excitement war kindles in the hearts of soldiers—principally one soldier, Rostov, whom I have never seen as a warrior. Any reader who skips the battle scenes is clearly missing out. And yet if not for your guidance, Simon, I might lose the thread.

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author

Oh yes, so much. How can we understand Nikolai or any of these other young men in peacetime, if we don't live through their horrors in war. It is well worth holding all the threads together.

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founding
Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

I am mentally picturing Bilibin played by Rowan Atkinson. I have surely needed someone like him to explain the world to me too.

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author

A wrinkly wise and worldly one to keep our heads out of the clouds.

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

Yes!

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

Thanks again, Simon for this excellent overview. With two lengthy power cuts in successive weeks I've been reading by candlelight which may be both authentic and romantic but for eyes used to good reading lights is distinctly challenging...and I have been challenged this week. I can't seem to follow Tolstoy's descriptions of the 'action' and I don't find his landscape descriptions at all clear; they don't cause a picture to rise up in my mind's eye. Then I lost which side of the bridge people were on... I think the slow read is a double read of most chapters for me.

That said, I too, love Bilibin. Having been a civil servant his character was instantly recognisable - an easy, moderate manner but razor sharp; supportive but honest. As for the wrinkles I wondered if he perhaps hailed from further east in Russia where more Mongolian heritage might have informed his visage.

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author

That's a thought about Bilibin, I hadn't thought of that. He's wonderfully recognisable isn't he, and a bit of a breath of fresh air after all the fighting. Speaking of which, it is confusing. I think it is supposed to be confusing at times, and it can be hard to follow. I like the fact that we stay very close to people's thoughts and experiences. To me that's always what matters in this book, and I never worry too much if I don't follow anything else exactly.

Power cuts! Is this stormy weather? I hope you have a little less romance and a little more electrical lighting in the weeks ahead.

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

Yes! Very stormy weather. We're quite sheltered in a dip but the power cables cross the uplands south of us so are often damaged. No romance? You are keeping our noses to the grindstone Headmaster. 🤓

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author

Oh, I joke. Have all the romance you can get, just don't go blind from lack of light!

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

Simon, I admit, as you mentioned earlier, I was one of those people dreading the war chapters. But I now confess that they have been my favorites so far. The enthusiasm and excitement at the pre-battle scenes explode like the bullets that tear apart, the soldiers chests. Tolstoy does a beautiful job in capturing the soldiers’ consciousness before and after battle. It is heartbreaking.

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Oh perfect, it is always good to convert someone to these war chapters. They aren't what you expect, thankfully. I sometimes call them the anti-war chapters as that's how they feel to me.

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Feb 4Liked by Simon Haisell

I was planning my February budget with the yearly subscription in mind because it is so much deserved! Thank you for your work!

And I'm glad to have heard it in the chat that that's not the last time we see Bilibin. You just need an amoral but (sometimes devastatingly) insightful person around in times of crisis.

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author

Thank you Daria! That is very kind!

And Bilibin, he's got a wonderful moment on (checks) Tuesday. We haven't seen that last of his wrinkles.

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My favorite line so far, about Bilibin: "He looked straight at Prince Andrei and suddenly unwrinkled his forehead."

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author

It's a good trick if you can do it!

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I think I relate more to Nikolai this week

I’ve been praised at school and work in the past for what I feel wasn’t even a big deal. Like I’m just doing the bare minimum ya know?

The focus on Andrei and Nikolai in this section leads me to think that future parts may be focused on a smaller amount of characters that were introduced in Part 1. This is an exciting prospect.

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author

Yes I think we have a smaller cast of characters now after meeting all the families. And we'll get back to the Rostovs and Bolkonskys a bit later. I feel like we've all been Nikolai at some point.

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Feb 12Liked by Simon Haisell

Thanks Simon as always for your hard work! I'm just catching up on the reading for the last couple of weeks... I got a bit behind after several days away but I have to say the last few chapters feel like we're descending into some harsh realities of war and inevitable deaths and despair...

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Feb 11Liked by Simon Haisell

@Simon am I nutty or have there been no updates to the weekly roundups page? Or the parties page? I don’t see anything when I click through past bald hills but found this in the chapter 10 thread. Help?

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author

An oversight, I just forgot to update that page. You should have still received the update in your inbox though?

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Feb 11Liked by Simon Haisell

No I didn’t get anything- just noticed the link in the daily feed. Thanks for this!

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author

Oh, how weird. You really should have got it in your email or Substack inbox. Check your settings to make sure you've got War and Peace turned on: https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com/account?utm_source=user-menu

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Feb 7Liked by Simon Haisell

Simon and everyone - I just caught up with week 5 (family and life got in the way as they sometimes do !). I am so grateful for this forum and for all of Simon's hard work in describing each chapter of this marathon read along. I must confess, I have not been a big fan of this part II. I miss the frivolous parties and character descriptions of the Part I. That said, thanks to footnotes and tangents meticulous research, descriptions and explanations I am still avidly reading through each chapter. I realise that otherwise I would have stopped had it not been for all of you and most particularly for Simon's summaries. I am back on track for week 6 and look forward to enjoy a much slower pace of reading. Thank you

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author

Congratulations of catching up!

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These summaries, especially the use of links for characters, are so helpful. It really makes the book more enjoyable to read. I read through your summaries and then read the actual chapters and have a better understanding of what happened.

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author

That's great! I'm so glad it helps.

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