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That moment when Vasili bursts into tears is extraordinary. Just when we think that this man has no heart at all, he is struck by the universal tragedy of mortality and the transitory nature of worldly possession. It reminds me of the end of Beowulf, when the Geats bury the treasure after the hero’s death and the poet remarks that it was as “useless to men as it ever was.”

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Thanks for the parallel, John! This moment always cuts me up, so early in the book.

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I didn't make it into the chat this week but wanted to share a linguistic observation. Whereas in the Maude translation we hear the stout Colonel speaking English with a German accent (with zees and zats) in the Russian he pronounces the Russian vowel "ye" as "e" and adds a hard sound to certain words versus the soft sound. As opposed to the English text where the Colonel just launched into Germanized English, in the Russian text, Tolstoy early on explains the specific mispronunciations. Maybe Russian readership in the mid-1800s had never heard a German speaking Russian.

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Oh thank you, fascinating! There were a few questions in the chat about how the German accent was rendered in the original Russian.

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I love these details that don’t quite translate. Thanks for this observation, Emily.

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How interesting. I hadn't thought about it, but why Pierre, indeed? Out of his countless illegitimate children, why is Pierre the favorite? Now I'm wondering if it has something to do with his mother (whoever she may be)...or does the Count see Pierre's social awkwardness and quiet intelligence and appreciate him for it? Maybe he is weary of polite society, as well. After reading your post, Simon, I feel like there's something important about Pierre that we don't know about, yet. Maybe that he doesn't know about, too?

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Ha, yes, I don't know whether that thought goes anywhere useful. But it did make me wonder, why Pierre!

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Jan 22Liked by Simon Haisell

I love that idea of him being the son of someone important, but it made me realize I’d never thought of Peter’s mother. All this time I’d assumed he was living with him mom and came to his father as a late teen after being in boarding school, etc. how lonely, indeed, if he didn’t know his mom, either.

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Yes, he's got no real family and few real friends. Goes a long way to explaining his listlessess.

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Jan 22Liked by Simon Haisell

Well dang, now you’ve made me feel rather bad for him

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Again, such insightful historical background.

I really sympathize with Pierre; I often feel like I don’t belong at parties.

It’s really interesting how the focus of the story shifts so drastically at the end of Part 1. I’m going to miss seeing some of these characters in every chapter.

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Yes, we'll have to leave many of these characters behind for a bit. But of course, there are more great characters to meet. Always more characters! Ha!

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

I would love to see the 'nose-dance' being acted out on the screen. It would be a challenging role for someone to play. I can imagine the scene being absolutely hilarious!

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Yes, sadly Marya Dmitrievna doesn't make it into the BBC version. Just a waste of a nose!

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Gogol is laughing!

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

Elizabeth Montgomery (from Bewitched) could have played this role! She would have been able to do the nose movements. However, she may have had to wear a body suit to resemble MD in other ways, I fear!😁

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That picture of the Egyptian statue at that moment of the narrative was beyond brilliant 🤩 I had somewhat missed these weekly posts and they are a great way to revisit the characters, events and just cement the story further. I can’t repeat enough times how much joy this read along has brought into 2024.

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The posts and the chat double up a bit now. But it is good to get all my notes in one place and then all the fabulous comments as well. Thank you!

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I'm very much enjoying this slow read, and your weekly post is one of reasons. Thanks for the recap and insight.

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Exceedingly welcome Phil!

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Thank you SO MUCH for these Simon, they make my reading make so much more sense afterwards. Plus watching that dance video was so fun

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I am glad they help!

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

My first thought when you mentioned The Cossacks was that a novella by Tolstoy must only be, what, 4- or 500 pages 😂

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A mere 160 pages! 😯

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

Thank you, @Simon Haisell for such a detailed and insightful summary. I'm with you in the need to hug Pierre - such a fish out of water especially in being unable to understand the manipulations he is being subject to.

Tolstoy, knowing how many characters he wants to bring in to tell the story, is an expert at slightly over-exaggerating their features or traits. I'm enjoying remembering who is who when I thought it might have been a big issue for me.

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Yes, it does help in the end that everyone has distinctive features! Especially when there are dozens of counts and princesses!

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How i love these weekly summing ups!! Also, your comparison of Pierre and Natasha, the loneliness and celebrations respectively at their house, touched me... No wonder Pierre is how he is. He must feel all alone inspite of theany friends. Except Andrei, who really cares for him i suppose.

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Andrei's a long way away already! I do love all the mirrors and parallels, and contrasts in this book.

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

Thanks Simon, loving this . Thanks too to Craig Slater for the link about illegitimacy/legitimacy, wow those strict codes and caste type systems attempting to keep control !

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Jan 21Liked by Simon Haisell

Lovely weekly recap Simon! Loved going through all the links and finding other interesting background info. As always, such nice artwork and thank you for the dance video!

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“What a woman!” I feel like I just heard that somewhere... perhaps in Spanish....

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It’s interesting that with all the all the talk of war the first actual physical conflict we see is a fight between Catiche and Anna over a portfolio.

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Indeed! There are many wars in peace, and peace at war in this book.

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Such a valid point. Until then the ‘war’ war is a distant almost abstract event.

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Thank you Simon!

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