Anna Mikhailnova is the master of getting things done! Talk about a competent woman who would go to the ends of the earth and endure social isolation and humiliation for her son. She’s the kind of character I wouldn’t want to spend prolonged amounts of time with but can truly admire from a distance.
As for Vera, I empathize with her (eldest daughter here). Navigating the in-between of being too young and immature to be an adult but too old and serious to be a child is the hardest thing. I hope the remaining thirteen-hundred pages hold some love for her!
Anna amazes me in her ability to accomplish her goals. She reminds me of my wife who refuses to take no for an answer. She will wear people down with her persistence! I always put her on the phone to deal with customer service reps. So she reminds me of Anna.
I am also the oldest child and can understand Vera's situation. It is difficult being the oldest. The parents make all their mistakes and are usually harshest with the oldest. She is also at a difficult age trying to find her place to fit in.
I’m going to settle down and read this with a cup of tea later. Every day with this book is a gift and I will never stop thanking you for creating such a wonderful space, Simon. 🧡
Nor will I, Anna! ❤️ In fact, I've just decided to become a paid subscriber. Where else could I find what amounts to a college level class on War and Peace for only $45? And not just any class. This is the one with the cool professor. 😎 Thank you, Simon!
My inbox was full this morning of things to read but I brewed myself a pot of coffee and settled in to first read the chapter and then Simon's post. I read War and Peace last year over the span of a couple months so the story is familiar in my mind but this daily slow read is absolutely exquisite. I love the opportunity to focus on lesser known characters and to allow the story to germinate in my mind each day.
I love Anna M but with my eyes truly wide open! I also feel confident that at my funeral she would do the appropriate amount of wailing to signify both my and her importance in a tasteful and not overly sentimental way. (Note to self add a little something to Anna M in will.)
I’ve spent the past year constructing a timeline of classic literature based on when the stories take place. Essentially, it’s a fictional history of the world. For those interested, other books that take place during the same time frame as War and Peace are:
Yes I keep referring to Jane Austen's life and her novels when reading W&P. One thing I noticed straight away is the language - just like in Jane Austen's the W&P translation has a similar tactility and terminology! Unlike Austen's 'hidden' references to the turbulence of this period, Tolstoy goes all in:)
O I admire her ! This is a realistic account of a single Mother navigating through parties , dinners, - and muscling shamelessly using her woman’s charms and emotional manipulations , into private houses where she knows where actions are taking place ; to help to change the fortunes for her son Boris to enhance his status in society. He has no Father to take him under his wings to shape him and therefore, Anna Mikhailnova, will do what she has to do. It’s a craft itself. After all, if Boris does well, then she knows, she will be well looked after. Now on another note , I am thanking my lucky stars, she is not my Mother-in-law which tells me I better go and give my own Mother - in - law a hug!
Thank you Simon. I’ve enjoyed all of it ... the engaging chat which gets you to see many versions of war and peace , the slow read and my daily negotiation of life in the my journal (probably not the wisest to start during a house move but that’s exactly what this is about ). The paintings on your post are beautiful. I’ve been trying to find out more about Russian art of that time and the realism branch of it is interesting to connect to Tolstoys own realism.
Anna M is a force of nature, there’s no denying her, it seems. Such a great character. I feel we are still in the prelude, getting to know these characters in such vivid vignettes, a true joy to read. And record! 😅 Thanks Simon, for the shout-out. Much appreciated. I plan to release a chapter a day but with longer ones it won’t be possible, so I may lag behind a bit at times. Hope people enjoy the French bits. I narrate all French passages in the Maude translation in French only.
Your project is an incredible commitment! I wonder what the effect of reading a book aloud is to your enjoyment of it. If you ever write or talk about that I would be very interested.
What did I get myself into? It does have a tremendous effect in heightening the appreciation of how brilliant the prose is for one, it also helps with keeping track of the characters. The downside is that sometimes you get carried away and read a line or passage only to realise you will need to reread it because "the visitor" is a woman! Or you read and continue in the voice of Vasili reading "Prince Vasili says". The prose is so rich that it does take more than one try sometimes to deliver a line from certain characters. The main disadvantage is the time it takes to edit, the recording itself can be quite fast unless it's a lot of French or there are a lot of Russian names and places to check for pronunciation. I was thinking about doing a recap of that experience after Book One is done.
I enjoy these weekly posts very much! The additional information helps fill in the gaps for some things that I didn’t quite understand but didn’t want to get distracted from reading by going to research at the time. For example, why they called Vera “Madame de Genlis”. And it was fascinating to think about how England indirectly helped pay for France’s planned invasion of England. All this to say, thank you for your work on this Simon! I know it must take so much of your time so I want you to hear that you are making a positive difference in the lives of all of us readers!
P.S. Is it too early to suggest a slow read of Anna Karenina next year? 🤣
I would love if you did The Brothers Karamazov. I loved Anna Karenina too, but (having not yet read War and Peace to the end) I think the Brothers K is the best novel I’ve ever read. And it is very difficult, it would be nice to reread it with a support group.
I don’t know if Anna Michailovna will live to see 1815, but she would clearly have been the most capable Russian to send to the Congress of Vienna. She would have given Metternich and Talleyrand a run for their money!
Your poll ought to have given the option of several answers, Simon - many people seem to be reading two versions, mostly in different languages. I read in English in the mornings (orange Maude) and my husband and I read a newish German translation in the evenings.
I do not care for Anna. I feel she is a caricature of character, more mask than person. I find her “care” for her son as sincere as her care for her “uncle”, any sincerity left in her having to pass through her counting fingers. She reminds me of Gertrude Stein’s Oakland, time and events bringing inevitable and irrevocable change from a (so-far unspoken) nostalgic past, unrecognisable as the person, now recognisable only as a name, an altered function, a new means after an end, a blurry facsimile of a specific self that once existed, unfamiliar to what was known, a copy: “There is no there there.” I do not dislike her, I just do not care for her.
I fully disclose that I despise passive aggression, seeing it as communication in one of its lowest forms, am puritanical about sincerity to a pathological degree, that it’s easy to have inconsequential, hyperbolic responses to novel characterisations as an inevitable, parasocial, side-effect of reading, and that Tolstoy is trying to hold up a mirror to my reflexive estimations. I reserve the right to change my opinion as further chapters transpire, more background is revealed, I peel back more layers of my own skin in my rumination, or change it completely arbitrarily because I am relocated to a context in which I’m not tired and have maybe had my second morning coffee after a rare, good sleep.
I don't suppose many of us would want to spend long in Anna's company, but in the end, I think I ask myself "what would I do?" in that situation. And honestly, I'm not sure.
For my mind, Tolstoy is in a way gently provoking first impressions, with intent to undermine or at least complicate them. I do not trust Anna, but then with that comes acknowledgment that neither can I trust myself. “What would I do?” is a mighty fine and clarifying mirror, Alison, thank-you, and I’ll be sure to try to hold it up to all my first and subsequent impressions.
tell us how you really feel Marc!:) I also keep Anna M at a distance, she's like an annoying buzzing fly or mosquito that is nearby that I can ignore but am aware of - I feel there'll be more of a story to her character as we go along that might give a different view to initial impressions!
😁 I am looking forward to more info, particular the events and legal matters that have placed her in her desperate state.
[As a habitual oversharer I've propensity to write my thoughts, feelings, and way too much personal information, aloud, as a kind of public contemplation and too-explicit openness - I tend to hold a cognitive dissonance where I have "Things I know to be true", which I conditionally say with the premise and suffix of "therefore they are probably wrong".😉 Tl;dr: I will happily provide all the grains of salt needed with which to take what I say]
First of all, I love and thank you for the artworks you choose for your writings, Simon. They make me go down all kinds of rabbit holes and are just so pleasing to the eye. Returning to the book, meeting Vera's intended Berg was quite disappointing, as probably his egocentric nature reflects hers, and there is not much left underneath? But who knows.
I rather like Pierre. He is like an elephant in the crystal room, candid and offbeat.
Another star of the week is Anna Mikhailovna, and I loved how the chapter 14 ended on such a bittersweet note. I really like the two women, Anna Mikhailovna and the countess, apart and together.
From the start, I really got the sense that judging the characters in this book too early is futile, as they evolve throughout and Tolstoy knows this well.
All in all, a lovely week, with some great insights and further reading recommendations! Love it!
Thank you also to Holle Rodriguez, Panchali, Anna Miles and Alexander Ipfelkofer for sprucing up our reading adventure!
Thanks for your wonderful summary, Simon. I listened to it while sewing a bead back on to a knee blanket. It's so cold here in Cambridgeshire, I've tucked myself up in blankets to read my chapters for the week in one go. My tuppence-worth at this point is... I can't help but be transfixed by Tolstoy's fascination for lips! He describes them in such detail. I don't think I've ever read another author who does this so persistently and with such skill.
He does have a thing for lips doesn't he! It can be quite distracting at times. But he has a brilliant eye for detail, of physical descriptions and character. I love to hear about what people are doing when they are listening. I hope the bead is now securely threaded!
So helpful to have this roundup of the week plus the additional context to enrich the experience - thank you Simon! And wonderful to see all the creative offshoots happening in this community too.
Heading over to the party review now - love the extra fun touch this brings to the main event. Absolutely worth paying to subscribe for. Although I’d have happily done it anyway given all the time and energy you’re putting in to this.
P.S. Was hard to stop at the end of chapter 15. Excited for tomorrow’s instalment!
I admire Anna M for her courage and tenacity. She manages to press her case without exceeding the target’s tolerance for irritation, irritation, so that she doesn’t get sent away, leveraging every string she can pull. She long ago lost her sense of embarrassment about her financial problems.
She’s the mother in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) who keeps after an unjust judge, until he just gives in to get her to go away. Here the unjust judge is the unequal society, except that if she didn’t have a title and some shared history, she wouldn’t have access to the people in power.
How much time and effort goes into this weekly publication. Thank you so much, this makes our reading more meaningful and enjoyable. Recalling a comment you made about viewing the different generations in the novel will be impacted by our own age, will be a theme for me as I read War and Peace. I look forward to reading your post about dinner at the Rostov’s home. These party posts are an excellent insight into the characters and culture.
Anna Mikhailnova is the master of getting things done! Talk about a competent woman who would go to the ends of the earth and endure social isolation and humiliation for her son. She’s the kind of character I wouldn’t want to spend prolonged amounts of time with but can truly admire from a distance.
As for Vera, I empathize with her (eldest daughter here). Navigating the in-between of being too young and immature to be an adult but too old and serious to be a child is the hardest thing. I hope the remaining thirteen-hundred pages hold some love for her!
Anna Mikhailovna is someone I want on my team! Although I'm not sure Boris agrees.
Anna amazes me in her ability to accomplish her goals. She reminds me of my wife who refuses to take no for an answer. She will wear people down with her persistence! I always put her on the phone to deal with customer service reps. So she reminds me of Anna.
I am also the oldest child and can understand Vera's situation. It is difficult being the oldest. The parents make all their mistakes and are usually harshest with the oldest. She is also at a difficult age trying to find her place to fit in.
I’m going to settle down and read this with a cup of tea later. Every day with this book is a gift and I will never stop thanking you for creating such a wonderful space, Simon. 🧡
Nor will I, Anna! ❤️ In fact, I've just decided to become a paid subscriber. Where else could I find what amounts to a college level class on War and Peace for only $45? And not just any class. This is the one with the cool professor. 😎 Thank you, Simon!
Thank you so much Phoebe! ❤️
Definitely the cool professor!
My inbox was full this morning of things to read but I brewed myself a pot of coffee and settled in to first read the chapter and then Simon's post. I read War and Peace last year over the span of a couple months so the story is familiar in my mind but this daily slow read is absolutely exquisite. I love the opportunity to focus on lesser known characters and to allow the story to germinate in my mind each day.
It's such a different experience, I agree!
My precise thoughts, Anna. I am enjoying this read-along so much.
Couldn’t agree more. Simon, thank you for creating this read along and connecting this community. Incredibly fulfilling!
I love Anna M but with my eyes truly wide open! I also feel confident that at my funeral she would do the appropriate amount of wailing to signify both my and her importance in a tasteful and not overly sentimental way. (Note to self add a little something to Anna M in will.)
Haha yes! I'm getting her as my chief mourner.
I’ve spent the past year constructing a timeline of classic literature based on when the stories take place. Essentially, it’s a fictional history of the world. For those interested, other books that take place during the same time frame as War and Peace are:
Mansfield Park (1808-1809)
Jane Eyre (1808-1820)
Pride and Prejudice (1812)
Great Expectations (~1812-1840)
I would be interesed in more of this timeline! The only thing I can recall reading during Napoleon's time is The Count of Monte Cristo.
Here’s a link to the timeline!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BP9QHHD2ze4I0qPJOGfl7WBMicYG13rzMMmaf2h8_so/edit
Yes I keep referring to Jane Austen's life and her novels when reading W&P. One thing I noticed straight away is the language - just like in Jane Austen's the W&P translation has a similar tactility and terminology! Unlike Austen's 'hidden' references to the turbulence of this period, Tolstoy goes all in:)
O I admire her ! This is a realistic account of a single Mother navigating through parties , dinners, - and muscling shamelessly using her woman’s charms and emotional manipulations , into private houses where she knows where actions are taking place ; to help to change the fortunes for her son Boris to enhance his status in society. He has no Father to take him under his wings to shape him and therefore, Anna Mikhailnova, will do what she has to do. It’s a craft itself. After all, if Boris does well, then she knows, she will be well looked after. Now on another note , I am thanking my lucky stars, she is not my Mother-in-law which tells me I better go and give my own Mother - in - law a hug!
Haha! Yes that's a good point about considering her own old age. She needs him as well as wanting him to do well and get ahead.
Until the end of this year I'll always keep Calamity Pierre in my mind.
Thank you Simon. I’ve enjoyed all of it ... the engaging chat which gets you to see many versions of war and peace , the slow read and my daily negotiation of life in the my journal (probably not the wisest to start during a house move but that’s exactly what this is about ). The paintings on your post are beautiful. I’ve been trying to find out more about Russian art of that time and the realism branch of it is interesting to connect to Tolstoys own realism.
I love your approach Panchali!
Anna M is a force of nature, there’s no denying her, it seems. Such a great character. I feel we are still in the prelude, getting to know these characters in such vivid vignettes, a true joy to read. And record! 😅 Thanks Simon, for the shout-out. Much appreciated. I plan to release a chapter a day but with longer ones it won’t be possible, so I may lag behind a bit at times. Hope people enjoy the French bits. I narrate all French passages in the Maude translation in French only.
Your project is an incredible commitment! I wonder what the effect of reading a book aloud is to your enjoyment of it. If you ever write or talk about that I would be very interested.
What did I get myself into? It does have a tremendous effect in heightening the appreciation of how brilliant the prose is for one, it also helps with keeping track of the characters. The downside is that sometimes you get carried away and read a line or passage only to realise you will need to reread it because "the visitor" is a woman! Or you read and continue in the voice of Vasili reading "Prince Vasili says". The prose is so rich that it does take more than one try sometimes to deliver a line from certain characters. The main disadvantage is the time it takes to edit, the recording itself can be quite fast unless it's a lot of French or there are a lot of Russian names and places to check for pronunciation. I was thinking about doing a recap of that experience after Book One is done.
I enjoy these weekly posts very much! The additional information helps fill in the gaps for some things that I didn’t quite understand but didn’t want to get distracted from reading by going to research at the time. For example, why they called Vera “Madame de Genlis”. And it was fascinating to think about how England indirectly helped pay for France’s planned invasion of England. All this to say, thank you for your work on this Simon! I know it must take so much of your time so I want you to hear that you are making a positive difference in the lives of all of us readers!
P.S. Is it too early to suggest a slow read of Anna Karenina next year? 🤣
AK is on the list. I think I'll begin narrowing down the options later in the year. Thanks!
I would love if you did The Brothers Karamazov. I loved Anna Karenina too, but (having not yet read War and Peace to the end) I think the Brothers K is the best novel I’ve ever read. And it is very difficult, it would be nice to reread it with a support group.
Yep. I’ve read Brothers K once, but really I just sort of passed my eyes over the pages. Would love to do a deep read.
It's definitely one to consider!
I don’t know if Anna Michailovna will live to see 1815, but she would clearly have been the most capable Russian to send to the Congress of Vienna. She would have given Metternich and Talleyrand a run for their money!
Your poll ought to have given the option of several answers, Simon - many people seem to be reading two versions, mostly in different languages. I read in English in the mornings (orange Maude) and my husband and I read a newish German translation in the evenings.
Oh I know! The options are really limited with the polls, you can only have five options. I know people are reading in all kinds of combinations!
I do not care for Anna. I feel she is a caricature of character, more mask than person. I find her “care” for her son as sincere as her care for her “uncle”, any sincerity left in her having to pass through her counting fingers. She reminds me of Gertrude Stein’s Oakland, time and events bringing inevitable and irrevocable change from a (so-far unspoken) nostalgic past, unrecognisable as the person, now recognisable only as a name, an altered function, a new means after an end, a blurry facsimile of a specific self that once existed, unfamiliar to what was known, a copy: “There is no there there.” I do not dislike her, I just do not care for her.
I fully disclose that I despise passive aggression, seeing it as communication in one of its lowest forms, am puritanical about sincerity to a pathological degree, that it’s easy to have inconsequential, hyperbolic responses to novel characterisations as an inevitable, parasocial, side-effect of reading, and that Tolstoy is trying to hold up a mirror to my reflexive estimations. I reserve the right to change my opinion as further chapters transpire, more background is revealed, I peel back more layers of my own skin in my rumination, or change it completely arbitrarily because I am relocated to a context in which I’m not tired and have maybe had my second morning coffee after a rare, good sleep.
I don't suppose many of us would want to spend long in Anna's company, but in the end, I think I ask myself "what would I do?" in that situation. And honestly, I'm not sure.
For my mind, Tolstoy is in a way gently provoking first impressions, with intent to undermine or at least complicate them. I do not trust Anna, but then with that comes acknowledgment that neither can I trust myself. “What would I do?” is a mighty fine and clarifying mirror, Alison, thank-you, and I’ll be sure to try to hold it up to all my first and subsequent impressions.
tell us how you really feel Marc!:) I also keep Anna M at a distance, she's like an annoying buzzing fly or mosquito that is nearby that I can ignore but am aware of - I feel there'll be more of a story to her character as we go along that might give a different view to initial impressions!
😁 I am looking forward to more info, particular the events and legal matters that have placed her in her desperate state.
[As a habitual oversharer I've propensity to write my thoughts, feelings, and way too much personal information, aloud, as a kind of public contemplation and too-explicit openness - I tend to hold a cognitive dissonance where I have "Things I know to be true", which I conditionally say with the premise and suffix of "therefore they are probably wrong".😉 Tl;dr: I will happily provide all the grains of salt needed with which to take what I say]
First of all, I love and thank you for the artworks you choose for your writings, Simon. They make me go down all kinds of rabbit holes and are just so pleasing to the eye. Returning to the book, meeting Vera's intended Berg was quite disappointing, as probably his egocentric nature reflects hers, and there is not much left underneath? But who knows.
I rather like Pierre. He is like an elephant in the crystal room, candid and offbeat.
Another star of the week is Anna Mikhailovna, and I loved how the chapter 14 ended on such a bittersweet note. I really like the two women, Anna Mikhailovna and the countess, apart and together.
From the start, I really got the sense that judging the characters in this book too early is futile, as they evolve throughout and Tolstoy knows this well.
All in all, a lovely week, with some great insights and further reading recommendations! Love it!
Thank you also to Holle Rodriguez, Panchali, Anna Miles and Alexander Ipfelkofer for sprucing up our reading adventure!
It’s a joy to be a part of the wonderful journey ❤️
Berg is a bit of a disappointment. You'll have to see whether he has anything else going on!
Thanks for your wonderful summary, Simon. I listened to it while sewing a bead back on to a knee blanket. It's so cold here in Cambridgeshire, I've tucked myself up in blankets to read my chapters for the week in one go. My tuppence-worth at this point is... I can't help but be transfixed by Tolstoy's fascination for lips! He describes them in such detail. I don't think I've ever read another author who does this so persistently and with such skill.
He does have a thing for lips doesn't he! It can be quite distracting at times. But he has a brilliant eye for detail, of physical descriptions and character. I love to hear about what people are doing when they are listening. I hope the bead is now securely threaded!
So helpful to have this roundup of the week plus the additional context to enrich the experience - thank you Simon! And wonderful to see all the creative offshoots happening in this community too.
Heading over to the party review now - love the extra fun touch this brings to the main event. Absolutely worth paying to subscribe for. Although I’d have happily done it anyway given all the time and energy you’re putting in to this.
P.S. Was hard to stop at the end of chapter 15. Excited for tomorrow’s instalment!
Thanks Christina!
I admire Anna M for her courage and tenacity. She manages to press her case without exceeding the target’s tolerance for irritation, irritation, so that she doesn’t get sent away, leveraging every string she can pull. She long ago lost her sense of embarrassment about her financial problems.
She’s the mother in the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) who keeps after an unjust judge, until he just gives in to get her to go away. Here the unjust judge is the unequal society, except that if she didn’t have a title and some shared history, she wouldn’t have access to the people in power.
How much time and effort goes into this weekly publication. Thank you so much, this makes our reading more meaningful and enjoyable. Recalling a comment you made about viewing the different generations in the novel will be impacted by our own age, will be a theme for me as I read War and Peace. I look forward to reading your post about dinner at the Rostov’s home. These party posts are an excellent insight into the characters and culture.