Beautiful piece! The delirious joy and aching sadness of Tolstoy’s writing perfectly highlighted. The splinter of ice at the heart of this dissection cuts deep though...
"Berg was satisfied and happy. The smile of pleasure never left his face. The party was very successful and quite like other parties he had seen."
Clinical and humane at the same time. A mirror held up in every depiction.
It's so admirable the way he walks that tightrope of a pitiless gaze while acknowledging the contradictions and blindspots we all have! That's what makes his characters feel so truthful and alive.
Omg I fear these two now light lovers are soon going to be fooled by life events and maybe deceived by each other. We have seen so far Andrei ups and down and himself changing having epyphanies but not that much. I think we have come to the point of the book in which I hope to see Natasha changing too. Will she stay the way she is and see the world the way she does for too long?
I was transported by these chapters of love at first sight and dance. How refreshing they were.
I could not stop thinking that perhaps finding a spouse is easy for Andrei being a man, in spite of being a widower. He is still young rich and aristocrat. He has choices. He can choose to marry the girl he likes and not to live with his son with no social consequences. Whereas a widow at that time.... I think her road to re marry would have been very different and full of social prejudices.
Natasha seems shallow for a philosophical man as Andrei. He is also attracted by the striking difference with Lisa. Natasha is the spring breeze his soul needs. But seasons change. What is he going to think of his bride when winter inevitably arrives? Will Natasha grasp Andrei's view of life formed by many struggles? He said to her on the proposal scene something like you don't know me that much and my past struggles.... hinting that the past will still resurface in some form in the future.
If they marry, I am looking forward to Marya and Natasha showdow.
“We cannot live our entire life in verse, but a life in prose is barely a life at all.” Love this! 😊
I loved that sentence as well!
Thank you both!
Beautiful piece! The delirious joy and aching sadness of Tolstoy’s writing perfectly highlighted. The splinter of ice at the heart of this dissection cuts deep though...
"Berg was satisfied and happy. The smile of pleasure never left his face. The party was very successful and quite like other parties he had seen."
Clinical and humane at the same time. A mirror held up in every depiction.
Clinical and humane does seem to sum up Tolstoy. Paradoxically brutal and gentle simultaneously, he says this is how the world is, but that's OK.
It's so admirable the way he walks that tightrope of a pitiless gaze while acknowledging the contradictions and blindspots we all have! That's what makes his characters feel so truthful and alive.
Very much enjoyed these chapters and your summary of them Simon. I now feel I will be going down a rabbit hole with the maps of love.
“the cynic haunted by rainbows” I love this!
Thank you for your commentary, Simon. And I especially appreciated your Maps of Love footnote. I had not heard of these till now— delightful!
The Bergs are giving an earlier version of Abigail's Party
Omg I fear these two now light lovers are soon going to be fooled by life events and maybe deceived by each other. We have seen so far Andrei ups and down and himself changing having epyphanies but not that much. I think we have come to the point of the book in which I hope to see Natasha changing too. Will she stay the way she is and see the world the way she does for too long?
I was transported by these chapters of love at first sight and dance. How refreshing they were.
I could not stop thinking that perhaps finding a spouse is easy for Andrei being a man, in spite of being a widower. He is still young rich and aristocrat. He has choices. He can choose to marry the girl he likes and not to live with his son with no social consequences. Whereas a widow at that time.... I think her road to re marry would have been very different and full of social prejudices.
Natasha seems shallow for a philosophical man as Andrei. He is also attracted by the striking difference with Lisa. Natasha is the spring breeze his soul needs. But seasons change. What is he going to think of his bride when winter inevitably arrives? Will Natasha grasp Andrei's view of life formed by many struggles? He said to her on the proposal scene something like you don't know me that much and my past struggles.... hinting that the past will still resurface in some form in the future.
If they marry, I am looking forward to Marya and Natasha showdow.