Simon, thank you for the reminder about Petya’s excited sword wielding when he was a boy. I had forgotten. The way Tolstoy ties these things together is so masterful and your summaries are beautiful and very insightful.
For re-readers it makes that first meeting with Petya all the more poignant. He is impatient to grow up and fight Frenchman, and we want him to stay young. Thanks Noreen!
I found myself frustrated with Petya in these chapters. Couldn’t he see he was rushing head first into danger not glory? No. And nor could Andrei with his flag or Pierre in his wandering at Borodino. And though I am not a man who hungers for glory, in what ways have my own desires to be recognized and respected driven me to nonsensical actions despite the cautioning of peers and mentors? I may not be running to the front lines but I do spend far too much time in front of a computer screen overworking and subconsciously waiting for the applause of some invisible audience. It’s not a bullet to the head but it’s a death all the same. This section will sit with me.
"I may not be running to the front lines but do spend far too much time in front of a computer screen
overworking and subconsciously waiting for the applause of some invisible audience. It's not a bullet to the head but it's a death all the same. This section will sit with me." Thank you for these words that really resonate 👏🏻
I knew the second Petya showed up again that he was going to get himself killed, which made this week's reading excruciating. Will it be today? No, he's still alive today. What about today? No, still hanging on. Ah, it must be today, then. Not quite yet. And then, pop. Just like that.
I appreciate the fact that this major character death comes as the French retreat across Russia. They are a defeated army and at this point they know it, but that doesn't mean the danger is over. We are still at war, and in war, people on both sides perish needlessly. None more so here.
I gasped and burst into tears when I realised Petya had died. Denisov is distraught, Dolokhov suitably dismissive. I've reread this chapter three times today trying to keep Petya alive, like rewinding a movie to try and change the ending... The slippage from his saddle, arms flailing, Petya lived drawn to action and excitement... And he died by it too, in a split second of adrenaline and a flying bullet 😭
In a hurry to get where he was not - quite literally. The worst thing is re-reading the book again knowing all the time that this is where we are headed.
I think I mentioned this a while back, but I've learned (from an account written by a cousin of my great-grandmother's) that my great x4 grandfather fought at Waterloo in the British army with Wellington (there are a number of "Wellingtons" in the family tree born after that time...!) -- AND, his son, my great x3 grandfather, was apparently there with him as a drummer boy!! He would have been 8-10 years old at the time. I CANNOT IMAGINE. It puts reading about the drummer boy here in an entirely different perspective for me...!
You're right, Simon, "The Flowers of the Forest" is always played (on the bagpipes) at the Remembrance Day services at the National War Memorial in Ottawa (coming up a week from tomorrow).
Interesting tangent on the War in the Vendee which includes comments on the Jacquerie in A Tale of 2 Cities, where all of the blood thirsty peasants call each other Jacque. Another great commentary on themes too heavy to read alone.
Some beautiful and very sad images in these chapters. A life lived too briefly, and in too much of a hurry, brought to a sudden end. I do remember being younger and feeling everything was ahead but as I watch my children eager to get to the next stage, I just want to slow everything down a bit and soak it in. How Petya's mother will feel after learning the news I can only imagine, after all she did to try and keep him safe. Rather than the Flowers of the Forest what came to mind for me was the song 'The Green Fields of France' whereby at the grave of a 19 year old killed in the war, a traveller taking a rest beside the grave wonders if the pipes played The Floo'ers of the Forest as they laid him to rest. Always hits me hard.
Simon, thank you for the reminder about Petya’s excited sword wielding when he was a boy. I had forgotten. The way Tolstoy ties these things together is so masterful and your summaries are beautiful and very insightful.
For re-readers it makes that first meeting with Petya all the more poignant. He is impatient to grow up and fight Frenchman, and we want him to stay young. Thanks Noreen!
I found myself frustrated with Petya in these chapters. Couldn’t he see he was rushing head first into danger not glory? No. And nor could Andrei with his flag or Pierre in his wandering at Borodino. And though I am not a man who hungers for glory, in what ways have my own desires to be recognized and respected driven me to nonsensical actions despite the cautioning of peers and mentors? I may not be running to the front lines but I do spend far too much time in front of a computer screen overworking and subconsciously waiting for the applause of some invisible audience. It’s not a bullet to the head but it’s a death all the same. This section will sit with me.
Very good point. We want to shout at Petya, but boy do we want to shout at ourselves.
Oh boy, THIS:
"I may not be running to the front lines but do spend far too much time in front of a computer screen
overworking and subconsciously waiting for the applause of some invisible audience. It's not a bullet to the head but it's a death all the same. This section will sit with me." Thank you for these words that really resonate 👏🏻
I knew the second Petya showed up again that he was going to get himself killed, which made this week's reading excruciating. Will it be today? No, he's still alive today. What about today? No, still hanging on. Ah, it must be today, then. Not quite yet. And then, pop. Just like that.
I appreciate the fact that this major character death comes as the French retreat across Russia. They are a defeated army and at this point they know it, but that doesn't mean the danger is over. We are still at war, and in war, people on both sides perish needlessly. None more so here.
Yes that point struck me on first reading. We think the danger has passed. No more Borodinos. But it only takes one bullet.
I gasped and burst into tears when I realised Petya had died. Denisov is distraught, Dolokhov suitably dismissive. I've reread this chapter three times today trying to keep Petya alive, like rewinding a movie to try and change the ending... The slippage from his saddle, arms flailing, Petya lived drawn to action and excitement... And he died by it too, in a split second of adrenaline and a flying bullet 😭
In a hurry to get where he was not - quite literally. The worst thing is re-reading the book again knowing all the time that this is where we are headed.
😭😭😭
Thank you, Simon. This week’s reading has left me speechless and I’m so appreciative of your beautiful words.
Thank you, Charlene.
I think I mentioned this a while back, but I've learned (from an account written by a cousin of my great-grandmother's) that my great x4 grandfather fought at Waterloo in the British army with Wellington (there are a number of "Wellingtons" in the family tree born after that time...!) -- AND, his son, my great x3 grandfather, was apparently there with him as a drummer boy!! He would have been 8-10 years old at the time. I CANNOT IMAGINE. It puts reading about the drummer boy here in an entirely different perspective for me...!
You're right, Simon, "The Flowers of the Forest" is always played (on the bagpipes) at the Remembrance Day services at the National War Memorial in Ottawa (coming up a week from tomorrow).
Oh wow, actually a drummer boy. It is hard to imagine how a child let alone an adult can process these experiences.
Thank you for including the painting of a French drummer boy. That young, innocent face! Our Petya personified :-(
Interesting tangent on the War in the Vendee which includes comments on the Jacquerie in A Tale of 2 Cities, where all of the blood thirsty peasants call each other Jacque. Another great commentary on themes too heavy to read alone.
Some beautiful and very sad images in these chapters. A life lived too briefly, and in too much of a hurry, brought to a sudden end. I do remember being younger and feeling everything was ahead but as I watch my children eager to get to the next stage, I just want to slow everything down a bit and soak it in. How Petya's mother will feel after learning the news I can only imagine, after all she did to try and keep him safe. Rather than the Flowers of the Forest what came to mind for me was the song 'The Green Fields of France' whereby at the grave of a 19 year old killed in the war, a traveller taking a rest beside the grave wonders if the pipes played The Floo'ers of the Forest as they laid him to rest. Always hits me hard.
Mason jars
Sorry typed in the wrong box