16 Comments

This is my comment of gratitude for the article. I just listened to your prose, and I'm already delighted, Simon.

Honestly, I have a very complicated relationship with Tolstoy, I hated him at school, then at the university (I studied philology and international journalism, where Russian literature was taught for 4 years). And there was such a stereotype at the university that you can truly love either Dostoevsky or Tolstoy. Both are impossible, because they are very different and determine your literary taste. And I was in Dostoevsky's clan. But now, thanks to this slow reading, I gave Tolstoy a chance, and I start to like him… He has so much stuff to dig through references and references.

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Thanks Dana! I never had to make that impossible choice between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. They both provide such very different things to literature. But I'm glad to create this opportunity to dig deep into Tolstoy's writing. There's so much to discover.

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May 19Liked by Simon Haisell

“For sometimes happiness comes upon us with such a wordless intensity, it can only be expressed in an explosion of sound.” Beautiful, thank you, Simon 🥰

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Thank you!

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I just loved the imagery of the fairy forrest. It reminded me of a month I spent in the Colorado Rockies over Christmas at a silent meditation retreat. I was brought back to the glittering snow under the full moon and the crunch of it beneath my feet. On dark nights I remember looking up at the night sky and seeing so many stars it reminded me of an overturned salt shaker. There were too many for me to attempt constellations. It's also nice to be "rewarded" with these chapters after the heartbreak of the hunt. Overall there's an aliveness in our reading this week that reminds me of what life is about. If only we could stay here forever. I particularly aspire to the life of Uncle, laying about in my overgrown fields in the summer. Finally, what is the wound that Andrei is moaning about? It all feels a bit melodramatic and like an avoidance tactic.

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I love the imagery in these chapters! The enchanted heart of War and Peace. Andrei's wound is abdominal I believe, the near fatal wound from the Battle of Austerlitz. It's a near miracle he survived and continues to re-open. He's described as looking weaker than he used to as well. I'm pretty sure he's desperate to get home.

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Your commentary is so good and informative, Simon. And thank you for the heads up on Chapter 5 - I will be skipping the hunting chapters. Your short quote from the wolf hunt was more than enough to tell me I would find those scenes upsetting. I move on to Fairyland.

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Jun 3Liked by Simon Haisell

I've been off the chat for some time, and following primarily the weekly updates (chaotic daily life and a rather user-unfriendly physical setup with my laptop discourages extensive engagement (email suffers from terrible neglect!!)

Even though this comment is weeks late, I'm interested in the switch to a female wolf with cubs, Simon (I just tried to use your handle but it's not showing up—you may miss this altogether).

The hunt chapters were impossible for me—I skimmed and skipped. Your comments about them were invaluable in kind of keeping me apprised enough to them. Being a huge animal lover, I couldn't stand to read them, and in particular, the presence of cubs that had to be killed seemed awful. I wondered if it was true to practice at the time (killing females and cubs), as it effectively limits future chases—Anyway, I'm curious about why the Maudes & Briggs would have thought it necessary. I haven't read further comments—maybe the group came to conclusions, but it was comforting to know that Tolstoy himself didn't go that far. Thank you so much for all you do here @SimonHaisell!

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Hey Rebecca, I don't think we got to the bottom of it. I can only think Briggs and Maude made the change for emotive reasons, which is peculiar. I doubt very much that hunts let female wolves and cubs go. I'm sure they were treated just the same, but it appears Tolstoy didn't write it this way. We do come across a lot of odd translation decisions along the way, one of the great advantages of reading in a community.

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Jun 3Liked by Simon Haisell

You're remarkable on top of it Simon! Thanks for the input. It seems an odd choice to me, too—I wish we could ask one of these translators the point (I'm guessing Briggs is no longer around). I'm intensely curious because there must have been a justifiable, at the time, reason to make this change, and it's not a simple question of language translation—it's content. I was hugely relieved you covered this in your weekly update, so I didn't miss anything important! Enjoy your evening. I'm so grateful to have this side project/diversion at a difficult time [prayer hands emoji goes here. I don't know where to find emoji in Substack :)

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That's fine! Briggs is still with us, might actually be possible to contact him. The Maudes are long gone. It's good to know my weekly updates are read!

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Jun 3Liked by Simon Haisell

Your Sunday updates are a highlight of my week! I listen to them (I love hearing your voice—I often wish the daily posts were recorded but they're so short it's hardly worth it), and scroll through the post as well. I would LOVE to ask Briggs what his thinking was. It's brutal enough as T wrote it . . .

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May 21Liked by Simon Haisell

Struggling with the whole fairyland things…but I guess Tolstoy tries to cover all sorts of things, so I’ll hang in there.

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Henry James called it a "loose, baggy monster" and indeed it has a bit of everything. Soon we will be far from fairyland.

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May 21Liked by Simon Haisell

@Simon Haisell and Henry James ( Now i need to read some of him) thanks! Now let’s get back to the battlefield and skies

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May 20Liked by Simon Haisell

Best reading week so far! Thank you Simon for your passion for this book!

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