I was hoping to get one last picture of Max reading W & P out in the sun, but the camera battery is dead.  Oh well.  So, the Epilogue.  Didn’t care for it the first time around, but I think it might benefit from multiple readings.  Tolstoy not only tells us how things turned out for our major characters, but also his opinion of, well, everything.  He gives lots to think about and maybe I’m just not in place right now where I want to put that much effort into it.  Maybe it’s the glorious sun making me lazy. 

Before I tell you how everything turned out I need to tell you all how awesome Molly is.  Molly of The Bumbles is the best!  I had you guys pick a huge chunk of my reading list this year and you chose War & Peace.  I whined about it and Molly offered to read it with me.  Isn’t she an angel?  I have not been a great partner; my posts have rarely been up on time, but Molly has carried me through.  So, please visit her and see what she has to say on this last post. 

Natasha Rostov is a happily married woman.  She marries Pierre and has lots of kids and takes delight in her family.  She has changed from a spoiled, spirited girl to a woman who cares little about herself or appearance and puts all of her energy into her husband and children.  There is little spark in her now.  She keeps Pierre on a short leash because of her jealousy, but the two have a marriage that seems to work for both of them.  I am disappointed in this final version of Natasha.  I was hoping she would regain her old spirit and fire, but she has become a too content housewife.  She has lost herself in the family.

Princess Maria marries Nikolai after some effort on her part.  The two are surprisingly well suited and I enjoyed reading about their marriage.  They have lots of kids too, but somehow Maria retains Maria and this brings out the best in her husband.  They are clearly in love and Nikolai respects Maria’s intelligence and moral goodness.  Maria ends up in the best place.

Vaska Denisov shows up visiting with both families.  He’s retired but still interested in government and military affairs.  He’s a bachelor and although no mention is made of it I like to think he has a woman somewhere who loves him.

So, there it is.  I will give rating and a complete wrap-up post tomorrow in a review that looks like one.  Don’t worry it will be short.

So, Molly and I have finished 1125 pages of War & Peace.  The only thing left is the Epilogue and we’ll tackle that and our wrap-up next week.  This week saw an end to the French occupation of Russia and my guy Vaska Denisov had a little to do with that.  So, I guess I’ll start with him.

One of the more palpable and advantageous deviations from the so-called rules of war is the action of scattered people against people pressed together in a mass.  This kind of action always emerges in a war that acquires a national character.  These actions consist in the fact that, instead of a crowd opposing a crowd, people scatter, attack singly, and flee as soon as large forces attack them, then attack as soon as the opportunity arises.

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Vaska Denisov had his own band of merry men and was very successful at this kind of partisan warfare.  It was because of him and others like him that worked independently and together that the Russians got their country back. 

Prince Andrei is dead, but his death has brought his sister and ex-fiance together as BFF’s.

Princess Maria Bolonsky was the first of the two women to be called out of her grief for her brother and forced to take part in the real world of being in charge of her family’s wealth and responsible for the welfare of her nephew.  As she prepares to go back to Moscow the Rostov’s are dealt a blow and she sticks around to provide her support for Natasha and the family. 

From that day on, a passionate and tender friendship was established between Princess Maria and Natasha such as occurs only between women.

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Maria takes Natasha  to Moscow and encourages her to live life and accept love when she finds it.  Maria shines in her role as best friend.  I’ve never liked her more.  Still waiting to see what the future holds for her in the Epilogue.

Natasha Rostov watched Andrei die, knowing she had wronged him and yet he had forgiven her.  While she was still grieving for Andrei the family received the news that her youngest brother had died in battle.  Natasha was devastated.  Her health became so weak that her family encouraged her to travel to Moscow with Maria to consult doctors there.  In Moscow, the young women grow even closer and it is Maria who is encouraging when Pierre shows up with his heart on his sleeve.  Natasha’s old spark returns when Pierre looks at her with love in his eyes and she is giddy when he expresses a desire to marry her.  It was nice to see the progression in Natasha and although I don’t get the Pierre attraction I’m guessing it has something to do with the way he feels about her.

So, check out Molly’s take on the week and see her cat Tedy with the book.  And thanks for reading along each week!  Are you excited for the finale next Thursday?