This week Molly and I read Part One of Volume 4.  It was only 50 pages and yet we both lost one of our characters!  So, Moscow is burning as the French invade, but in the high circles of society of Petersburg, life goes on as usual, with the requisite balls and social obligations.

The majority of the people of that time paid no attention to the general course of things, but were guided only by the personal interests of the day.  And these people were the most useful figures of that time.

Those, however, who tried to understand the general course of things and wanted to take part in it with self-sacrifice and heroism, were the most useless members of society; they say everything inside out, and everything they did to be useful turned out to be useless nonsense, like Pierre’s and Mamonov’s regiments, which looted Russian villages, like the lint that young ladies plucked and that never got to the wounded, and so on.

page 944

The three of my characters in this section all came together for the first and last time.  Prince Andrei had been badly injured and was staying the Natasha and the Rostov’s, where his life hung in the balance.  Natasha stayed by his side nursing him back to health, both of them hoping for a future together.  Princess Maria, meanwhile in Voronezh, saw her true love Nikolai again and learned from him where her brother was.  She and Andrei’s 7 year-old son went to him immediately (or as fast as they could which was 2 weeks).  When they arrived at the monastery where the family was staying it was obvious from Natasha’s face that Andrei was not well.  As the two women, past enemies, bonded over their love for Andrei they kept vigil.  Andrei himself was prepared for death.  By the end he had lost real meaning with his current world.

“Love? What is love?” he thought.  “Love hinders death.  Love is life.  Everything, everything I understand, I understand only because I love.  Everything is, everything exists, only because I love.  Everything is connected only by that.  Love is God, and to die-means that I, a part of love, return to the common and eternal source.”  These thoughts seemed comforting to him.  But they were only thoughts.  Something was lacking in them, there was something one-sidedly personal, cerebral there was no evidence.  And there was the same uneasiness and vagueness.

page 984

In the end Prince Andrei died and I’m sad.  I thought he was a wonderful character full of life and troubled by darkness.  He was a man to admire, flaws and all.  So what will become of Natasha and Maria?  I think Maria has a real chance at happiness with Nikolai.  As for Natasha, she continued to grow up this week.  She was able to redeem herself a little of her terrible treatment of Andrei when they were engaged, so maybe she’ll find happiness too.

So who died over at Molly’s?  You’ll have to click on over to find out.

Max was back to reading this week in his favorite spot.  He could keep an eye on the street and read the book too.  

This was an interesting week since it was primarily about Moscow preparing for the French invasion.  Of my four characters only two them showed up this week, so I am also going to include a few quotes from the book so you can get a feel for the wonderful writing. 

The forces of two-and-ten European nations burst into Russia.  The Russian army and populace retreat, avoiding a confrontation as far as Smolensk, and from Smolensk to Borodino.  The French army, with an ever-increasing force of momentum, races on to Moscow, the goal of its movement.  The force of its momentum increases as it nears its goal, just as the velocity of a falling body increases as it nears the earth.  Behind are thousands of miles of famished, hostile country; ahead are a few dozen miles separating it from its goal.  Every soldier of Napoleon’s army feels that, and the invasion pushes on of itself, by the mere force of its momentum. (page 824) 

Prince Andrei was presumed dead AGAIN!  As the wounded are brought to Moscow we find out that he is one of them and that the doctors have little hope of him living.  As luck would have it he is evacuated from Moscow with the Rostov family and when Natasha found him the connection between the two was renewed.  The doctors still don’t believe he’ll recover and seem to be trying to help him stay ill. 

Natasha grew up a little this week.  She successfully took over the packing of their house for evacuation and she opened her heart to the wounded men by telling them they could stay in the Rostov home.  And then she begged her father to let the wounded travel with them after her mother had ordered otherwise… 

“The eggs…the eggs are teaching the hen…” the count said through happy tears.”  (Count Rostov expresses how proud he is of her) 

Before discovering Andrei in their convoy she had a chance encounter with Pierre that led him to wax poetic.  Now that Andrei is back in the picture it’s hard to see where that might lead.  I liked Natasha more this week.  She is still self-involved, but she is coming into her own and has many attractive qualities. 

So Moscow has been left to the  French but Pierre is still there.  Head on over to Molly’s to see what she has to say.  She’s covering Pierre and he was a busy boy this week.  We’re only a few weeks away from the end and I’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of everyone.

This week Molly and I read Volume 3 parts 1 & 2 of Tolstoy’s War & Peace.  The weather has been so nice here that Max did not read with me this week.  I have lost him to the sun and I’m okay with that.  This week was mostly about how the war with Napoleon was affecting everyone in Russia.  Moscow was being abandoned by all those who could afford to get out and fear and rumor spread.  It culminated in the battle of Borodino which was expertly told through Pierre’s eyes.  Okay, on to what happened to my people…

Prince Andrei has not recovered from getting dissed by Natasha.  He goes to Turkey as a general, but he’s really looking for Anatole so that he can force him into a dual over his behavior with Natasha.  He doesn’t find him but does find satisfaction in being a military man once more.  He is able to visit Bald Hills and gets into his first fight with his father over Maria.  The next time he goes to Bald Hills it will be abandoned due to the invading French.  On the eve of the battle of Borodino he meets Pierre on the battlefield and treats him cooly.  He may regret that the next day as he lay dying from wounds on the battlefield.  Will he live?  It doesn’t look good.

Princess Maria is finally getting a story of her own.  Her domineering and awful father dies of a stroke when they should be leaving their land for the safer Moscow.  As he dies he makes an attempt to apologize to Maria and being the most virtuous woman ever, she comforts him.  As she tries to leave she makes a generous offer to the families of her brother’s land and it backfires.  They hold her hostage there until Prince Nikolai, serving in the Russian army, saves her.  Sparks fly between them and as she makes her way to Moscow she fancies herself in love.  I have high hopes that she can flourish into a woman now that she’s on her own.

Vaska Denisov is finally back, a little.  He is now a hussar lieutenant colonel and he meets Andrei as they are both waiting to meet the new commander.  Vaska has solid ideas for war strategy, but they are ignored.

Princess Natasha after her busy time last week is recovering.  She is depressed and broken-hearted, but Pierre and the church seem to awaken some of her spirit.  I’m not sure of what’s brewing between her and Pierre.  I just don’t get it.

This week was heavy on the war and I liked it.  Last week at the halfway point Jason asked me for a grade and I told him a B+, but it could easily be an A.  I am really enjoying this book.  Maybe next week my review will be excerpts from the book only.  The storytelling is beautiful.  Now go check out Molly’s take on it.  She’s covering Nikolai and I wonder of what she thinks of this infactuation with Maria.