War and Peace Readalong thread 2022

[VikingNorthUtsire]

Interest thread for the 2022 War and Peace readalong

THIS OP WAS UPDATED on 4/1 BY MNHQ (THANK YOU) TO ADD MORE DETAIL TO THE READING SCHEDULE AND UPDATE THE AMAZON LINKS

"The finest novel ever written on this planet"
"Here is a novel that is worth whatever time one gives to it. There is more life between its cover than in any other existent fictional narrative"

This is a really helpful blog post by someone who has done the challenge: nicksenger.com/onecatholiclife/announcing-the-2020-war-and-peace-chapter-a-day-read-along

1. Translations

The main complication seems to be which edition to choose. The blog post above contains some commentary of the different tranlsations that are available and their merits. There's also a pretty comprehensive guide here including samples from some of the best-known translations: welovetranslations.com/2021/08/31/whats-the-best-translation-of-war-and-peace-by-tolstoy/

The main differences that I can see are:

• some editions (including the free download on Project Gutenburg) have a different chapter structure. I think/hope we would manage to find one another if some are reading versions with more or fewer chapters but I have based the readalong on the versions with 361 chapters.

• there's quite a lot of French in at least some parts of the book. Some editions translate it into English, others keep it in French but use footnotes

• some translators have chosen to anglicise the characters' names. I guess its personal preference whether you prefer Mary, Andrew and Basil or a more Russian version.

Looking at the editions recommended and reviewed in the above blog:

The Vintage Classics edition, translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky: ]]

NB also this link for the kindle version: ]]

The Signet Classics edition, translated by Anne Dunnigan: ]]

The Penguin Classics edition, translated by Anthony Briggs: ]]

As a general rule I would definitely recommend downloading a sample of any kindle edition before buying, so you can be sure that you are happy with it.

Obviously, some people will prefer to avoid Amazon! Feel free to use the weeks in the run-up to Day 1 to share any tips on what you are buying and where from. Can I suggest though that we stick where possible to the editions with 361 chapters otherwise we will all get very confused!

1. Reading timeline

Nick, of the blog post, has very helpfully done the calculations for which chapters fall on which days, except he did it in 2020 which was a Leap Year. So feel free to take a look at nicksenger.com/onecatholiclife/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Nicks-2020-War-and-Peace-Chapter-a-Day-Reading-Schedule.pdf but see below the schedule for the Mumsnet Readalong.

Again, different editions name and number their chapters differently - some refer to four books divided into parts (as below), others refer to fifteen books although it's essentially the same structure just with different numbering. Hopefully there's enough info below to keep us all in sync, and always happy to let anyone know via PM what's happening in today's chapter so we can keep together.

Book 1: 1805
Book 1 Part One (25 chapters): 1/1 - 25/1
Book 1 Part Two (21 chapters): 26/1 - 15/2
Book 1 Part Three (19 chapters): 16/2 - 6/3
DAY OFF: 7/3
Book 2: 1806-1812
Book 2 Part One (16 chapters): 8/3 - 23/3
Book 2 Part Two (21 chapters): 24/3 - 13/4
Book 2 Part Three (26 chapters): 14/4 - 9/5
Book 2 Part Four (13 chapters): 10/5 - 22/5
Book 2 Part Five (22 chapters): 23/5 - 13/6
DAY OFF: 14/6
Book 3: 1812
Book Three Part One (23 chapters): 15/6 - 7/7
Book Three Part Two (39 chapters): 8/7 - 15/8
Book Three Part Three (34 chapters): 16/8 - 18/9
DAY OFF: 19/9
Book 4: 1812-13
Book Four Part One (16 chapters): 20/9 - 5/10
Book Four Part Two (19 chapters): 6/10 - 24/10
Book Four Part Three (19 chapters): 25/10 - 12/11
Book Four Part Four (20 chapters): 13/11 - 2/12
DAY OFF: 3/12
Epilogue One 1812-20 (16 chapters): 3/12 - 19/12
Epilogue Two (12 chapters): 20/12 - 31/12

Phew!

I would suggest that we meet at the end of each section (so 17 times over the course of the year) to discuss what we've read, but with (non-spoilerish) chatter welcome at any time in between. According to my guru, Nick, each chapter is around 4 pages long, so it should be do-able.

1. Chapter "meditations"

This looks like another really interesting blog post from someone who has done it, with thoughts and meditations on each chapter: brianedenton.medium.com/a-year-of-war-and-peace-cc66540d9619#.yabefbbgz

Come and join me! This time next year we will almost have finished reading the finest novel ever written on the planet.

PS Some may feel that each day off deserves a shot of vodka or two. I couldn't possibly comment.

@DesdamonasHandkerchief

Hi Mb76, wow someone on the thread who could read this in Russian! I'd have loved to have studied this at school. The Natasha's are mother and daughter from the same family - Rostov. The Kuragins are Prince Vasily and his children Hélène, Anatole & Hippolite. The Karagins are Madame and Julie Karagin introduced in chapter 7 I think.

And come to think of it there hasn't been mention of a Mr Karagin, maybe Julie doesn't have a dad either.

Sorry I’m only just replying to the part about Kuragins and Karagins now. I had a look and the pronunciations would be quite similar to both of these names. Such as Kou-Rá-ghin and Ka-Rá-ghin with the emphasis on “ra” I never noticed the similarities until you pointed them out, I guess it’s just one of those things that I maybe take for granted being a native speaker 🤷🏻‍♀️

I'm going to guess that the chap on the horse is Dolokhov. He looks arrogant and fearless as described upthread by musicmaiden. Thanks Mb76! These are great.

Love the illustrations @Mb76. My guess is Zekhov, the mocking member of Zutukov’s party and old gambling and party friend of Pierre, Anatole and Dolokhov. He looks arrogant and his boots don’t look worn!

Much better today, no 5am waking, hope my memory serves me better when I read today.

Could be Nikolai Rostov as he is a Hussars who are cavalry I think. Give us a clue @Mb76 is it from this chapter? If so, yes, maybe the back chatty one or Dolokhov. If I had to put money on it I’d say Dolokhov.

@StColumbofNavron

Could be Nikolai Rostov as he is a Hussars who are cavalry I think. Give us a clue *@Mb76* is it from this chapter? If so, yes, maybe the back chatty one or Dolokhov. If I had to put money on it I’d say Dolokhov.

The thing is the illustrations not titled, and are dropped throughout the book a bit randomly. In sort of chronological order but not necessarily in the right chapter. So it’s open to interpretation. I also think it’s Dolokhov because you can see the arrogance in his expression.

I thought I’d share one more 😊

Is there a contents page or index page of images in the front or back? Old books usually titled them like art.

@Mb76

I thought I’d share one more 😊

Is it Pierre?!

That's got to be Dolokhov, Mb76.. although he looks to be charging and we haven't come across any actual combat yet. But I can totally see him, shouting back disparaging comments as he heads into action...

That's so Pierre My initial though was Dholokhov on the horse but isn't he a foot soldier?

@MamaNewtNewt

That's so Pierre My initial though was Dholokhov on the horse but isn't he a foot soldier?

I was wondering about that too, if he was a foot soldier.

@IsFuzzyBeagMise yes it is! Pierre the gentle giant

@BakeOffRewatch No there’s nothing, other than the name of the artist that made the illustrations.

[quote Mb76]@IsFuzzyBeagMise yes it is! Pierre the gentle giant[/quote]
He is exactly as I imagined him @Mb76!

I would have said Dolokhov, (because it looks like Dolokhov from the BBC series) although I'm sure it was the Hussars who had that natty little crop top uniform, which would suggest Nikolai. Plus if you look at the Rostov children illustration it could well be the same person in that as on horseback.

@ChannelLightVessel

I get the impression that both Bolkonsky children have been brought up to be incredibly serious and dutiful - although it manifests itself slightly differently because of their different social roles - and they both have trouble with the fact that most people aren’t like that.

That's a good point ChannelLightVessel.

I'm not finding the war chapters as much fun as the peace chapters so far! It's such an all-male world. But there is still plenty of human interest as Viking said.

And that's a great image of Pierre. He looks decidedly unwarlike!

What a load of silly shenanigans in today’s chapter! However, Nikolai is back and Denisov is delightfully mad.

Mb76 I am loving your posts & those pics are fab! It'll be really interesting to learn your perspective on the book this year. At the mo I'm struggling to keep track of which chapter we're on as we progress through the book (would've been so much easier if Tolstoy had named the chapters in sequence!) so I think I'll have to compile a spreadsheet or something.
I've treated myself to the BBC series on DVD which I'm not going to watch until Xmas 2022. I don't want to be influenced by the actors they've cast in the roles & start picturing them in my head when I read the book.
BTW, I found this:-
www.britannica.com/topic/War-and-Peace
It's really interesting & explains how Tolstoy wrote the book & that he used family members as inspiration for the names of characters. Also says that his wife, Sofya helped with the book publication by hand-copying several drafts of the novel . I wouldn't advise reading about the characters though on this site, if you've not read the book, as it does contain spoilers!

Now I’ve read today’s chapter, I think it’s Nikolai Rostov too! On his overpriced horse 😂

Yes BakeOffRewatch! It might be Nicolai Rostov!
I hope that horse isn't a dud. Telyanin is another man with tiny white hands and clearly shouldn't be trusted!

I’ve started re-reading, just came across Dolokhov’s description that he didn’t have moustache (chapter 6 in the scene with the bear) so the illustration must be Nikolai Rostov.

@Spongebobfrillypants thank you! 😀
I’m looking forward to reading this along with you all. I had the best teacher at school when we were reading War and Peace, it was 30 years ago! She was one of those teachers that inspire you for the rest of your life. I’m finding my own old notes and an occasional bookmark as I’m reading, it’s quite a trip down the memory lane.
I watched the BBC Production of War and Peace and thought it was well made but I thought it was too short. In my mind they could have made it into more episodes. I’ll probably re watch it at some point.

There was something about moustaches and cavalry or moustaches and military in Vanity Fair which I read at the beginning of the month. Apparently it denoted a military career but I'm not quite sure of the detail.

@Mb76

I’ve started re-reading, just came across Dolokhov’s description that he didn’t have moustache (chapter 6 in the scene with the bear) so the illustration must be Nikolai Rostov.

Oh, well spotted!