War and Peace Readalong thread 2022 - thread 2

[VikingNorthUtsire]

"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: www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Vintage-Classics-Tolstoy/dp/0099512246/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

NB also this link for the kindle version: www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Vintage-Classic-Russians-ebook/dp/B005CUS9AG/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

The Signet Classics edition, translated by Anne Dunnigan: www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Signet-Classics-Tolstoy-ebook/dp/B001RWQVXA/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

The Penguin Classics edition, translated by Anthony Briggs: www.amazon.co.uk/War-Peace-Penguin-Popular-Classics-ebook/dp/B0033805UG/?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

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.

Love the idea that we are reading "forensically". I already feel like an intellectual for just tackling War and Peace though the Anthony Briggs translation is a very easy read.

Reading forensically 🤓yes!!
One minute it's early Winter and then it's September the 15th, very specifically 😁

😆

Having just read rhe next chapter... I'm all 😡 now... just no need for the theatrics, just kill the poor thing if that's what you're going to do. I hate that she was 'an old one', she'd survived many years only to end up as a trophy for spoiled Nikolay.. grr!

I think I missed a day 🤔

Chapter 5
After Count Rostov lets the wolf escape, it heads toward Nikolai, whose dogs kill it after a long and vicious struggle.
Chapter 6
The party discovers a poacher, who turns out to be employed by Ilaginn_, a neighboring nobleman who has a tendency to hunt on the Rostovs’ land. When confronted, Ilagin graciously apologizes and invites everyone to hunt in his park. The male hunters grow competitive and chase a hare, hoping to see who has the fastest dog. A poor, eccentric uncle of the Rostov children has the winning dog.

And if I haven't missed a day DON'T READ THE SPOILER

It's chapter five today. Unfortunately, there's more hunting tomorrow :(

I didn’t enjoy that chapter at all. Still #Team Wolf 🐺

Reminds me of reading The Well of Loneliness - no problem with the lesbianism, but I couldn’t put up with the fox hunting.

Yes! I just skimmed through Chapter 6. Ugh.

Sorry - that was my fault for posting my thoughts on C5 before I went to sleep... didn't enjoy that at all!

The stringing up of the wolf while alive was so sad. I'm very glad our hunting days are no more. I'm not sure how Tolstoy wants us to see Nikolay in these last few chapters. I feel like he's trying to play the country gentleman but has no real knowledge. I worry for the Rostov's finances with him ripping up bills. Perhaps Andrey and his estate management skills will save the day.

@VikingNorthUtsire I ‘know’ the writer of the book in a sort of academic capacity and he said that it was inspired by that scene. I think he has written about it too, I’ll try and dig out an article for when we get there.

And again!
Chapter 6
The party discovers a poacher, who turns out to be employed by Ilaginn_, a neighboring nobleman who has a tendency to hunt on the Rostovs’ land. When confronted, Ilagin graciously apologizes and invites everyone to hunt in his park. The male hunters grow competitive and chase a hare, hoping to see who has the fastest dog. A poor, eccentric uncle of the Rostov children has the winning dog.

😬 looks like I’ve happened on a good time to get behind - if I skip a few pages when is it safe to start reading again!? 🫣

Yeah, it's a bit grim at the moment. I'm hoping that C7 is where we move away from the Hunt (the old Count has already headed home) I did like the fact old 'Uncles' dog triumphed over the other two - you know, the two who really didn't mind whether their dog was victorious or not - but that's about the only good thing to come out of the last couple of chapters, for me anyway!

'Uncle' with his catchphrase ('Fair for the chase!') reminded me of a man I'm on a committee with who is fond of inserting 'as the man said' as a tag onto every point he makes. I'm always tempted to ask 'who? what man?' :)

I feel like if I read 'fair for the chase' one more time ... 💣 🤯
Your man would drive me mad Fuzzy as did a woman I worked with who inserted the phrase 'In the world of (insert relevant person/department) and how it goes' into every paragraph 😂

That would melt your head alright Desdemona 😄

Late DA used to say ‘This is it’ constantly.

Swapped three families of serfs for a sodding dog!

Swapped three families of serfs for a sodding dog!

Yeah, these couple of chapters have really brought it home how entitled the aristocracy were and how out of kilter their priorities were. I mean, I don't think the Rostovs were any worse than any other family but I guess it underlines how progressive Andrey and (to a minor degree) Pierre were. Insane!!

The subject of these chapters was very hard to read, I had to put it down a few times. Tolstoy’s (or AB’s I guess) writing was really evocative I thought. I almost felt I could feel the trees and was being excessively quiet, even if I really wanted noise to save the wolf. At the top of every page I see Viking’s opening about this being the best book ever written and I think these chapters really demonstrate that well - in translation anyway.

Chapter 7
The unnamed uncle invites the Rostov children to spend the night at his house. They agree, and have a wonderful time at the uncle’s small, spartan estate. They sing, dance, and play the balalaika with the uncle’s housekeeper and manservant. Count and Countess Rostov send a messenger to bring the children home (they hadn’t told their parents they were spending the night). On their way out, Nikolai and Natasha agree that this was one of the happiest and most peaceful nights of their lives.

Natasha really shines in this chapter: her love of life, her openness to other people and new experiences, her affectionate nature, her musical talent.

Yes! I hope her enthusiasm for life never wanes.
I liked the insight into a more modest household. 'Uncle' enjoys his home comforts; food, music and good company. He has the right idea.