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War and Peace readalong thread 2022 - thread 3

672 replies

VikingNorthUtsire · 19/07/2022 06:58

Welcome to the third thread. Please see the OP in threads 1 or 2 for the full info.on the readalong, links to different editions and translations, blog posts, etc.

I think most of us are established now so for this post I'll just re-shsre the reading schedule

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
13
SanFranBear · 24/08/2022 15:01

Agree that Anatole's death wouldn't be a huge surprise although will hit Helene hard, I'm sure.

But not Andrey 😥

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 25/08/2022 01:01

25/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 10

•	Pierre gets back to Moscow on August 30 and goes to see Rastopchin, the governor. Rastopchin isn’t ready to see him, so Pierre hangs out with some officials who are fuming and fussing about the latest propaganda poster Rastopchin has printed.

•	It basically says that Rastopchin has it on solid authority that the army will defend Moscow to the end.

•	Pierre is all, um, that’s not true.

•	The officials are like, yes, we know. That’s why this is such a terrible thing to be telling the residents of the city.

•	Pierre suddenly notices an old guy in the office – it’s the father of Vereshchagin, a young man accused, without much evidence, of treason and spying. Rastopchin has clearly made him a scapegoat to explain the French advancing on Moscow.  Stay tuned for the really sad development of this side story.
maranella · 25/08/2022 14:54

I'm sceptical about Andrei's death too, as he's one of the 'heroes' of the story. Of course, a serious abdominal wound in pre-antibiotics times was very dangerous and could easily have killed him.

As for Anatole? I'm more prepared to believe in his death, as he's not a loved character in the book and with a leg amputation he could've died from blood loss. So either/both deaths are entirely believable.

But I found it really strange how Tolstoy just threw that bombshell into the last line of the chapter!

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 26/08/2022 09:21

Chapter 11. Pierre goes on the run!

It sounds like he is properly fed up. Everyone he talks to has a question about Hélène and has heard a different rumour.

SanFranBear · 26/08/2022 09:34

I think he's having an existential crisis to top the one he had earlier in the book... being on the battlefield really shook him up - as it would to anyone - so just slotting back into society is going to be hard for him.

Helene won't be pleased as he definitely won't be progressing any divorce for now....

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 26/08/2022 10:07

Definitely, SanFran. The poor guy must be traumatised.

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 26/08/2022 13:01

26/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 11

•	Rastopchin calls Pierre in and immediately starts in with a barrage of questions. Are you a Mason? Yes I am, Pierre tells him. And did you send a carriage to help another Mason leave Moscow and agree to deal with his papers and things?

•	Pierre doesn’t get to answer because Rastopchin starts telling him a long, defensive story about how some Masons had to be sent into exile because they were being traitors...or something. He’s ranting and raving and a little hard to make out. Not only that, but Rastopchin has a hard time explaining what their crimes were supposed to be.

•	Finally, he tells Pierre to stop any dealings with the Masons and to leave town. Then Rastopchin asks if it’s true that Helene is now a Catholic.

•	Totally furious, Pierre leaves the office, goes home, and reads Helene’s letter asking for a divorce.

•	He’s in a rage. Andrei is dead, his wife wants to remarry – too many things to deal with at once. He falls asleep, and the next morning, instead of going out to see the various people who have business with him, he leaves the house through the back door.

•	None of his people will see him or know anything about him until Moscow is totally destroyed.
DesdamonasHandkerchief · 27/08/2022 00:31

27/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 12

•	All the aristocrats have pretty much left Moscow – all except the Rostovs, who are still waiting for Petya to come back to the regiment that Pierre formed outside Moscow.

•	Countess Rostov is doing her usual histrionics, freaking out about Petya and making everyone else’s lives miserable in the process.

•	Finally, Petya comes back on August 28, but the Rostovs are still there on September 1 – the day before the French army will enter the city. Um, let’s get a move on, shall we?

•	At home Petya just wants to hang out with Natasha, and his mom is jealous that he’s avoiding her mommying.  But you know, he’s a teenage boy, a little too cool for school where his mom is concerned.
•	They spend the days after Petya comes home packing up and getting ready. It’s a lot more hustle and bustle than actual productive labor.  The only one who’s actually working is Sonya, although she’s been in a pretty bad mood ever since Nikolai’s letter about his rescue of Marya. Countess Rostov is talking up the potential marriage match there.

•	Petya and Natasha are just having a grand old time and not helping or doing anything useful.
DesdamonasHandkerchief · 28/08/2022 01:48

28/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 13

•	August 31 – the Rostovs are still at it. Boxes here, boxes there, boxes, boxes everywhere.

•	Natasha feels bad that she’s not helping, but at the same time can’t get it together enough to do anything useful.

•	Meanwhile, outside, the Russian army’s wounded soldiers are being brought into the city. An officer stops at the Rostov house and asks the housekeeper whether they can quarter some wounded there.

•	Natasha overhears this and immediately invites the wounded in.

•	Dozens of carts loaded with groaning men park in the courtyard of the house (the Rostovs have a mansion, don’t forget).

•	Running inside, Natasha asks Count Rostov’s permission to house the wounded, and he quickly says yes.

•	At dinner that night, Petya comes home and tells them how Rastopchin handed out weapons to the residents and is making plans to defend the city. Petya is all excited to participate. Hearing this, Countess Rostov demands that they leave that night. She’s terrified that Petya is going to be a part of the fight.
RebeccaNoodles · 28/08/2022 19:14

I feel Natasha is redeeming herself quite a bit with her actions for the wounded soldiers!

This section is so wonderfully tense.

RebeccaNoodles · 28/08/2022 19:17

I am relieved to be out of the battle sections in the last book which felt rather interminable. I had a relatable moment with Pierre:

'Pierre listened to what he was saying, straining every nerve to grasp the essential features of the impending battle, but he was forced to the disappointing conclusion that his brain was not up to it'

Grin
IsFuzzyBeagMise · 28/08/2022 21:22

I love that description of Pierre's incomprehension too, RebeccaNoodles and also related to it; understanding maths, following directions...and other baffling things :)

I was rolling my eyes at Natasha's reluctance to pack yesterday, but I was impressed by her care for the wounded soldiers today. The Count is all over the place!

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 29/08/2022 00:20

29/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 14

•	Finally, the packing is in full swing for real.

•	The Rostovs are trying to take as many of their belongings as possible, and there are too many boxes to fit onto the carriages.

•	Natasha snaps into action, repacking everything Tetris-style and making way more things fit into the boxes and trunks than before.

•	Meanwhile, a new wounded man is taken upstairs by the housekeeper, who doesn’t tell the Rostovs about him.
•	This wounded man is...Andrei! He’s alive.
Tarahumara · 29/08/2022 08:54

Oh good!

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 29/08/2022 08:56

I'm happy with that update on Andrei.
Now for an emotional reunion with Natasha!

cassandre · 29/08/2022 15:58

I'm on holiday in France at the moment (hurrah!) and read ahead a few chapters before I left so that I wouldn't have to lug the book along on holiday (yes kindles do exist I know...).

I found the current chapters really riveting and quite moving, as the Rostovs are packing up to leave Moscow. I also like the way the stories of different characters Pierre, the Rostovs, Andrei are intersecting within the same geographical space.

cassandre · 29/08/2022 15:59

OH GOD I have done the strike out thing again. Sorry!! I can't shake my addiction to double dashes, which in Microsoft Word (but NOT ON MN!) turn into a long dash. 😳

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 29/08/2022 16:48

Cassandre 😁

Yes! It is really good to see their lives intersecting like this.

Enjoy les vacances Wine

RebeccaNoodles · 29/08/2022 18:04

Andrei!! Grin We saw it coming but we are still surprised - think the fact that he just misses an encounter with Natasha saves it from being too good to be true ,,,

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 30/08/2022 08:24

30/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 15

•	It's the last day that Moscow will be in Russian hands.

•	A little militia gathers to defend the city like Rastopchin wanted – but he doesn’t show up, so they go off to get drunk.

•	The economy has the expected shifts – horse and cart prices shoot through the roof, while other stuff is sold cheaper and cheaper.

•	The Rostovs have everything packed, but now that their stuff is loaded up, the wounded men in their house are begging to be taken along.

•	The Count gives some vague orders to clear off a cart or two for a couple of wounded officers.

•	When Countess Rostov sees this, she flips out, yelling at her husband that he’s going to make their children poor.

•	Count Rostov doesn’t want an argument with his wife, and Natasha overhears her mom having this greedy tantrum.
cassandre · 30/08/2022 11:43

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 29/08/2022 16:48

Cassandre 😁

Yes! It is really good to see their lives intersecting like this.

Enjoy les vacances Wine

Thank you, IzFuzzy, I'm so happy to be in France. It's my first trip outside the UK since the pandemic.

IsFuzzyBeagMise · 30/08/2022 13:01

Ah, that's great cassandre. I haven't been to France (or anywhere!) since 2019, but I'm hoping to take a short break away in the Autumn.

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 31/08/2022 00:07

31/08/22

Volume 3, Part 3, Chapter 16

•	Hey, it’s Berg. He’s shown up at the Rostovs' for a visit with his in-laws, mostly because he wanted to be like everyone else in the army and have some kind of “business” in Moscow.

•	Berg tells the Rostovs a bunch of stories about Borodino – the Russian troops were heroes, Barclay is an amazing general, and so on.

•	Then he asks Count Rostov for some money to buy Vera (his wife, the Rostovs' robot daughter) a little desk that someone next door is selling.

•	Natasha goes out into the courtyard and sees that the wounded aren’t getting any wagons. She loses it, goes inside, and calls her mother out for her selfishness.

•	Countess Rostov immediately feels guilty and relents.

•	Natasha runs back outside and orders many of the carts unloaded and given to the wounded men. She feels really good and works hard to set everything up.
IsFuzzyBeagMise · 31/08/2022 09:27

"Yes indeed, Mama. These are terrible times, but I would like to get that little chifonnier for Vera", said Berg.

Right-o 🙄

SanFranBear · 31/08/2022 12:47

Been away but I'm back and celebrating Andrey being alive (if unwell!).. I wonder if this news will find its way to Pierre as I think that would help him immeasurably - him and Andrey were as close as I think men seemed to get at those times.

Natasha is just driving me up the wall - she has noble intentions and I'm not sure why she irritates me still but I think it's because she's being heralded as the saviour of the house move whilst actually, it's Sonya who's slaving away quietly to ensure the essentials do get taken?