I checked the reading plan today, worried that I was falling behind. To my pleasant surprise I saw that I was actually right on track to reach the start of volume three by June. Because of this, I don't feel bad posting about all the other books I've read so far in 2011:
Lireal
Blindsight
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Zoo City
The Chrysalids
Ordinary Decent Criminal
Moxyland
A Feast for Crows
Breakfast of Champions
And also a ton of short stories. So basically my reading intake goes something like sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, War and Peace. What have you been reading (when you should have been reading War and Peace)?
This blog follows a group of friends as they read 'War and Peace' over the course of a year. It is more exciting than it sounds, but don't take our word for it: pick up a copy and join in.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
In Defence of Tolstoy’s Treatment of Woman
So not only have I fallen behind in my reading, I haven't been posting on the blog! Oh-no! Let me make it up to the world with a lengthy post on Tolstoy's treatment of women, in which I finally get too put all those hours watching 'Mad Men' to use.
I don’t think Tolstoy treats his female characters as badly as my co-readers do. Sure the women in W&P are for the most part flighty and shallow, but it’s not as if the men come off any better. Pierre’s easily manipulated, Andrei has a stick up in his ass, Rostov is the biggest idiot this side of the Napoleonic war. Even my favourite character, my man Dolokhov, is a bastard who will gorge money out of his best friend in a game of cards (and not even because he needs the money, or because he hates the friend. He just does it out of spite because the guy’s sister turned him down.). Sure the women in the book aren’t portrayed all that great, but the men are shown to be, on the whole, pretty stupid. I wouldn’t say Tolstoy is misogynistic as much as misanthropic (though I think even that would be too strong a word).
I do take issue with the fact that the male characters get to do more. Despite having a large cast populated by both men and women, most of the book is told from the point of view of the male characters. While this was obviously a choice on Tolstoy’s part, I also think the time and setting of W&P needs to be taken into account. When you’re writing in a world with very set gender roles that restrict what kind of things men and women can do, it’s far too easy to give into temptation and write from the point of view of the gender that gets to go off and fight wars and become diplomats and fight duels vs. the gender that gets to throw parties and have babies (Tolstoy does give us some of the later, but nowhere near as much as the former).
But just because the society your story is set in has strict gender roles, it doesn’t mean you have to follow them to the letter. Or, you could reinforce those roles and, by showing how hard a time of it your characters have trying to navigate them, show how silly they are. For example, the show 'Mad Men' is set in the world of New York advertising agencies in the early 1960s. A major theme of the show is how women try survive in a system that marginalizes them: some go along with it only to feel depressed and neglected, others use their femininity to get ahead, while others go against the grain completely. While there are a lot more Betty Drapers in W&P then there are Peggy Olsons, I still think that Tolstoy does at certain points use the novel to critique a system that gives woman very little power. When Andrei’s wife complains about being abandoned and left with strangers while her husband goes off to war, she’s not just complaining about that one particular incident but of how little control she has over her own destiny. This is driven home brutally hard with her death and her reaction to it (“What the fuck did I ever do to deserve this?”).
That said, I don’t think that Tolstoy is a feminist or that W&P is a feminist text. It has its moments though, like when Helen reveals to Pierre that she’s just as unhappy in their loveless marriage as he is. Or when Marie decides for herself that she never wants to get married and would rather look after her father. That scene in particular is a favourite of mine, as it’s one of the few moments in the book when a female character takes her life into her own hands and makes a decision for herself. That alone is enough to make Marie one of my favourite characters (but only second favourite though: I just love that crazy bastard Dolokhov far too much).
I don’t think Tolstoy treats his female characters as badly as my co-readers do. Sure the women in W&P are for the most part flighty and shallow, but it’s not as if the men come off any better. Pierre’s easily manipulated, Andrei has a stick up in his ass, Rostov is the biggest idiot this side of the Napoleonic war. Even my favourite character, my man Dolokhov, is a bastard who will gorge money out of his best friend in a game of cards (and not even because he needs the money, or because he hates the friend. He just does it out of spite because the guy’s sister turned him down.). Sure the women in the book aren’t portrayed all that great, but the men are shown to be, on the whole, pretty stupid. I wouldn’t say Tolstoy is misogynistic as much as misanthropic (though I think even that would be too strong a word).
I do take issue with the fact that the male characters get to do more. Despite having a large cast populated by both men and women, most of the book is told from the point of view of the male characters. While this was obviously a choice on Tolstoy’s part, I also think the time and setting of W&P needs to be taken into account. When you’re writing in a world with very set gender roles that restrict what kind of things men and women can do, it’s far too easy to give into temptation and write from the point of view of the gender that gets to go off and fight wars and become diplomats and fight duels vs. the gender that gets to throw parties and have babies (Tolstoy does give us some of the later, but nowhere near as much as the former).
But just because the society your story is set in has strict gender roles, it doesn’t mean you have to follow them to the letter. Or, you could reinforce those roles and, by showing how hard a time of it your characters have trying to navigate them, show how silly they are. For example, the show 'Mad Men' is set in the world of New York advertising agencies in the early 1960s. A major theme of the show is how women try survive in a system that marginalizes them: some go along with it only to feel depressed and neglected, others use their femininity to get ahead, while others go against the grain completely. While there are a lot more Betty Drapers in W&P then there are Peggy Olsons, I still think that Tolstoy does at certain points use the novel to critique a system that gives woman very little power. When Andrei’s wife complains about being abandoned and left with strangers while her husband goes off to war, she’s not just complaining about that one particular incident but of how little control she has over her own destiny. This is driven home brutally hard with her death and her reaction to it (“What the fuck did I ever do to deserve this?”).
That said, I don’t think that Tolstoy is a feminist or that W&P is a feminist text. It has its moments though, like when Helen reveals to Pierre that she’s just as unhappy in their loveless marriage as he is. Or when Marie decides for herself that she never wants to get married and would rather look after her father. That scene in particular is a favourite of mine, as it’s one of the few moments in the book when a female character takes her life into her own hands and makes a decision for herself. That alone is enough to make Marie one of my favourite characters (but only second favourite though: I just love that crazy bastard Dolokhov far too much).
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
A night off!!!
Hello,
I just took a night off from doing stuff for school and decided to kick back and relax by reading W&P. But I also had a friend reading with me...Duffy. He did not seem to enjoy reading W&P as much as I did he just laid there. But it was nice to have his company!!!
Sonja
I just took a night off from doing stuff for school and decided to kick back and relax by reading W&P. But I also had a friend reading with me...Duffy. He did not seem to enjoy reading W&P as much as I did he just laid there. But it was nice to have his company!!!
Sonja
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Eur-Opa!
I loved Part Three! The battle scenes were involving and still had many social and emotional elements to them, so a big improvement over the scenes in War, 'Scene 1'.
Also, I concur with Shannon: Rostov's homo-erotic thing for Emperor Alexander made my day. All he thought about was his physical beauty, his nobility, and how he longed to die in front of him. Not for any cause, mind you, no, just so that he would get noticed by Alexander. And then Rostov goes back into Moscow society on leave and dates girls. I was disappointed by this.
Prince Andrei is my new favourite character. At first I didn't like him because of the cold and almost hostile way he treated the people closest to him, much less people he did not particularly like. He made his opinions on society clear, and although I didn't fault him for not wanting to be involved in parlour room gossip and drama, the way he was so distainful of the mere mortals around did not endear him to me. In this chapter he plainly admits to loving success and professional accomplishments and glory more than anyone or anything else, but in the way he talks about it the read knows that HE knows that this is wack. His musings, or dare I say epiphany, on the beauty of the sky and what is truely important in life after his brush with death on the battlefield made me fall in love. He does finally meet Napoleon B. (who he has admired and spoke of respectfully) after being rescued by French medics, and finds that this "small, insignificant man" compares in no way to the "distant, lofty, and eternal sky". Ahhh, so dreamy.
So, I got a short burst of misplaced patriotism during the most recent battle of Austerlitz (in Moravia). According to Wikipedia, this was Napoleon's "greatest victory, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalation". And it took place not far from where my mommy was born and partially raised! Czechs represent! This battle caused the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and they also got to defeat and basically bankrupt the celebrity Hapsburgs. Every time Tolstoy mentioned soldiers speaking Czech, or talked about Moravian villagers or Bohemian mountains, I got excited. I know that there was was no Czech nation at the time, as so much of Europe was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but still, for this tiny lingusitic group (with a population of no more than 10 million today) to get recognition is always cool.
Shannon: Are you pleased that the footnotes have returned?
And finally, a big shout-out to fellow blogeuse Sonja, home from Bermuda and newly turned 24. Welcome to the club!
Duh duh duh duh
They said it was your birthday
Duh duh duh duh
It was my birthday too, yeah
Duh duh duh duh
They said it was your birthday
Happy birthday to you!
I know of no better way than to celebrate your birthday reading some good old W&P.
Also, thanks for setting the title-creativity bar Shannon. Without you I'd be labeling my posts 'Part n, Volume n' until the end of the book.
I am now officially recommending W&P to all readers of this blog who are into reading good novels. I know its size makes it scary, but the language is pretty accessible and it is a PAGE TURNER. Did you note my use of caps? It was completely deserving. Now I'm getting back in that terrible rut I always did in grade school of reading the book and then not wanting to do the book report. Replace 'book report' with blog, and consider that I'm reading Volume 2, Part 2, and blogging on Volume 1. Part 3. I'll try not to give away any plot points to my fellow blogeuses... and for now I won't except to say that Tolstoy is a goddamned genius of epic proportions. Yes, there is a reason why this book has been translated into 20+ languages and still being read today... and its not to inflict suffering on Russian lit majors. Oh, the plot twists. He plays with my emotions by pretending to kill off characters, then for realz kills off unexpected ones. And the characters are constantly growing and morphing. I can't say I like or dislike the same ones that I did when I started reading their stories. Take home message: This book is awesome. If you're not already reading it, I would highly you to.
Also, I concur with Shannon: Rostov's homo-erotic thing for Emperor Alexander made my day. All he thought about was his physical beauty, his nobility, and how he longed to die in front of him. Not for any cause, mind you, no, just so that he would get noticed by Alexander. And then Rostov goes back into Moscow society on leave and dates girls. I was disappointed by this.
Prince Andrei is my new favourite character. At first I didn't like him because of the cold and almost hostile way he treated the people closest to him, much less people he did not particularly like. He made his opinions on society clear, and although I didn't fault him for not wanting to be involved in parlour room gossip and drama, the way he was so distainful of the mere mortals around did not endear him to me. In this chapter he plainly admits to loving success and professional accomplishments and glory more than anyone or anything else, but in the way he talks about it the read knows that HE knows that this is wack. His musings, or dare I say epiphany, on the beauty of the sky and what is truely important in life after his brush with death on the battlefield made me fall in love. He does finally meet Napoleon B. (who he has admired and spoke of respectfully) after being rescued by French medics, and finds that this "small, insignificant man" compares in no way to the "distant, lofty, and eternal sky". Ahhh, so dreamy.
So, I got a short burst of misplaced patriotism during the most recent battle of Austerlitz (in Moravia). According to Wikipedia, this was Napoleon's "greatest victory, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalation". And it took place not far from where my mommy was born and partially raised! Czechs represent! This battle caused the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, and they also got to defeat and basically bankrupt the celebrity Hapsburgs. Every time Tolstoy mentioned soldiers speaking Czech, or talked about Moravian villagers or Bohemian mountains, I got excited. I know that there was was no Czech nation at the time, as so much of Europe was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but still, for this tiny lingusitic group (with a population of no more than 10 million today) to get recognition is always cool.
Shannon: Are you pleased that the footnotes have returned?
And finally, a big shout-out to fellow blogeuse Sonja, home from Bermuda and newly turned 24. Welcome to the club!
Duh duh duh duh
They said it was your birthday
Duh duh duh duh
It was my birthday too, yeah
Duh duh duh duh
They said it was your birthday
Happy birthday to you!
I know of no better way than to celebrate your birthday reading some good old W&P.
Also, thanks for setting the title-creativity bar Shannon. Without you I'd be labeling my posts 'Part n, Volume n' until the end of the book.
I am now officially recommending W&P to all readers of this blog who are into reading good novels. I know its size makes it scary, but the language is pretty accessible and it is a PAGE TURNER. Did you note my use of caps? It was completely deserving. Now I'm getting back in that terrible rut I always did in grade school of reading the book and then not wanting to do the book report. Replace 'book report' with blog, and consider that I'm reading Volume 2, Part 2, and blogging on Volume 1. Part 3. I'll try not to give away any plot points to my fellow blogeuses... and for now I won't except to say that Tolstoy is a goddamned genius of epic proportions. Yes, there is a reason why this book has been translated into 20+ languages and still being read today... and its not to inflict suffering on Russian lit majors. Oh, the plot twists. He plays with my emotions by pretending to kill off characters, then for realz kills off unexpected ones. And the characters are constantly growing and morphing. I can't say I like or dislike the same ones that I did when I started reading their stories. Take home message: This book is awesome. If you're not already reading it, I would highly you to.
Monday, February 28, 2011
War sucks
Hello,
I made this deadline just like Shannon, the first time this year. (See Tanya I told I would not give up on.)
Well I must the book has been moving along at a good pace.
But I think the war parts are just playing boring. Yuck unlike my fellow friends I simple do not about the battle scenes. That being said I due care about the characters and I don't want them to get hurt but the strategy parts bore me.
So reading Miss Shannon and Miss Tanya post's scare me. I have nothing nearly as deep or interesting to say. I guse one thing that I have been thinking about is how Tolstoy focus so much on looks. With Prince Andrei's sister Tolstoy focus on who un-pretty she is and with Andrei's wife he focus' on her moustache. I feel like these characters lack anything but there psychical false. I have loved the book, the descriptions of place and scenes are amazing , however with these two charters he needs to flush them out and make them more then just their looks.
I made this deadline just like Shannon, the first time this year. (See Tanya I told I would not give up on.)
Well I must the book has been moving along at a good pace.
But I think the war parts are just playing boring. Yuck unlike my fellow friends I simple do not about the battle scenes. That being said I due care about the characters and I don't want them to get hurt but the strategy parts bore me.
So reading Miss Shannon and Miss Tanya post's scare me. I have nothing nearly as deep or interesting to say. I guse one thing that I have been thinking about is how Tolstoy focus so much on looks. With Prince Andrei's sister Tolstoy focus on who un-pretty she is and with Andrei's wife he focus' on her moustache. I feel like these characters lack anything but there psychical false. I have loved the book, the descriptions of place and scenes are amazing , however with these two charters he needs to flush them out and make them more then just their looks.
I wonder what is going to come next for our charters? On to the next Volume!!
Bye for now,
Sonja
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Winning the war, keeping the peace
Yes! So for the first time this year I've actually met one of the reading deadlines! I'm all caught up now.
I felt like a lot happened in this section, especially concerning the character's love lives. I liked all the different ways that the characters perceptions of themselves and each other changed, from Pierre falling in 'love' with Helene and getting engaged through no real effort on his part to Rostov's over-the-top worship of 'the sovereign.' The last one is nicely mirrored by Prince Andrei's own feelings towards Napoleon. When he first went off to war, his feelings toward old Boney were similar to Rostov's crush on the Alexander (only a lot more toned down and a lot less hilarious). Even though Bonaparte was the leader of the enemy, Andrei still revered him as a great military strategist and held him in high (if grudging) respect. But then Andrei actually goes to war and sees all kinds of horrible stuff, so much that everything that seemed important before seems small and insignificant, including his admiration for Napoleon. When we last left Andrei, he was going through a major mental break down. Unfortunately for the poor guy, he was also going through a major physical break down at the same time, having been severely wounded while acting all brave and stuff. C'mon Andrei, according to the character sheet your wife is going to have a baby boy! You have to pull through to meet little (checks sheet) Nikolai!
I like the parallels between Rostov/Alexander and Andrei/Napoleon because I think it's part of the many ways Tolstoy contrasts the two characters. While Rostov is blindly, madly in love with his leader, Andrei's admiration for Napoleon fades once he actually experiences war. To me this is a way of showing how Andrei is a much more level headed character than Rostov, who is an idiot. Another fine example of this is when the two of them have their little face-off in the bar, in which Andrei acts coolly while Rostov is once again, an idiot.
Also, speaking of relationships, did anyone else breath a sigh of relief when Marya didn't marry whatshisface? God, what a douche! Still, it was a troubling chapter in that none of the woman seemed to catch on to what a jackass the guy was: they were all just giddy just to have a man around. Blargh.
I feel like the book is really gearing up now. I'm curious to see if the book can keep up this kind of twistyness for the next thousand pages.
I felt like a lot happened in this section, especially concerning the character's love lives. I liked all the different ways that the characters perceptions of themselves and each other changed, from Pierre falling in 'love' with Helene and getting engaged through no real effort on his part to Rostov's over-the-top worship of 'the sovereign.' The last one is nicely mirrored by Prince Andrei's own feelings towards Napoleon. When he first went off to war, his feelings toward old Boney were similar to Rostov's crush on the Alexander (only a lot more toned down and a lot less hilarious). Even though Bonaparte was the leader of the enemy, Andrei still revered him as a great military strategist and held him in high (if grudging) respect. But then Andrei actually goes to war and sees all kinds of horrible stuff, so much that everything that seemed important before seems small and insignificant, including his admiration for Napoleon. When we last left Andrei, he was going through a major mental break down. Unfortunately for the poor guy, he was also going through a major physical break down at the same time, having been severely wounded while acting all brave and stuff. C'mon Andrei, according to the character sheet your wife is going to have a baby boy! You have to pull through to meet little (checks sheet) Nikolai!
I like the parallels between Rostov/Alexander and Andrei/Napoleon because I think it's part of the many ways Tolstoy contrasts the two characters. While Rostov is blindly, madly in love with his leader, Andrei's admiration for Napoleon fades once he actually experiences war. To me this is a way of showing how Andrei is a much more level headed character than Rostov, who is an idiot. Another fine example of this is when the two of them have their little face-off in the bar, in which Andrei acts coolly while Rostov is once again, an idiot.
Also, speaking of relationships, did anyone else breath a sigh of relief when Marya didn't marry whatshisface? God, what a douche! Still, it was a troubling chapter in that none of the woman seemed to catch on to what a jackass the guy was: they were all just giddy just to have a man around. Blargh.
I feel like the book is really gearing up now. I'm curious to see if the book can keep up this kind of twistyness for the next thousand pages.
Monday, February 14, 2011
No Pierre
Hello,
Ok so as miss Tanya made a point I have not posted or committed on the blog in while. Sorry!!!
I'm a bad blogger.
Well I'm still being the turtle and I have not finished the second part of volume one. Though I'm almost done it. I have to say though that I'm not enjoying the war part of the story as much. I want to go back to Russian society and Pierre, I miss Pierre. I miss Pierre and all of hist stupid antics, like the police officer and the bear. So funny.
Though not matter what the writing still amazes me. I was sitting at school today and reading. I could almost smell gun powered and hear the sounds of horse hooves as the Russian army was retreating.
Ok well this is all for now, I have to go to work.
I will be taking it with me on my trip to Bermuda.
{{{HUG}}}
Sonja
Ok so as miss Tanya made a point I have not posted or committed on the blog in while. Sorry!!!
I'm a bad blogger.
Well I'm still being the turtle and I have not finished the second part of volume one. Though I'm almost done it. I have to say though that I'm not enjoying the war part of the story as much. I want to go back to Russian society and Pierre, I miss Pierre. I miss Pierre and all of hist stupid antics, like the police officer and the bear. So funny.
Though not matter what the writing still amazes me. I was sitting at school today and reading. I could almost smell gun powered and hear the sounds of horse hooves as the Russian army was retreating.
Ok well this is all for now, I have to go to work.
I will be taking it with me on my trip to Bermuda.
{{{HUG}}}
Sonja
Sunday, February 13, 2011
W&P soundtrack
I like to know what others are listening to while they read (if you guys can mentally multitask. I can't always).
Somehow, I think because of the Emperor Franz, and King Ferdinand (do I have this right?), Franz Ferdinand's song Bang Bang popped into my head while reading, and it's now W&P's unofficial theme song, at least to me.
What songs, if any, have you associated with W&P? Weigh in ladies!
Somehow, I think because of the Emperor Franz, and King Ferdinand (do I have this right?), Franz Ferdinand's song Bang Bang popped into my head while reading, and it's now W&P's unofficial theme song, at least to me.
What songs, if any, have you associated with W&P? Weigh in ladies!
Volume 1, Part 2- Tanya's Thoughts
In response to Shannon's observation about the lack of footnotes in "War, part 1", as I like to call it: I really think it just because there is less conversation, and most of what conversation there is deals with battle, how scared everyone is or is not, who is dead or bleeding, and what the officers are wearing that day. We get back to the footnotes once we return to salons where occupants are gossiping about current affairs, where we need to know more background about the topics of the day.
I know that there is the handy-dandy character list at the beginning of the novel, but man, is anyone else finding it hard to follow who is who? Also, does anyone find that some of jokes just don't translate well? I think its more of a cultural thing than a linguistics things, but they are just not funny. Except when Prince Andrei's father plays on the German love of combining 18 words into one (i.e. Hofkriegswrath) along with some old national sterotypes, coming up with Hofs-kriegs-wurst-schnapps-rath. Too good! (FYI: This example was taken from Vol 1, Part 1).
Also, does anyone else notice how negatively the high society is portrayed, ESPECIALLY women? I'm not too happy about that, Tolstoy. Like, all they want to do is chat about nothing or play other people like pawns, or get married to rich men if they have titles, or titled men if they are rich. I don't know, maybe that's all they were interested in.
I know that there is the handy-dandy character list at the beginning of the novel, but man, is anyone else finding it hard to follow who is who? Also, does anyone find that some of jokes just don't translate well? I think its more of a cultural thing than a linguistics things, but they are just not funny. Except when Prince Andrei's father plays on the German love of combining 18 words into one (i.e. Hofkriegswrath) along with some old national sterotypes, coming up with Hofs-kriegs-wurst-schnapps-rath. Too good! (FYI: This example was taken from Vol 1, Part 1).
Also, does anyone else notice how negatively the high society is portrayed, ESPECIALLY women? I'm not too happy about that, Tolstoy. Like, all they want to do is chat about nothing or play other people like pawns, or get married to rich men if they have titles, or titled men if they are rich. I don't know, maybe that's all they were interested in.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Vol.I Part II ALREADY?
What?! We're already supposed to be done vol.1 part II? Who came up with this stupid schedule?
Oh, that's right, I did. Ahahaha.
Really, I 'm not that completely far behind, maybe sixty pages from reaching today's deadline. I'm really enjoying the 'war' sections of the novel. One weird thing that I've noticed is that once Tolstoy gets into the action, the historical footnotes go the way of the passenger pigeon. Did the translators just get swept up in the fight scenes, or is there really no little historical asides that need clearing up? Or maybe I'm the one getting swept up in the battles, and I just haven't noticed the footnotes like I did before. Anyone else care to weigh in?
Oh, that's right, I did. Ahahaha.
Really, I 'm not that completely far behind, maybe sixty pages from reaching today's deadline. I'm really enjoying the 'war' sections of the novel. One weird thing that I've noticed is that once Tolstoy gets into the action, the historical footnotes go the way of the passenger pigeon. Did the translators just get swept up in the fight scenes, or is there really no little historical asides that need clearing up? Or maybe I'm the one getting swept up in the battles, and I just haven't noticed the footnotes like I did before. Anyone else care to weigh in?
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Mission Accoumplished
Hello one and all,
So just wanted to let you all know I made it through Volume 1, part 1. I'm now one page 119. I'm loving the book alot so fare.
Bye for now!!!
So just wanted to let you all know I made it through Volume 1, part 1. I'm now one page 119. I'm loving the book alot so fare.
Bye for now!!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Ok, so I have failed. I have not made the first deadline. But I think the piont is not to get to sad about this, but to keep going.
The turtell won the won the race, not by going fast but by going slow and steady. So in this year of War and Peace I will be the turtel and I will be slow and steady.
I will take to Bermuda and read it there. Less distractions. (Unless I get lost in the Bermuda triangle. That would be bad.)
I'm currently distracted reading Tale of Two Cities. I'm loving it, I also just finshed Great Expectations. Though what I have read of War and Peace is very good. When I read Tolstoy I feel like I'm in a Russian Tea, wearing a fancy dress. Tolstoy creats very colourful and detailed characters. Reading him is alot of fun and not as much work as very one thinks. (Plus it sounds soo smart saying I'm reading War and Peace. Just joking, saying that is makes you sound smart, takes away from you actual being smart.)
Also in failing to make the deadline I have not been blogging as often as my counter parts. Sorry but I have never blogged before. I will make a promise to try and blogg more often. I also I gusse I should let people know upfront I have bad spelling and it will show. But I know no one reading this blog will judge me. (I hope there are people out there reading this blog!!!)
What have other people been distracted reading? (I know I should be distracted reading stuff for class.)
Ok well I'm going to go now and read me some War and Peace. Wish me luck!!!
{{{HUGS}}}
Sonja
By
The turtell won the won the race, not by going fast but by going slow and steady. So in this year of War and Peace I will be the turtel and I will be slow and steady.
I will take to Bermuda and read it there. Less distractions. (Unless I get lost in the Bermuda triangle. That would be bad.)
I'm currently distracted reading Tale of Two Cities. I'm loving it, I also just finshed Great Expectations. Though what I have read of War and Peace is very good. When I read Tolstoy I feel like I'm in a Russian Tea, wearing a fancy dress. Tolstoy creats very colourful and detailed characters. Reading him is alot of fun and not as much work as very one thinks. (Plus it sounds soo smart saying I'm reading War and Peace. Just joking, saying that is makes you sound smart, takes away from you actual being smart.)
Also in failing to make the deadline I have not been blogging as often as my counter parts. Sorry but I have never blogged before. I will make a promise to try and blogg more often. I also I gusse I should let people know upfront I have bad spelling and it will show. But I know no one reading this blog will judge me. (I hope there are people out there reading this blog!!!)
What have other people been distracted reading? (I know I should be distracted reading stuff for class.)
Ok well I'm going to go now and read me some War and Peace. Wish me luck!!!
{{{HUGS}}}
Sonja
By
Saturday, January 22, 2011
First deadline, Part I Vol.1 notes
Today marks the first deadline in The Year of War and Peace. If you're following the schedule, you should be done Volume I Part I. Myself, I've still got some forty pages to go before I reach that goal. But that's not going to stop me from glibly summarizing what I've read so far:
It is 1805 and all of Europe is embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars. The Russian upper-class deals with this by throwing lots and lots parties. The characters do do other stuff than go to parties, but we don't see any of it. But even though we don't get to see the actual interesting stuff that the characters actually do, we do get to listen to other characters gossip about it at- wait for it- parties. What fun!
Also, an interesting distinction I've learned from this book:
The Decemberists: Indie folk group and every English major's favourite band.
The Decembrists: Group of young Russian aristocrats and officers who in 1825 rose up in support of a constitutional monarchy.
Jury's still out on which group is more pretentious.
It is 1805 and all of Europe is embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars. The Russian upper-class deals with this by throwing lots and lots parties. The characters do do other stuff than go to parties, but we don't see any of it. But even though we don't get to see the actual interesting stuff that the characters actually do, we do get to listen to other characters gossip about it at- wait for it- parties. What fun!
Also, an interesting distinction I've learned from this book:
The Decemberists: Indie folk group and every English major's favourite band.
The Decembrists: Group of young Russian aristocrats and officers who in 1825 rose up in support of a constitutional monarchy.
Jury's still out on which group is more pretentious.
Forward & Part One, Volume I
It is now the morning of January 22, the day we should all be finished Part 1 of W&P. No matter what the obstacle: Sonja's enjoyment of Jane Austen, my delightful Sarah Silverman biography, or *cough cough* momentarily forgetting my Blogger password. But honestly, those were my greatest barriers to keeping pace. I find the language quite accessible, and the story interesting, and honestly, I expected much more of a slough. I think in part because although it is a classic, it was written relatively recently (Tolstoy finished it in 1868). It could also be because I'm in St. Stephen. Yup, probably that's why. Besides girls movie nights, work, and sports, I never leave the house, so I have plenty of reading time. That's my optimistic take on the situation.
So, I have to admit that it's been quite awhile since I've read anything remotely classical, and even longer since I've read a novel with end notes. It feels so good to be home! To make it a little easier to compare all of us are reading the Pevear, Volokhonsky edition. Even though, as the saying goes, "traduire est trahir", I've always assumed approximate equality between editions. This is FALLACIOUS, say the translators, as they proceed to trash the other (wrong) translators who pathetically strive for an idiomatic translation. Quote time! "A translator who turns a great original into a patchwork or ready-mead 'contemporary' phrases... betrays both English and Tolstoy". To say that these are strong words would be an understatement. "Is Melville idiomatic? Is Faulkner? Is Beckett?", they continue. And in following pages they actually quote and cite other lesser translations, as a foil to their gloriously accurate passages. Another delightful feature of this edition is the character list at the beginning of the book. I was going to write out my own list because the last time I tried reading W&P, a failed attempt in grade 12, I got super confused with all the characters. It's even worse because they are called so many different names, according to which character is addressing them, and in which language. There are titles, formal first names, diminutives, and french first names (even when they are Russian. Its weird). And sometimes there will be multiple people of the same title in one room, so Tolstoy helpfully uses identifiers, like "the little princess", or "the elder princess". Thanks man, thanks a bunch.
So, I have to admit that it's been quite awhile since I've read anything remotely classical, and even longer since I've read a novel with end notes. It feels so good to be home! To make it a little easier to compare all of us are reading the Pevear, Volokhonsky edition. Even though, as the saying goes, "traduire est trahir", I've always assumed approximate equality between editions. This is FALLACIOUS, say the translators, as they proceed to trash the other (wrong) translators who pathetically strive for an idiomatic translation. Quote time! "A translator who turns a great original into a patchwork or ready-mead 'contemporary' phrases... betrays both English and Tolstoy". To say that these are strong words would be an understatement. "Is Melville idiomatic? Is Faulkner? Is Beckett?", they continue. And in following pages they actually quote and cite other lesser translations, as a foil to their gloriously accurate passages. Another delightful feature of this edition is the character list at the beginning of the book. I was going to write out my own list because the last time I tried reading W&P, a failed attempt in grade 12, I got super confused with all the characters. It's even worse because they are called so many different names, according to which character is addressing them, and in which language. There are titles, formal first names, diminutives, and french first names (even when they are Russian. Its weird). And sometimes there will be multiple people of the same title in one room, so Tolstoy helpfully uses identifiers, like "the little princess", or "the elder princess". Thanks man, thanks a bunch.
A question for my fellow bloggers or readers: I know that every translation uses this phrase, but why is it always "Translated from the (language in question)", in this case, Russian? Who put the 'the' in there? It clearly does not belong. Why not "Translated from Russian". Don't we speak that way?
Also, on a totally unrelated note about something I should be able to Google if I weren't so lazy: Are the Decemberists (the Canadian band) named after the Decembrists that Tolstoy wrote about? That would be cool.
One thing that really pops out in the dialogue in how often French is used. I know that French used to be the language of royalty, but some of the characters were educated en francais and are more comfortable in french than in what I would presume to be their native language. So, to all my Canadian compatriots, here is another reason to know both of your countries official languages. You won't need to read no footnotes, which in turn will make reading W&P less daunting. I still look at some of them because the vocabulary used ~150 years ago is different than what is in use today, but honestly, the only reason why I'm not using a dictionary while reading in English is because I don't have one with me, and I'm lazy.
Okay, so I feel like I've already written a lot, and I'm sure that Shannon and Sonja would like to delve more into the plot and characters, so I don't feel too bad about skimping on that aspect of the discussion. I'll keep it short.
- Ewww, first cousins in love (Nikolai and Sonya): Sonya is all pissed that her love is forbidden, kept secret from her mother, and getting married will be so difficult that not even a head bishop would be able to marry them. Ummm, yeah, girl, that's because its gross and leads to birth defect-laden babies. That's why people make fun of royal families. Just don't. Hope your dear, sweet Nikolai dies in battle and you find a non-incestuous lover. Also, I have a hard time feeling out how young these people are. Sonya is 15, but the only said about Nikolai is that he is a student and a "youth". And Natasha is 13 and already wants to get married to Boris, who is an officer? I guess there was no such thing as being underage to the Russian nobility.
- On Pierre: I feel conflicted about how he is going to turn out. So he has a good heart and a good education, but is also uncivilized, a lover of ladies and drinking, and maybe tied a bear to a policeman and threw them into a river for drunken lawls. And now he has inherited a fortune. Sonja and Shannon: how do you think this will end?
Monday, January 10, 2011
Progress...or lack there of.
So at this point you should be roughly halfway through vol.1 part 1, or about forty pages in. So, are you there? ARE YOU?
....Because I'm not.
....Because I'm not.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Hello All My Fellow War and Peace Friends,
I will be reading this book through my new E reader. This will give me the ability to travel with a very light version of this book. For me and this book will be traveling from Halifax, NS to Bermuda and beyond. (This book will even go to China with me.) It will be a fun year and I hope that you guys will enjoy following us on our crazy adventure!!!
Sonja
I will be reading this book through my new E reader. This will give me the ability to travel with a very light version of this book. For me and this book will be traveling from Halifax, NS to Bermuda and beyond. (This book will even go to China with me.) It will be a fun year and I hope that you guys will enjoy following us on our crazy adventure!!!
Sonja
Tanya's first post
Who knew that copying a link instead of merely clicking on it in a message could have different results? Thank you Blogger trouble-shooting page!
That is all for now, I merely wanted to announce my presence... and now to help Sonja figure this out.
That is all for now, I merely wanted to announce my presence... and now to help Sonja figure this out.
The plan for War and Peace
Happy 2011! It's not only the start of another new year, but also the start of our little project here at 'The Year of War and Peace.' The plan is to read W&P over the course of the year, breaking down each volume into little chunks. Throughout the year we will be posting about the book, so feel free to chime in in the comments.
If you want to take part in an even bigger way, read along! Here is the suggested reading schedule:
If you want to take part in an even bigger way, read along! Here is the suggested reading schedule:
Volume 1, part I- January 1-22, 2011
Volume 1, part II January 23- February 5
Vol.1, part III February 6-26
Vol.2, part I February 27-March 12
Vol.2, part II March 13-April2
Vol.2 part III April 3-23
Vol.2 part IV April 24- May 14
Vol.2 part V May 15-June 4
Vol.3 part I June 5-25
Vol.3 part II June 26-July 16
Vol.3 part III July 17-August 6
Vol.4 part I August 7-27
Vol.4 part II August 28-September 17
Vol.4 part III September 18-October 1
Vol.4 part IV October 2-22
November: Epilogues, Appendixes, Notes, summary, stuff
Of course that's just a suggestion, I'm not the Czar or anything. It may seem weird to stretch out any book over the course of 12 months (well, 11, actually) but the goal here is to be able to read it and still have time for other stuff (most of us doing these attend school, or work, or in one special case, have social lives). If you've ever wanted to read War and Peace but felt intimidated by the length, or didn't think you'd ever have time, or you just wanted to do it in a fun way, 2011 is the year to do it.
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