War and Peace

Finally. After several years of looking at this TOME, this BRICK on my bookshelf, I have finally found the willpower to get stuck into this book. And I have to say, I should have read it years ago. I understand now why it is such a classic.

It was surprisingly easy to read, considering it was published from 1864-1869.

I did find the fact that so many of the characters had similar names a little confusing, but I stuck with it and am glad I did.

You could be forgiven for thinking this was a book about the futilities of war, and yes, of course that is true. But if you want to read that kind of book may I suggest Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. THIS book is more about the fact that history is not made by the big men, but by the little. And that war is not fought by generals and kings, but by the soldiers on the battlefield who are not the only people to suffer in war – so do the people those soldiers leave behind and (hopefully) come back home to.

One point I found particularly interesting was the point about how people can change, that we are not the same person throughout our lives, for example Dolokhov, who is challenged by a duel by Pierre because he had an affair with his wife, is badly wounded by Pierre and who later apologises to Pierre for what he did to him. This shows an incredible character growth from a minor character who we assume to be a villain, but who eventually saves Pierre and other prisoners of war. Dolokhov and Anatole were two characters I wanted to know more about after the book ended.

Instead of talking too much about the plot and the history I thought I would share a few of my favourite quotes from the book – if you want to know what the book is about, you can search for that yourself!

“…As it is, we’ve been playing at war – that’s the nasty thing, we act magnanimously and all that. It’s like the magnanimity and sentimentality of the lady who swoons when she sees a calf slaughtered; she’s so kind, she can’t bear the sight of blood, but she eats the same calf in sauce with appetite. We’re told about the rules of war, about chivalry, about parleying, about sparing the unfortunate, and so on. It’s all nonsense…

…War isn’t courtesy, it’s the vilest thing in the world, and we must understand that and not play at war…”

[Prince Andrei talking to Pierre on the eve of battle – page 775]

“…Napoleon, during all this time of his activity, was like a child who, holding the straps tied inside a carriage, fancies that he is driving it.”

[Page 1008] I love this picture of Napoleon!

“Once we’re thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost; but it’s only here that the new and good begins. As long as there’s life , there’s happiness. There’s much, much still to come.”

[Pierre to Natash, page 1118]

I recommend this book to you all. Don’t let the fact it is over a thousand pages long put you off. It is worth your time and patience! I promise you! x