War and Peace is considered one of the world's greatest works of fiction and for those who don't know what it's about; it details the events leading up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia from the perspective of five Russian aristocracies, and it also shows the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society.
The first draft was finished in 1863 and even though Tolstoy himself wasn't happy with that version, it was published under the title, "1805" with a different ending. He re-wrote it between 1866 and 1869 and published it under the title "War and Peace" in 1869. In 1983, the original "1805" was re-edited and published and has been translated into English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and Korean.
It arrived a few weeks ago and was been sitting on my desk for a long time. I opened it up a couple of times, but it is so overwhelming in size. Big commitment. And I'm not good with those. Then...long flight to Australia...perfect opportunity. I figured I would get half read on the way there and the other half on the way back. So I got on the plane and settled into my seat and got ready. Just needed to eat first. And see that movie I've been dying to see. And read that script. And a quick nap. Interesting how fast a 15 hour plane ride goes by when you are avoiding something. Same on the way back. I watched movies I really haven't been dying to see just to avoid Mr. Tolstoy's brilliant literary work.
Back in LA, I called the library to see if they had the audiobook. They did. All 48 discs for a total listening time of 61 hours. That was even more overwhelming. So I decided to read 100 pages every day. 50 in the morning and 50 before going to sleep. There it sat on my bedside table when I woke up that first morning. I decided I couldn't get out of bed before I had read my 50 pages so the combination of hunger and needing to go to the bathroom got me interested real fast. At night when my mind is spinning with thoughts and voices of characters I'm working on, I found it comforting to read and ultimately fall asleep to. Two weeks and that was it.
It wasn't an easy read. Was it good? Hard to say. Did I love it? Not really, but I liked parts of it. There was a lot of details and many characters to keep track of and I had to go back a lot to figure out what was going on. I think more important than my opinion about it and whether or not I was mesmerized by the content, was that I accomplished something. I've read many important literary works and when I do, I feel connected to history and the world, and I like that. And, certainly as a writer I think it's important to read as much as you write to get a new (or in this case, old) perspective on things.
Dax is about to get ignored because Mom is reading War and Peace
When Rachel first suggested putting this on the list, I assumed it was because she had read it, but it turns out that she hasn't. Yet. It's on the way to her in Hawaii right now. I read it - you read it. Go sit on your terrace overlooking the Hilo bay with all your fancy exotic fruit trees, neglecting your sweet little son for hours upon hours upon hours.
Thanks, Rach. And Tolstoy, I guess.
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