Krishna
This is a door stopper of a book, weighing in at 1400 pages in relatively small print! Perhaps this is why most have heard of the book but few have bothered to read through it.
First, let us discuss the central core of the book. Even though it chronicles in detail the lives of nobility in Russia in detail, delving into their loves, passions, and interactions, the story is mainly about Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, right up to the capture and pillage of Moscow, and his eventual defeat. In this it offers the following theory:
According to Tolstoy, Napoleon is not responsible for all his spectacular victories, nor for the defeat in Russia. All of it happened due to circumstances, and the historians, later, with a hindsight of 20/20 attributed military genius to the man. Why, you ask? Tolstoy has this theory. In a battle, no matter how well the plans are laid out by the generals, it is seldom followed. Indeed, it is impossible to follow. The heat of the battle requires quick thinking and the complexity requires constant adaptation; so the original plans have no relation to what happens on the field, decided minute by minute by the local leaders and even the soldiers themselves. Therefore it is wrong to attribute greatness to any general, let alone Napoleon. This is a big pill to swallow by anybody who remembers the phalanx of the Ancient Romans of the Pincer movement of Hitler. But such is the theory. This is only told towards the end, but a lot of the story is the description of the people prior to and during the war.
The story revolves around many, many characters in the book. The first impression, when you start reading the story is that all the major noblemen in Russia are kind of childish and even bumbling incompetents. The outlook of theirs, the thinking, their worries, all seem kind of childish. When you go further into the story, you begin to identify and understand the characters and then you realize that it is the storytelling style that is partly accountable for the levity in the scenes and the tone and the comport of the characters.
Even after the dawning of such understanding, the characters still seem kind of childish. For instance, take one of the multitude of main characters in the novel: Count Pierre Bezuhov. He comes across as totally frivolous, incapable of keeping track of, let alone handle, money. Suddenly, in the midst, he discovers cult religion, and joins Freemasons. That lasts for a while when suddenly he decides to go and assassinate Nepoleon single handed. With no concrete plans and even intelligence on Napoleon’s whereabouts, he wanders near the battlefield, gets caught, and then realizes through his prisoner of war hardships that everyone is good and everything is good in the world, and becomes a sympathetic understanding man who is liked by everybody who comes into contact with him!
Through all this weaves a story of various characters – Anna Pavlovina, who is a social centre of St Peters berg, Count Rostov who is old and another man who does not know how many fingers he has and his offspring: the beautiful songbird Natasha who veers from extreme happiness to extreme depression based on what the scenery calls for (She plans to run away with a rascal named Denisov, who incidentally speaks like Elmer Fudd, only to be saved at the last minute) betrothed to Prince Andrei who dies in battle; Nikolai, who joins the army to distinguished service and is in love with Sofia, Nathasha’s childhood friend; Petya, the young one with hot blood who, against the wishes of the family joins the army and is killed in a battle, Vera, the elder sister, cold, distant, arrogant.
You have Kutozov, a brilliant commander for Russia but unappreciated by everyone including the Tsar Alexander.
Tsar Alexander comes across as inexperienced, a boy bewildered to be thrown into battle against the great Napoleon, while the people are still mourning the passing away of Katherine the Great. Napoleon is vain and so sure that he will never lose, with his genius
Pierre’s fabulous beauty of a wife is unfaithful and distant from him but dies in childbirth, the child most certainly not Pierre’s.
Interesting and trivial alternately, it still carries enough of a storyline and narration to hold your interest until the end. Just don’t expect a page turner of a novel like some modern historical narratives, and you will not be disappointed.
I would say a 6/10
— Krishna