Meeting the Principal Players

"Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women."

- Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, War and Peace (I.1.iii)

Day Count: 2

Page Count: 20

I'm twenty pages in at the start of the second day, which is well above the rate I need to be reading at to make it through War and Peace in a year! Establishing a good pace early is important, I think, as it will help establish a good momentum for the remainder of my reading. The book itself is 1215 pages (not including Tolstoy's "A Few Words Apropos of the Book War and Peace" which Pevear and Volokhonsky include in this volume as an appendix. (I'll very likely be reading that as well.) That means about three to three and a half pages a day to finish by December 31, 2011... so it looks like I'm making some good progress so far.

Secondly, a note with regard to format: I like the idea of starting every entry with a quote or two from the text that stands out to me - whether for its literary, artistic, or philosophical merit, I will leave for you, gentle reader, to decide. The quote may have something to do with what the given entry will be about; then again, it may not. The quotes will be followed by the volume number (capital Roman numeral), part number (Western numeral: 1, 2, 3, etc.), and chapter number (lower case Roman numeral), all separated by periods. This way, if you'd like to attempt to find the quote yourself (for those of you following along at home), you may do so.

I also would like to keep the readership (all one of you from the looks of my 'Followers' sidebar - "Hi, Kyle!") abreast of my progress. As such, I will be keeping a running tally of both how many days I've been reading and how many pages I've read in those days. This is more for my accountability than anything else.

With regard to the narrative: very little in the way of plot propulsion has happened so far, but I suppose I can forgive Tolstoy that 'indiscretion.' As he has 1200+ pages to begin the story, I can hardly fault him for not jumping directly into the action. In fact, I rather like it - it seems very much as though he is building a foundation of context and character, setting the stage for the bulk of the work that is to come. I remain patient at the outset, preparing myself for what I'm certain are greater things still to come.

The book opens on a conversation in preparation for a society party (a soiree, as Tolstoy says). Prince Vassily and Anna Pavlvona (the hostess) are discussing politics, which, indeed, most of the guests at this party seem to be obsessed with. Granted, the looming figure of Napoleon on the march through Europe is enough of a happening to spark many to heated discussion.

The hostess, Anna Pavlovna Scherer, is a pillar of society (by which Tolstoy seems to mean high society) and very much in command of the various guests and their conversations. All the while, she is the air of Russian social mores and pleasantries circa 1805. She is the hub around which a wheel of activity spins, pulling the other players of this tale into its wake.

I have thus far met only a handful of the rest of those whom I will call "The Principal Players".

• Pierre Bezukhov - The fat, bespectacled, illegitimate son of a Count. He has little knowledge of 'society life,' having been raised and educated "abroad." He is brusque and outspoken, more than happy to interject his own thoughts into any passing conversation both loudly and without regard for how others might receive them, much to the chagrin of Anna Pavlovna. He appears to be friends with Prince Andrei.
• Prince Andrei Bolkonsky - An attractive man of average height and build (also, apparently a prince). He is apparently bored with the entirety of the 'society life' in which he has been raised, almost to the point of contempt. I've seen very little of him, but he does not appear to think much of his wife, but does seem to think a great deal of Pierre, Anna Pavlovna, and Helene Kuragin.
• Liza Bolkonsky a.k.a. "the little princess" - Prince Andrei's pregnant wife. In terms of substance of character, there doesn't seem to be all that much to her, really. Much is said by Tolstoy about her beauty and she seems to know how to play the game of society and gets swept up in it rather easily. While her husband is bored with it all, she comes to life... but, oddly, seems content with her 'handwork' (I would assume some form of needlepoint?), which I'm guessing is due to her pregnancy. The phrase "silly little nit" comes to mind when I think of her. I wonder if there's more to her than meets the eye.

I've met a few other characters (Vassily, Helene, Ippolit, and the Viscount of Mortemart), but I prefer to wait until I've read a little more about them before I begin to profile them. I am interested in seeing the groundwork being laid. I do enjoy the party as a means of introducing the Principal Players, as it seems a very natural device for such exposition. You get it all in just the opening scene - all the Players, their interactions with one another, their thoughts on the issues of the day (which, at this point, seems to include only Napoleon), etc. Great beginning!