Literary Linkativity

"Did a voice whisper in his ear that he had just passed through the decisive hour of his destiny, that there was no longer a middle course for him, that if, thereafter, he were not the best of men, he would be the worst, that he must now, so to speak, climb higher than the bishop or fall lower than the convict; that, if he wanted to become good, he must become an angel; that, if he wanted to remain evil, he must become a monster?"

- Victor Hugo (I.2.xiii)

Day Count: 55

Page Count: 500

I'm hitting a major milestone tonight - the fifth hundred page of Les Misérables!

...but that's not why I called you here tonight.

Actually, I had what I initially considered a great post all lined up, but I decided midway through construction that it was all wrong for the current direction of the blog. So... I'm just gonna make something up on the fly and, if you like, you can come along with me. Cool? Thought so.

As I was reading through the Waterloo scene in Les Mis, I couldn't help but be reminded of the battle scenes in Tolstoy's War and Peace. Come to find out that Les Mis, while released only seven years prior to Tolstoy's magnum opus, was read, admired, and apparently emulated by Tolstoy. While visiting France in the early 1860s, Tolstoy met with Hugo, who showed him a copy of his recently-finished novel, which Leo loved (of course!).

Not sure what that anecdote has to do with anything, but I found it really interesting. Like the last couple of years of my literary life are connected somehow. I'll be interested to see how the great classic authors that I read over the next several years connect with the amazing classic works I'm reading right now.

Should be fun!

Stay tuned...

Musings on the Verge of My First Milestone

"And however near and dear many people are to me - my father, my sister, my wife - the dearest people to me -- but, however terrible and unnatural it seems, I'd give them all now for a moment of glory, of triumph over people, for love from people I don't know and will never know, for the love of these people here... And still the only thing I love and cherish is triumph over all of them, I cherish that mysterious power and glory hovering over me here in this mist!"

- Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (I.3.xii)

Day Count: 27

Page Count: 290

 The time stamp on this post is dated sometime Friday morning, January 28, but the reality of the situation is that I am writing it on Thursday night, January 27 at 9:37pm. The day and post counts above reflect the facts of the matter at the time of the writing of this post - that is to say, I have been reading War and Peace for 27 days now and have completed over 290 pages. These are the facts of the matter at this time, but they have little to do with my excitement at this moment.

I am almost finished with Volume One! I am a scant four pages away from completing the first major section of War and Peace and am closing in on 300 pages... and some two-plus months ahead of schedule!

I feel like I have something of a feather for my cap now. In less than a month, I've managed to read three hundred pages of one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written. I find myself being slowly drawn into the world that Tolstoy has created, sympathizing with and loving his characters as they begin to take on shape and dimension. They are ceasing to be characters in a book, but are becoming like real people whose highs and lows I am privileged enough to share in.

All that being said, I will leave you for now. I had a longer, more detailed post that I had originally planned on posting tonight, but it will have to wait for sometime this weekend. In the meantime, I wonder who will reach 300 first... me or this blog?!

The following are my counts at the time of the posting of this entry:

Day Count: 28

Page Count: 303

(Looks like I hit 300 pages before my blog hit 300 views. Not sure if I win or lose on that one... ;) I am, however, about a quarter of my way through War and Peace! w00t!)