War and Peace – Volume 1

The latest pressing of Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece has been translated, annotated and introduced by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.   And before you read any further, the following article does contain spoilers so stop now if you are about to make the journey.

War and Peace

First off, I should point out that I have never read ‘War and Peace’ before, and therefore cannot compare translations.  However, you might be interested to know it doesn’t read like a book that was originally written in Russian.

‘War and Peace’ begins with a watchful eye over a soiree typical of the Russian aristocracy in the early 1800s.  We’re introduced to a number of key players including Anna Pavlovna, Prince Vassily and his daughter Helene as well as Count Pierre and Prince Andrei, two young men both in awe of French conqueror Napoleon.

During the gathering it is apparent that Prince Andrei dislikes the triviality of such events, unlike his wife who relishes such occasions.  When they return home Prince Andrei talks to Pierre about marriage:

“Never, never marry, my friend.  Here’s my advice to you: don’t marry until you can tell yourself that you’ve done all you could, and until you’ve stopped loving the woman you’ve chosen, until you see her clearly,  otherwise you’ll be cruelly and irremediably mistaken.  Marry when you’re old and good for nothing…Otherwise all that’s good and lofty in you will be lost.”

He later justifies his argument:

“You talk of Bonaparte; but Bonaparte, when he was working, went step by step towards his goal, he was free, he had nothing except his goal – and he reached it.  Bind yourself to a woman – and, like a prisoner in irons, you lose all freedom.  And whatever hope and strength you have in you, it all only burdens and torments you with remorse.  Drawing rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, triviality – that is the vicious circle I can’t get out of.”

Just a few weeks later Prince Andrei leaves his pregnant wife at his father’s residence in the country so he can fulfill his craving for adventure fighting the forces of Napoleon.

In the meantime, after failing to get Count Bezukhov’s will changed, Prince Vassily befriends the deceased’s illegitimate son and benefactor to a fortune.  Pierre falls into the trap and marries his daughter, the stunning Helene.

Since I am writing this halfway through Volume 2, I think I can safely say the first part of ‘War and Peace’ is the most challenging.  That is not meant as a criticism.  Volume 1 has a lot to set up.  What would have helped, and I’d like to see in future prints of ‘War and Peace’ is a map.  I’m neither historian nor geographer and I really needed a visual aid showing which territories belonged to whom in the early 1800s.

Another concern in the first chunk of the book is the amount of time spent bouncing between the French translation at the bottom of the pages and the ‘notes’ at the back of the book.  Do not let this put you off though, the majority of the French dialogue takes place in Parts 1 and 2 and it adds to the reality of the period.  Granted the characters and their lives are fictional but they are interwoven in a biography of historic events. It is this fact that makes the book such a marvel to read.

Schongraben – 14th November 1805

Here, Prince Bagration’s 7,000 rear guard troops defend their position against 45,000 of Murat’s troops.  They then successfully retreat allowing Commander in Chief Kutuzov to join his main army with that of Buxhowden.

It is during this battle that Tolstoy gives us an insight into the feelings of a pampered student turned soldier going into battle for the first time.  Count Rostov falls off his horse, would rather throw his pistol at the enemy than fire it, and feels he’s being picked on by the enemy:

“Something must be wrong,” he thought, “it’s impossible that they should want to kill me.”

Meanwhile, Adjutant Prince Andrei wants to fight but is unable too because of his superiors.  However, unlike the other high ranking officers in his regiment, Andrei does stay to watch Captain Pushkin’s command of the battery responsible for the destruction of the town of Schongraben.

French historians call it ‘The Battle of Hollabrunn.’

Against stereotype, I’m a man who’s never particularly enjoyed reading about how battles unfolded.  This is probably because such books are usually written by historians not storytellers and therefore lack vividity.  Since we already know that Tolstoy served as an artillery officer during the Crimean War he’s able to draw on those experiences in his writing.

Austerlitz – 2nd December 1805

Known as ‘The Battle of the Three Emperors’ because it pitted Napoleon against Alexander I of Russia and Franz I of Austria, this battle is considered Napoleon’s greatest victory.

Russia and Austria’s defeat was namely down to poor leadership and in their assumption that since they hugely outnumbered the enemy they would be victorious.  Heavy mist coupled with shrewd decisions from Napoleon saw the Russians and cowardly Austrians fighting each other.  It is here that during combat for the first time, Andrei sustains a serious injury.  As the life seeps from his body the Prince meets his hero for the first time:

“Though five minutes earlier Prince Andrei had been able to say a few words to the soldiers transporting him, now, with his eyes fixed directly on Napoleon, he was silent…To him at that moment all the interests that occupied Napoleon seemed so insignificant, his hero himself seemed so petty to him, with his petty vanity and joy in victory, compared with that lofty, just, and kindly sky, which he had seen and understood, that he was unable to answer him.”

Volume 1 closes with feelings many families with relations serving in the armed forces will be familiar with.  The uncertainty of whether their loved ones are alive or dead.

Ultimately ‘War and Peace’ is about life and reading it you are reborn during a time in Russia’s history which is strangely not so different from our own.

At the end of Volume 1, I’m of the opinion I will never read a better novel.