Hi Anibas. I have a similar experience with Dostoyevsky's The Double. I've started it dozens of times and finished it only twice. I recommend it to anyone feeling especially isolated or out of place. Just stop when you realize life ain't so bad! Crime And Punishment is different. It takes you into the mind of a killer. I read it once, and decided I'm not touching it again, although the Russian mini-series on it was pretty good. I love The Idiot, though. War And Peace is Tolstoy's best work. Prince Andre embodies Lev's ideas about the nobility, while Pierre is the searching Tolstoy. The Battle of Borodino ends with the Prince dying and Pierre soon in jail. This is where Tolstoy is reborn with new enthusiasm for life, despite the ordeals. My favorite scene is in the study when Pierre exposes his jealousy of all that Prince Andre has and is, especially his wife and forthcoming family. And then Andre bewails all the misery that life is causing him! And I must say that I should have listened to him!
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Tolstoy never stopped exploring, and never stopped loving life.
I warmly recommend the books he wrote later in life, like "A Confession", for instance. Each book is just a stepping stone.
I like Tolstoy's short stories. Unfortunately, His book of short stories didn't end up with me after moving across the county 3 times. I do have a lot of them on amazon audio, Amazon messed up the player on my notebook after i quit all f their services, after Bezzos got his CIA contract. I'm still trying to resurrect it!
If you go back to the scene in the Study, Prince Andre is foreshadowing Tolstoy leaving his wife, as well as his circumstances in general. The BBC miniseries, although miscasting Anthony Hopkins, finally "gets" Tolstoy after he gets captured by the French. The younger Pierre, always searching represents Tolstoy's younger self, while Prince Andre is Tolstoy as Noble, or even "made man", having access to al life has to offer. Pierre's searching and issastifaction with life, is the War in the title. When Pierre meets Platon, is where "Tolstoy" finally finds the Peace in the title. While I enjoy the dialogue among Napoleon's staff that was added and advised by David Chandler, the scenes of Pierre, awakening in the
stockade, the BBC does a pretty good job. That is Toltoy's awakening. Most folks don't have a clue, so I just call it Tolstoy goes Dostoyevsky.
It's too bad that everyone thinks te War in the title means the 1812 campaign! The 6 hour Russian movie even centers around Borodino. The BBC version of Borodino is horrid, but that helps to take the emphasis off of it. The BBC version is the best, but they key o a lot of boring stuff. You could just watch the study scene and Pierre in custody, nd you'll have gotten as much as you can get from it.
But, you know, mention Tolstoy to a youngster and they'll look a you like you're an alien, probably because there are no Marvel characters in it. What's wore is that older folks will just say you're precocious! I think it's easier for them ignore that way.
Ignore the last 150 years of the Romanov's and you'll not see how similar the US is to the state of Russia's collapse. Ignore Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, who's anti-Catholicism rates high for this former Irish Roman Catholic, and you really miss some great commentary on
life!
You made me remember two of my friends, both former Irish Roman Catholics, if I remember correctly. Incidentally, they are both also made of more than just flattersome, socially convenient fluff. Both marked by brilliant, broad minds, and a wicked sense of humor.
Got a bit carried away from Tolstoy there... should spend more time with my friends.