49of251

It’s impossible for me not to get emotional during these chapters – the absolute beauty of what Tolstoy is writing is only equal to a symphony by Beethoven or the Sistine Chapel. You can literally hear the camp fires, the men moving about in the night, the soldiers carrying the body and tripping, the snow visible just over the fires. And Andrei speaking up for Tushin before the staff.

God, I love this novel

48of251

(chapter 20, book 2)

This is, in my opinion, the first of the great chapters of the novel. What starts with the General more concerned that he might get in trouble because his troops are not following orders, end with Tushin standing his ground despite being told to retreat. Tushin full of energy leads as finely as Alexander the Great, and only when Andrei offers him his hand in friendship does he cry.

47of364

Rostov’s first battle mirrors the hunt at the halfway point of the novel. But here the hunted is Rostov, not a fox. Yet when we get to the hunt we can sympathize with the feeling the poor animal must have as well as how the dogs felt, too. The thrill and terror of war.

I love how Rostov is incredulous that the French would want to kill him, whom everyone loves. And really, who wouldn’t think this?

46of364

While there is general disorder as the battle has begun, Tolstoy points out the men who march with total precision: “Left, Left, Left”, as if whomever marched better would win the day.