"War and Peace," Parts V-VIII

The second portion of this book has picked up in pace, I suppose because all the characters have been introduced and the author can devote himself to plot. As I noted before, this work is very epic in its scope, and in some ways reads like a history textbook. This is fascinating in and of itself, as it is a period and topic with which I am relatively unfamiliar, and so as a historian I find it exciting, if a bit slow at times. I am also still looking for overall themes, which I am sure will become clearer as I get further into the book. I would like to posit that the title of the book is very important to the message of the story. The book is about "war and peace," but this can be interpreted in various ways. First, most obviously, it takes place during the time of the Napoleonic Wars involving Russia. So there is a comparision between wartime conditions and life, and the conditions and life during the sporadic peacetimes. Secondly, there is a parallel, between the international relations and the internal workings of society. The intrigues, the power plays, the courteousy, the game-playing, the climbing of the ranks. An interesting point. The society ladies are every bit as dangerous, in their own way, as Napoleon and Alexander. Other than that, I'm still waiting for overarching themes to develop. I would venture to say that, as of yet, the book is more of a character study than anything else. We shall see how this develops.

Also, various characters are changing, either for the better or for the worse.
*PLOT SPOILER ALERT* Perhaps the most surprising things to me were when Pierre encounters the Freemason and ultimately joins their ranks. I am interested to find out how this plays out. Initially at least, the mason was presented almost like a Christian apologist, and very much in a positive light. This is a bit bizarre to me. Of course I don't know what the end result will be. The second rather bizarre twist was twofold. First, Prince Andrei and Natasha's engagement was surprising, but happy. I was thrilled that two of the nicest characters were having such a nice romance and everything seemed to be working out. Secondly, however, her entanglement with Anatol has thrown a spanner into the works of the engagement, and also changed my opinion both of Natasha and of Sonya, who has suddenly become a more likeable character in my opinion. I think he pulled it off well, though, as far as making them both seem more real than they previously have. That's all the thoughts I have right now...