War and Peace Group Read 2011 - Intro thread (no spoilers)

A few of us have just started to read War and Peace together and would love you to join us.



How's it going to work?

We're going to have a thread for each part, so that we can put spoilers into the threads without ruining it for people going more slowly. This thread will be for general W&P chat (who's in, which translation we're reading, links to interesting things about the novel, Tolstoy or the Napoleonic Wars etc). No spoilers in this general thread please!

The first thread for Volume I, Part 1 is
here.

How fast are we planning to read?

War and Peace is divided into four volumes and an epilogue. Each volume is divided into three to five parts. Altogether there are 17 parts, and at this stage we're aiming to do one per week. That's about 100 pages a week for the first few weeks, then the parts get a little shorter. But it'll probably depend on how we go as we get into it, and you can go at your own pace. The main thing is to have fun!

Here's the rough timetable for the first 3 weeks:

By Monday January 31, finish Vol. 1, Part 1 (p. 111 in the Pevear and Volkonsky translation - up to "... shook his head reproachfully, and slammed the door")

By Monday Feb 7, finish Vol 1, Part 2 (p. 200 in P&V, up to "and the remnant of Bagration's detachment joined Kutuzov's army).

By Monday Feb 14, finish Vol 1, Part 3 (p.294 in P&V, up to "... was handed over to the care of the local inhabitants.")

I haven't read any Russian novels and it looks very long... what's it like?

Neither have I, but 100 pages in, it is a really good read and pretty straightforward. A good translation makes a huge difference, and so does a list of characters and good footnotes to explain the historical detail. I am loving the Pevear and Volkonsky translation, but know that there are other good ones. The P&V translation also leaves the French bits in the text and translates them into English at the bottom of the page, so you can tell what's being said in Russian (translated directly to English) and French.

I've added this thread and the one for the first spoiler thread (Vol 1 Part 1) to the Wiki.

Here are links to the threads so far:

Vol 1 Part I: http://www.librarything.com/topic/108452
Vol 1 Part II: http://www.librarything.com/topic/108827
Vol 1 Part III: http://www.librarything.com/topic/109929

Vol 2 Part I: http://www.librarything.com/topic/110322
Vol 2 Part II:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/111035
Vol 2 Part III: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111216
Vol 2 Part IIV: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111217
Vol 2 Part V: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111218
Vol 3 Part I: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111299
Vol 3 Part II: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111300
Vol 3 Part III: http://www.librarything.com/topic/111301

I just read W&P 2 years ago or I would join in. I loved the P&V translation.

I found this character list to be helpful, so thought I would share it here: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/warandpeace/characters.html

Have a great time reading this classic!

Thanks Stasia! I peeked back at your W&P threads from 2009 and will be doing that as we read.

I just had a look at that list - it looks excellent, except that it gives away the plot (it just told me what happens to Pierre!!) But it'll be good at the end.

Yeah, it is unfortunate about the spoilers in the character list. I should have mentioned that. Sorry, Cushla.

No problem Stasia! I have already forgotten.

Here's a link to the Wikipedia article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_and_peace

It's spoiler-free till you get down to the "Language" section (that Pierre, he is spoilt everywhere!), and after that there's a detailed plot summary.

And here's a Wikipedia article on the Napoleonic Wars. (There will be a quiz at 2 pm Central European time, ha ha.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars

I am fairly sure I will be asleep at quiz time - good thing too!

Thanks for the warning, Cushla - no spoilers for me!

And again thank you for setting up this wonderful thread. I'm feeling at home already.

Waaah - only one hour till quiz time....

I was kidding!! I'm running out the door to school.

OK, in case there are hundreds of 75ers waiting patiently for the questions, here they are: who wrote the 1812 overture (and please hum it down the computer), and where was Napoleon born?

I am definitely in, and will be reading the Rosemary Edmonds translation in Penguin Classics, because I own it and haven't read it, so it seems stupid to buy another one. I'll be over to the Part I thread as soon as I read it.

Hi Cushla: I may give this a go. I've got the P&V translation on my Kindle.

If I devote some time and can get into it, I should be okay. For the Kindle, vol 1, part 1 ends at 9 percent.

I rarely ever read long Russian novels but, in my 11 in 11 challenge this year, I've added a "chunkster" category. W&P certainly qualifies as long, that's for sure.

Great!! I am just trying to do a little every day, and so far it's working well.

I'm in too, though it seems a little late! This is my third W&P readalong I've "joined" this year (as in talked about it but made nothing official), and this will be the one that sticks, I'm sure of it, if for no other reason than I'm on LT every single day.

So far I'm only on page 20 of the P&V translation so I barely know who is who - but thanks to Stasia's readathon that starts tomorrow night I'm hoping to get through most of the first part. Probably won't get to it until mid-morning (I so don't trust my brain to remember much between 10pm and 8am), but this will be perfect for getting a good chunk read.

Will head over to the thread for the first part some time tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this readalong!

I'm in tentatively. I really need to read 10 pages a day because this has been on my current list since July or so of last year. I'm off to star part 1.
ETA I'm reading the Maude's translation from 1941, I think. It's quite fluid and a LOT better than the Modern Library one I read in the 70's or 80's.

I'm in too, although a bit late getting started, but I can catch up.

Great to see more people joining in. Don't worry about being late! I've set up the thread for Vol 1, Part 2 now and the link's in the thread for Vol 1, Part 1. I won't update the wiki with the latest one, just this general thread and then the first spoiler one, unless someone thinks there's a better way to do it?

How's everyone going? I just posted an update in the Spoiler Thread for Part 2, but realise that if you're not that far through you won't even see the thread if you sort your threads by where you've posted.

I'm just starting Part 3, which looks like it is going to be quite entertaining. I've started using Google Maps for the war bits, to keep track of the places - it helped a lot.

I guess that I am a little latecomer, too. Good to know that there are a few people who started just lately with the book, so I guess I still can join in. :)
I started yesterday and so far I've read the first 140 pages (Vol I, Part 1, Chapter 24) of my german translation.



>2 alcottacre:: That's a nice summery of characters, Stasia, and I'll definitely use it after I'll have made some progress in my reading.

I'm starting late as well, and hope I can keep up. I have not attempted the novel before, but always wanted to. I think this will keep me going.

I am not a member of the 75 Challenge, so hope I can "crash" this group for this group read.

Hi kac522! Of course, you can crash in! Welcome to the reading group and have a lot of fun reading War & Peace: It's really a great book!

Hi Cushla,
I've finally gotten back on the Troika and have made it up to page 370 in the Maude translation. I'm going to be moving at a slower pace - my goal is to catch up with the dovegreyreader group who started reading at the rate of a chapter a day back in the beginning of September, thus stretching the reading over an entire year. I kept up that pace for the first month then fell seriously behind. I'm finding it much easier to stay with reading larger chunks at a time. and I'm actually quite enjoying it now. Looking forward to checking in with everyone here.
My copy is the new Oxford edition of the Maude translation. Members here should also know that dovegreyreader posted a handy downloadable bookmark that helps keep track of who's who and is relatively spoiler free.
TK

I try to persuade myself into reading Krieg und Frieden as well - well, I read the first 30 pages already. So I join here, but I will stay far behind everybody else, I'm afraid.

Well done, Paul! I don't think you will be the only latecomer. I hope you like it so far?

Is it okay for you if I just start all the threads (not all of them today but some time during this week) and always link to the next thread in the entry post? Once I am finished I'll post a 'thread collection' in this introductory thread, or Cushla will do it because I can't edit her entry post.

Then everyone can post whenever they finish the volumes/parts. Some started late, others I guess might almost have finished and I noticed that if I don't post my thoughts immediately after finishing a part I'll confuse it with the next one.

Yes, fantastic and I will edit my post once you've done them.

How is everyone going? I'm about to start Vol 2, page 296, so am behind but catching up.

I am just a little ahead of you, Cushla - finished Vol 2 part 1 and about to post about it.

I am behind. I have finished book 1 of vol 1. Not for lack of trying or appeal, just keep running out of time.

>23 Deern:: Nathalie, that's a great idea. Until Vol 2 Part 1 I strictly took notes after I've finished a part, but lately I just continued reading...

At the moment I'm at part 7 (for you Vol 2 Part 3, I guess) chapter 5 - and I'm afraid I'll stay there for the next two weeks or so.

Enjoy your reads!

#27: then you are in the part I skipped. Really, I accidentally skipped 68 pages, then read part IV and wondered about continuity. :-)
I must try and get through that part this weekend, before I forget all the events in parts IV and V and have to read them again...

Greetings from England! Just noticed this thread and I happen to be reading War and Peace too. I'm a bit behind (vol. 2, part 4), but making steady progress and thoroughly enjoying it. Reading the Pevear and Volkonsky translation. Looking forward to speaking to some of you soon.

Jordan

How's everyone doing?
I am in volume 3, part 2 (page 783 in the P&V edition), experiencing the first signs of fatigue since the very beginning when I almost gave up because I kept confusing the names/ characters. No spoilers here - I'll post my 'complaints' on the respective thread, and it would be unusual if a book of 1200 pages didn't have some lengths.

I am now switching between the P&V (which is way too heavy to be carried around) and some no-name edition I got on my Kindle as part of a classical books collection. I prefer the P&V, but I hope to be able to read more and more regularly with the Kindle readily to hand.

I'm behind but back reading again - in Vol 3, p 368 (lots happening to Pierre). I'm finding this part a pretty easy read and am trying to catch up a bit.

I'm almost too embarrassed to answer your question. I am still having a tough time finding enough energy to read anything. I am still in Vol 2, have just finished part 3. Really really hoping to at least try to catch up a bit this week.

Just started Vol 3 of the P&V

I just finished Volume 3, part 2 and really had a hard time with it. The writing style changes quite drastically (in my opinion) after volume 2 and I am having problems with that. I am making very slow progress, though W&P is now my main book. Still, I don't manage more than 15 pages a day, I hope it will get better soon.

Maybe it's "battle fatigue", but I also have found myself wandering into other books rather than picking up W & P. I am also stopped at Volume 3, Part 2. And I too find that I can't read more that 20 or so pages a day. Glad I'm not alone.

#35: I am now 'only' 40 pages from the ending of vol 3/part 3, but it feels like it's more. I'll write something more for you in the volume 3 part 2 thread.

I opened the remaining threads for volume 4 and the two epilogues:

Vol 4 Part I : http://www.librarything.com/topic/113750
Vol 4 Part II: http://www.librarything.com/topic/113832
Vol 4 Part III: http://www.librarything.com/topic/113833
Vol 4 Part IV: http://www.librarything.com/topic/113834
Epilogue I: http://www.librarything.com/topic/113835
Epilogue II: http://www.librarything.com/topic/113836

Finished it today!
That 2nd epilogue was hard work, I don't feel like rating and reviewing right now.

Hooray for you! It was great that you kept going even though the rest of us seem to have fallen behind. I am zipping through Book III Part I and only have another 700 pages or so to go!

Hi. Just to let people know I have posted stuff to threads for Book III parts 1, 2 and 3, in case you are past there and have the energy to come back and engage in the conversation!

Following Janet's suggestion I added an additional "wrap up" thread, where those who have finished can discuss some more:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/115924

Bump