I entered this section very excitedly because I thought it looked like we would be heading back to Russian society with the women. That is partially true but then we return to the battlefield, which I find terribly dull. It was also confusing, apt as there is some fighting. The volume actually ends with a brief scene of Napoleon and some Russian characters captured by the French (I think).
On the "peace" side, we saw a tiny bit of the many characters we've met with Pierre getting engaged and Princess Marya turning down the opportunity to get married (I was very confused by the number of princesses in her section and how they were all related; why does everyone have that title?)
This wasn't the most exciting chapter unfortunately but I'm pleased that we're about 1/4 of the way through the book (to correspond with being 1/4 of the way through the year) and I'm liking the look of Volume II, hoping for more about Natasha.
I agree about all the titles and names. I keep getting confused! As for the themes in this section, I definitely found it easier to read the domestic parts than the battlefield scenes. They're just less interesting to me, I think. Hopefully April will be better on us :)
ReplyDeleteYour comments were dead-on, in my opinion! I'm really hoping April is more our speed or this will become a very difficult slog.
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