UPDATE ON WAR AND PEACE

Although it's difficult to lay this book aside to attend to the business of living, I will say -- without having read the literary criticism in the volume -- that if Tolstoy hadn't been so busy with putting smiling faces on so many characters and so many times, if not scowling ones -- he might have spared us at least 200 pages. (He wouldn't get by with that from today's editors.) This does not lessen the artistry of the genius Tolstoy was, but it does amuse us. In time, we may learn we can skip over several phrases and know still what the words were. In spite of this literary idiosyncrasy, the rest of his wording is excellent. It is, at the present time, a character-driven story which may change to plot-driven. After all, we know there is to be more war. War is usually plot-driven, wouldn't you say?

One of the most annoying literary fixtures we must put up with in most great Russian literature are the patronymics the language is blessed with. It's not enough to iterate the first name of a character, but also the middle name, and occasionally the surname. A three-name appellation can take a whole line of print, depending on the publication, and the length of names. Many times it's also easy to just nod a "hi" to the character's patronymic and move on. The most important characters you will never forget.   

I will leave that till the next time, for I want to tell you about a novelette Tolstoy wrote which is one of the best stories I've read in my long lifetime of reading. It is Master and Man, with primarily only the two characters, a terrific snow storm, and gorgeous figures of speech. If you can't get War and Peace, or if not inclined to do so, I beg you to have the librarian locate this short work for you (probably published in an anthology) and read it. It is on the list of my ten most favorite literary masterpieces. Perhaps I'll give you that list one day.