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´¡²Ô²Ô±ð’s comments from the Reading the Chunksters group.

I also live in the Twin Cities, and I'm way behind too. I live about 5 miles away from the site, so it was quieter where I am. My problem was lack of focus, not lack of access to my book. I'm on chapter 18 or 19, so it won't be easy to catch up with everyone else.

Good luck on the interviews!

I'm starting a bit late, and I am already enjoying this book a lot. I read it once before, but it was an abridged version, and that was over 20 years ago. I remember loving the book, but I remember almost nothing about the plot.

I agree with others that Dantes seems naive. Considering his age and his early success in life, that seems like normal behavior. He really couldn't believe anything bad could happen to him.

Dumas also wrote plays, and his novels often have a dramatic/theatrical quality about them. I've loved all his books that I have read.

I didn't enjoy this section as much as the rest of you. I have little interest in religion, so that part was slow. I was actually happy to get back to Gwendolen.

Grandcourt keeps getting worse. It doesn't say that he hits her, but he abuses her nonetheless. Psychological/emotional abuse can be just as bad.

Tracey wrote: "I have put up the thread for chapters 42-47 for those following the reading schedule."

Thanks for posting these.

I am falling behind, but I do hope I can catch up this weekend. I'm glad some people are still reading and discussing.

I thought Gwen married Grandcourt because it seemed like the least bad option of a lot of bad options (to her way of thinking). From the way Grandcourt treats Lydia, it is obvious that this can't have a good outcome.

I was impressed with Klesmer's behavior in regards to Catherine Arrowpoint. Everyone else seemed to be obsessed with the money and status a marriage to her would bring, but Klesmer actually cared for her as a person instead. Catherine, by being willing to sacrifice her inheritance to be with him, proved herself worthy of that regard. I hope their characters have a happy ending.

Gwen behaved like a spoiled, selfish child when she first learned of her family's downfall. She seemed to have no understanding of the realities of the world, so she couldn't fathom that the world was not going to revolve around her and that she couldn't expect people to always do what she wanted. Although Klesmer's words to her were hard for her to hear, they really were in her best interest. It isn't easy to hear that kind of criticism, though, so I did feel sympathy for her hurt feelings.

Mr. Gascoigne seems to be a good person. He was willing to make many personal sacrifices, and he tried to make the best of a bad situation. He looked out for all who were under his protection. If he was a more selfish person, he would have looked out for only his own children or his own needs, but instead he found a position for Gwen and a home for his sister-in-law and her daughters. He could also have tried to force Gwen into marrying Grandcourt, but he did not.

I disliked Grandcourt even more after reading this section. I think Gwen is going to really grow to regret this decision. If Grandcourt can be that dismissive of Lush, who has been with him for years, and that cruel toward dogs, then there is no reason to believe he will be kinder to Gwen when they are married.

This week's post is late, so I created one. I'm not quite done with this section, so everyone feel free to bring up your own topics until the moderator comes back.

I'm not sure where she went. I'll see if it will let me create a thread for this week's reading.

Roman Clodia wrote: "Was anyone else reminded of Pride & Prejudice in this section? The arrival of an eligible bachelor, excitement amongst mammas and daughters, the ball and other public social engagements? Of course, Eliot only brings up the reference to undercut it mercilessly:."

I noticed that too, and it is mentioned in the footnotes of my edition. Eliot definitely seemed to be mocking it.

I do not like Henleigh Mallinger Grandcourt. His behavior with the dogs rubbed me the wrong way, as did his treatment of his former mistress. Also, the name "Mallinger" has a bad connotation, which caused me to be suspicious of him right away.
I don't know yet if that word had the same meaning/significance at the time or if the name was just an accident. I guess I'll have to keep reading to find out.

Gwen seems to be a more complete character than the others. She has her positive traits (independence), but they have been overshadowed so far by her selfishness, indecision, and insensitivity.

In the second paragraph of chapter 3, it states, "It was only a year before her recall from Leubronn that Offendene had been chosen as her mamma's home . . ."

If it makes it less confusing to you, think of the part from chapter 3 on to the part where it gets back to the gambling to be Gwendolen reminiscing about the last year of her life while she is traveling home (even though it is basically the narrator giving us the backstory). It is framed as a flashback, especially since it starts by telling us that the next part is in the past, and her getting called home is basically "today." I have not read ahead, so maybe the framing will change later.

Most current authors would have put the first two chapters into a prologue if they were going to do this kind of framing, but that is not how this author did it.

I don't like Gwendolyn either, but I'm hoping that will change. Otherwise, this book will feel longer than it is. I did catch that it was a flashback. She certainly hasn't grown as a person in the last year, but maybe she will later in the novel (after we get back to the "current" time).

The section on the causes of the war was interesting. I've had similar conversations about the causes of other wars in school and with friends. It seems like no one ever quite agrees on one cause (since there usually are several things that interacted to cause the trouble), and the victor's version gets chosen as the truth.

Tolstoy does an excellent job of bringing this period of history to life. I wish I remembered it better, but it has been almost 20 years since I studied the Napoleonic Wars. The footnotes in my book indicate that Tolstoy's history is rather faithful, but I think I'd like to read a more scholarly treatment of this era at some point.

Bonnie, I thought this section was a page turner too. I hope more of the book is like this, but my experience with Anna Karenina leads me to doubt that.

I wish I liked any of these characters. Like real people, they are deeply flawed, but I wish they had a few more redeeming qualities. They all seem so petty, selfish, and immature. It's one thing for Natasha to be that way (she's 17, so that's somewhat expected), but it is another thing for these supposedly adult men and women in their 20s and 30s to behave that way. The older generation isn't any better. I wish the whole lot of them would grow up.

Thanks, Hilary.

My only challenges have not been related to the book itself, which has gone okay when I've been able to focus on it. My grandma took ill at the end of March, then died April 1st (she was 96). Before that, I was actually caught up. I wasn't able to focus on what I was reading for about a month due to that, so I read lighter fare instead. I've also been working a lot of overtime for the last 1.5 months, so I haven't had much time either. I read through Book 7 over the weekend, so I still have a few sections left to get caught up. I hope to join back in the discussion soon. I'm glad people are still reading because discussions help make getting through these long, dense books a little easier.

HeyT wrote: "There was waaaaay too much Pierre for my taste. He joins what could arguably called a cult, finally gets the stones to tell Prince Vassily off, and then gets taken for a ride by his stewards. One step forward five steps back! "

I had similar thoughts while reading this section. He seems incredibly weak-willed. His joining of the cult isn't a good development. Pierre has a brain, and it would be nice if he would use it occasionally.

This was the first portion of the book that made me want to skim rather than read. Theological discussions are irritating, especially when it expresses casual bigotry towards non-Christians (particularly atheists). I hope Tolstoy doesn't spend too much time pushing his religious views during the remainder of the novel.

There was also foreshadowing of Lise's death before Andrei went off to war. She was very afraid of giving birth, so Andrei had made arrangements for the doctor to come. It was very dramatic to see Andrei arrive home just in time for the birth of his child only to have his wife die. If she had lived, I wonder how his near-death experience would have affected their relationship. We'll never know.

I thought Denisov seemed like a harmless, sweet guy who got caught up in the moment. Hopefully, he'll end up in a good place. No one else has so far.

Pierre seems so lost. He lets everyone push him around, and when he finally stands up for himself, he ends up shooting a man and being torn apart emotionally due to his guilt. His jealousy ruined what little hope there was for a good relationship his wife. Based on what was mentioned in my book in the notes to this section (Tolstoy edited out a bunch of references to Helene and Anatole having an incestuous relationship and left only hints), Pierre is probably better off without her.

E :) wrote: "On a side note, I recently re-read AK after many years and wasn't phased by the digressions at all. The sections that I remembered as never-ending and overwhelmingly dull now seemed rather short and even mildly entertaining. Who knows. Maybe I'm becoming more patient as I age. :) "

I'm glad I'm not alone in those thoughts. I have been getting more patient with books as I've gotten older. For instance, I hated Dickens as a teenager and I love him now. I'm only 35, so maybe there's some hope I'll actually like AK someday. There are so many books to read, though, so I don't know that I'll ever go back and reread it.

Hilary wrote: "So far so good with W&P though. Tolstoy definitely manages to achieve multi-layered characters."

I agree. The characters are great. I really feel like I could walk up to them and slap them (one of my more common feelings toward them at this point). With AK, I disliked the chapters with Levin. Too many lectures on agriculture and serfdom. It was boring. I liked the sections with the other characters. Les Miserables also had diversions, but those didn't seem to overwhelm the book in the same way. I also love Dickens, and he tends to meander too. It could just be a matter of taste. I do really like War and Peace so far, but, if I'm remembering correctly, I thought the same about AK at the same point of that book. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy I'm caught up at least.

Once I finally had time to get to it, this section was a very quick read. The chaos and pain of war were vividly written. Nikolai and Andrei became much more real to me. Their anxieties and hopes were shown clearly in their words and deeds. The loss of even the nameless soldiers was painful to see (mainly because I know that this was a real war where real people died). I am not a huge fan of either Nikolai or Andrei, but I also don't hate them. These young men have a lot of growing up to do and could still become good men. We'll see if they have time to do so.

At this point, I am really enjoying this book. The characters are nicely three-dimensional, although there are quite a lot of them to remember. The plot is also interesting. This is a vast improvement over Anna Karenina. I enjoyed portions of that book, but it had too many boring diversions. Hopefully, this book doesn't have those later on. I don't like reading "lectures" in my novels.