War And Peace

War and peace is an excellent novel. The storyline is mesmerising. The writer Leo Tolstoy cleverly mixed dazzling ballroom scenes with gory details of frontline battle in a war. This great classic is something which once you start reading, you can’t put down. It is that good and gripping.

This story is Tolstoy most famous, top-notched war story which took place in Russia’s grand city, Moscow and was inspired by his own first-hand experience in a battlefield.

War and Peace is  set  in  Russia,  in  the  beginning  of  the  19th   century,  during  the  reign  of  Tsar  Alexander

Romanov I whose reign faced an advancing French army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. So without further ado, let’s meet the characters!

Prince Andrew Bolkonski: A Prince Charming who is bored of normal life.

Pierre Bezukhov: A friend of Andrew. Princess Lisa Bolkonskaya: Andrew’s wife. Natasha Rostova: A pretty young lady.

Prince Vasili Kuragin: A very selfish prince.

Helene Kuragina: Vasili’s daughter, pretty and deceitful.

The story kicked off with a party, where Pierre was seen talking with his friend Andrew. Enter Helene, whose beauty engaged Pierre’s prolonged gaze which Andrew caught; and he then advised Pierre not to get married saying that you will be trapped by the needs and wants of your wife. This ball was also attended by Vasili who advised Helene not to get involved with Pierre, who at that time was a poor man, despite being the son of the richest man in Europe for his father is a scrooge.

A few days later, we see Vasili at Pierre’s father deathbed, who is his cousin. (Note: the book says he doesn’t think much of Pierre’s father). Contrary to the belief that he was paying his last and loving respect to his ailing cousin, he was merely interested in his cousin’s will. Later, a shocked Vasili found out that all his cousin’s money and properties will go solely to Pierre, despite their poor father & son relationship. So, Vasili got Helene to marry Pierre.

Meanwhile, Andrew tried to escape his normal life by joining the army to fight against Napoleon’s “Grand Armee”. The Russians lost this battle and Andrew was wounded but he came home a war hero. When he got back to Moscow, he was grief-stricken to find his wife; Lisa had died while giving birth to their son, Nicholas.

On the other hand, Pierre himself also experienced a humiliating lost as once Helene has gotten a huge chunk of his money; she shocked him by saying that she doesn’t love him anymore. Soon, rumours arose that Helene has run off with a man named Dolokhov. This marks the end of Part 1 of this novel, where Pierre and Helene were separated.

In part two, Pierre became a changed man. After consulting some priests, he decided to change his way of life. He freed his servants, slaves, builds hospitals and orphanages on his properties. Pierre also advised Andrew to strive for a better life.

One day, both Andrew and Pierre went to Tsar Alexander’s grand ball. Here, Andrew met Natasha and a romance unfolded as Andrew danced with her. Later, Andrew proposed to her and they were engaged. Not long after, Andrew rejoined the army when he had recovered from his wounds.

While he was away, Natasha was tricked by Helene and her brother, Anatole. When Andrew found out that Natasha has gone out with Anatole a few times, he was shocked and did not want to forgive her. During the Battle of Borodino, Pierre sacrificially rode to the battlefield to tell Andrew that Natasha still loves him. Andrew ignored him and soon the battle began. The French were driven back and Andrew was terribly wounded.

Yet Napoleon pushed on, and finally reached Moscow but was shocked to find the city deserted, aflame and so burnt down that they retreated back to France without a prize. Many died, including Helene whose death was of an unknown cause. Before long, Natasha met Andrew by chance, and told him how much she still loved him. Andrew forgave her but their reconciliation ended shortly as Andrew breathed his last but not before he asked her to take care of his son.

One day, Pierre decided to check on Natasha. Soon Natasha and Pierre got married and had 2 children as well as Nicholas, their adopted son. The story ended with Nicholas saying he will make his natural father proud one day after Pierre told him about Andrew.

This story is not just about a physical war but an emotional war within the main characters of the book; where in the end, peace came about when forgiveness kicked in. Like its title, literally, before peace, war must come! The war of emotions experienced by these characters ended in peace as the right emotion settled in their hearts.

Written By: Benjamin Lean (7/4/16)