The characters in War and Peace

[samah]

Theres no doubt that War and Peace is one of the greatest novels had ever written in the world literature ,because -I think -that beside the importance of the historical events included in the novel , its riched with such a marvelous characters . I read a lot of novels in my life but none of them touched me the way that War and Peace did .
Its all about the way that Tolostoy wrote and well described his characters like that they are not his, just like he is telling a story he didnt write ,they are so real they could be anyone of us or anyone we know,
we dont see that fairy tale hero in tolostoy stories the way we do in some french and english stories , because in this novel we see every character has its own thoughts , deeds and mistakes , all the good things and the bad things , and by the way I just want to say that my favourite character was Prince Andrey Bolkonsky I really felt in love with him and I almost cried when I read about his death . I dont speak russian but I hope to learn it someday and I'm really interested in the russian literature , I read some of the russian novels but I plan to read them all so If anyone can send me the names of all the russian novels and writers , I'll be so grateful .
samah

[Sarka]

I totally agree with you. And I totally cried when Bolkonsky died, too, the first time I read the novel! Dude. Though I read a stupid abridged version the first time; but now I'm reading the whole thing (I haven't gotten to that point yet). It rocks, I must say.
I'm definitely fascinated with Russian literature–actually I'm just sort of fascinated with Russia in general, and I don't know why because I'm not Russian (that I know of).
I don't know about novels, but the short stories by Chekhov are really, really good. They're a little ironic and depressing, (I happen to like that sort of thing) but they make some interesting points about people and society. I've only read a few; "Ward No. 6" (which is almost scary at points), "The Darling" (which is just kind of sad) and "The Ninny" (which I don't think is on this site but is actually quite funny so if you can find it do check it out). Stuff by Gogol is pretty good too, especially "The Nose." That's kind of all I know–I hope it was helpful...

[arrrvee]

about other russian works and authors, ivan turgenev is really good. read first love. it's a novella. if you like short stories, you can't go wrong with chekhov. i would suggest reading (these are my personal favorites by the way) gooseberries, the bishop, love and misery.

before i go, here's a small something from another russian writer, vsevolod michilovich garshin

life

a young disciple asked of that saintly sage, jiaffar:
"master, what is life?"
in silence the master turned back the soiled sleeve of his sackcloth burnoose and showed the young disciple a revolting sore that was eating into his arm.
and at the very same time, the nightinggales were trilling in full song and all seville was fragrant with the sweet odor of roses.

[Idril]

I would second the mentions of Turgenev and Gogol, there's also Pushkin, Lermontov and from the 20th century, there's Bulgakov, which I highly recommend and Pasternak, those are just the ones I've read but there's so much more out there for me to discover.

[Evi]

If we want to have a discussion about Russian literaure, so then please read Puschkin! All the others were his followers. Leo Tolstoy is great both with Anna Karennina and War and Piece. Dostoyefsky is also great with the Idiot ( just my opinion) And genarally read Russian literature. It is great!

Evi

[olichka]

my favourite character was Prince Andrey Bolkonsky I really felt in love with him and I almost cried when I read about his death . samah

Why did you fall in love with him ? Was is partly because he was so handsome ? I also just totally fell in love with him when I read the book for the first time ( at 13) : I thought that the combination of his looks, high intelligence and mysteriousness made him very sexy !

Did you ever wonder how his marriage to Natasha would have turned out had he lived ? I think he would have kept her in check, and she would not have become the slob that she became while married to Pierre. I mean, can't you be a loving wife and mother and still maintain your dignity and talents ? I was completely turned off by her in the Epilogue.

By the way, does anybody know if the sequel to "War and Peace" called " Pierre and Natasha " and written by a certain Staroy ever come out in print ? I'd be fascinated to read it !!!

[Yelena]

Has anyone read Marina Tsvetaeva's poetry? She's another great 20th century RUssian poet. I highly recommend you guys read her poems and Anna Akhmatova's.

[lisahead]

I LOVE Russian literature and Russia ! I'm not Russian, but must have a Russian soul.
I've read War and Peace foru times- its always a new bood to me. DOes aanyone know what really killed Helena, Pierre's wife? How horrifying was the "execution" of Veruschagin?
What do you think Princess Maria really looked like?
Sonia is a fascinating character- so is Dolokhov.

[lisahead]

Does anyone want to talk about "The Master and Margarita"?

[bazarov]

I LOVE Russian literature and Russia ! I'm not Russian, but must have a Russian soul.

Just like me!
Helen died from some sudden and mysterious illness, but there were rumors she died from botched attempt at abortion.

[lisahead]

That's what I thought about Helena.
Your quote is from Notes from the Underground, right?
I just got a Dostoevsky finger puppet magnet ,and a Tolstoy one- the Dostoyesky one looks like your pic.
Did you read the biography his wife Anna wrote?
I would love to go to St Petersburg.
What did you think of Grushenka?
At the end of BK, when that little boy dies, my heart breaks. What a story. I thought it was funny when Grushenka tricked Katerina Ivanovna .

[bazarov]

Your quote is from Notes from the Underground, right?

Yes.

I just got a Dostoevsky finger puppet magnet ,and a Tolstoy one- the Dostoyesky one looks like your pic.
Did you read the biography his wife Anna wrote?

No, not yet. And I am not sure from where would I get it?

I would love to go to St Petersburg.

I am planing to visit Moscow this summer

What did you think of Grushenka?
At the end of BK, when that little boy dies, my heart breaks. What a story. I thought it was funny when Grushenka tricked Katerina Ivanovna .

Wrong thread

And Maria was probably very ugly or not that pretty...How can somebody be in love with someone he never saw? This is not a fairy tale, no one of you saw Andrey's picture so can you say he was very handsome?

[olichka]

How can somebody be in love with someone he never saw? This is not a fairy tale, no one of you saw Andrey's picture so can you say he was very handsome?

Believe me, you can fall in love with someone you've never seen. And as to Andrey's handsomeness, Tolstoy himself described him at that first party at Scherer's as being " very handsome " !

[gems81]

Believe me, you can fall in love with someone you've never seen. And as to Andrey's handsomeness, Tolstoy himself described him at that first party at Scherer's as being " very handsome " !

I fell in love with Andrey when I read the book and he was my favorite literature character.
I cried when he died and I thought his marriage with Natasha would have been the best epiolgue. I didn't like it very much.

[olichka]

I fell in love with Andrey when I read the book and he was my favorite literature character.
I cried when he died and I thought his marriage with Natasha would have been the best epiolgue. I didn't like it very much.

Hear, hear ! I agree with you 100 % !