War and Peace Thursday: Book 1, part 1
I have finished Part One of War and Peace! Part one of book one, that is, so this is less impressive than it sounds.
So far my favorite character is Marya Bolkonskaya, plain and intensely religious (she begs her brother to take a locket-like icon with him as he goes off to fight Napoleon; I'm calling it right now, this icon is going to catch a bullet and save his life), whose stern, remote father makes her so nervous that she weeps when he gives her a daily geometry lesson.
I realize this all makes her sound like a total sad sack. I can't quite explain my devotion - she's very sweet, sincerely sweet - but nonetheless, it's there.
I've always had a thing for intensely religious characters, anyway. When we read Adam Bede in AP English I fell head over heels for Dinah, the Methodist preacher girl, to the bafflement of my classmates. I wrote a paper that was basically "Dinah! Isn't Dinah the best?" and it didn't get a very good grade because I guess I was supposed to be a bit more analytical about why Dinah is the most awesome.
So far my favorite character is Marya Bolkonskaya, plain and intensely religious (she begs her brother to take a locket-like icon with him as he goes off to fight Napoleon; I'm calling it right now, this icon is going to catch a bullet and save his life), whose stern, remote father makes her so nervous that she weeps when he gives her a daily geometry lesson.
I realize this all makes her sound like a total sad sack. I can't quite explain my devotion - she's very sweet, sincerely sweet - but nonetheless, it's there.
I've always had a thing for intensely religious characters, anyway. When we read Adam Bede in AP English I fell head over heels for Dinah, the Methodist preacher girl, to the bafflement of my classmates. I wrote a paper that was basically "Dinah! Isn't Dinah the best?" and it didn't get a very good grade because I guess I was supposed to be a bit more analytical about why Dinah is the most awesome.