Welcome back to R&W’s 2025 year-long read, War and Peace.

We know, it’s been a minute. After two months, Rhea and Shari were so glad to get back to this story. They focused their discussion on the “movements” of characters and events, and on “form v. substance.” They spend considerable time talking about Natasha’s movement from guilt to new freedom, Pierre’s movement toward war, Old Bolkonsky movement from life to death, and his son’s movement toward eminent death as well. They discuss the “form” of war—that of a chess game—versus the “substance” of war, something more terrible and chaotic; and the form of Hélène v. the substance of Marya…. and much, much more.

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