And there is no greatness where simplicity, goodness, and truth are absent. —Leo Tolstoy

Welcome back to our year-long read, War and Peace. In this episode, Shari and Rhea discuss the way the novel is moving from story to essay, from narrative to critique. And yet, there is still much to discuss: why Tolstoy is so harsh on historians, why Kutuzov gets such a short exit, how the scenes of military camp life serve to illustrate Tolstoy’s essays, how Pierre can no longer see an aim now that he has faith, and how Natasha gains her life back and further gifts Pierre a depth to his by recounting Andrei’s final days. And all of this they consider in light of the quote on greatness above.

For our history loving listeners, below is the link to Matthew Long’s post from his Substack, Beyond the Bookshelf, that Rhea mentioned near the end of the podcast. Matthew is doing a deep dive into the Civil War next year. He has a his study schedule, reading guide and timeline all mapped out, and has shared it for anyone who’d like to follow along:

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