This week I'm standing in for the entirely irreplaceable Hanna as provider of the prompts - hopefully you've managed to track them down! :)
After last week's slog through seemingly endless war, I found this week's shorter chapters far more engaging and, honestly, a breeze. Because it's Tolstoy, it obviously wasn't ramble free but I read most of it on a single 2 hour train journey so it seemed like a win. This week I passed 80% in my edition, which is frankly unbelievable.
Two pre-prompt notes: one, my edition has modernised characters' names so sorry if they're not as authentic as they might be in your edition; two, if you're a bit behind, there are spoilers coming up so beware!
1) With the multiple deaths, this week started to feel a little more like Tolstoy was starting to wrap up some of his characters' stories. How do you feel about the way Helene's death was dealt with compared to Andrew's?
2) I certainly wouldn't go so far as to call myself a Pierre fan but his experiences as a prisoner were quite moving. How do you think Pierre is going to fare as we approach the end of the novel?
3) Now the competition's opened back up, who are you backing for Nicholas Rostov's future wife, rich heiress Mary or devoted Sonya?
4) The Rostovs have always been my favourite family in War and Peace and seeing them from Mary's perspective was a little bit sad. How is everyone feeling about how things are going for them?
It really feels as though we're on the home straight now! A few weeks more and we've read War and Peace. Actual War and Peace. We are the best and we're winning at life.
