That’s great @kim.kovacs, I was hoping we could separate the sections thank you. And you incorporated three catch-up breaks. They may come in very handy.
Thanks for adding the catch up breaks. I bookmarked the audiobook with dates that way I don’t have to haul the tome everywhere.![]()
Well, I’m not sure this carefully designed reading plan is going to work. I mentioned the various editions that I was able to get my hands on, and the pages are all over the place. I was thinking Part 1 would be 115 pages (which is what it is in my hardback copy) but in the ebooks I’m seeing the following:
Penguin edition - Briggs translation - Black cover w/ chandelier:
Volume 1, Part 1, chapters 1-25, 115 pp.
Signet edition - Dunnigan translation - tan cover w/ flag:
Book 1, Part 1, chapters 1-25, 124 pp.
Modern Library - Garnett translation - Olive cover w/ gold stripe:
Part 1, chapters 1-25, 161 pp
Amazon edition - Maude translation - light blue cover:
Book 1 (1805), chapters 1-28, 179 pp
… and it looks like all the Maude translations are laid out the same (Book w/ date, 28 chapters), with page counts from 137 pp to 179 pp. (bright red cover, dark blue classic cover, picture of a horse & rider in the snow, and Tolstoy sitting on a bench). I confirmed that all versions end in the same place, but apparently the Maudes opted for different chapter breaks.
Last line:
Briggs: “Has he gone? Good thing too!” he said, glaring at the swooning princess. He shook his head in disapproval and slammed the door.
Maude: “Gone? That’s all right!” said he; and looking angrily at the unconscious little princess, he shook his head reprovingly and slammed the door.
Dunnigan: “He’s gone? Good!” he said, and with a wrathful look at the unconscious little Princess, shook his head in disapproval and slammed the door.
Garnett: “Gone? Well, and a good thing too!” he said, looking furiously at the fainting princess. He shook his head reproachfully and slammed the door.
(Haha, at least everyone agrees with “…and slammed the door.”)
Anyway… I’m going to propose that we take two weeks to read Part 1, which is the first 25 chapters (28 chapters, if you’re reading the Maude edition) and check in after we’ve started to see how it’s going with folks.
Thoughts?
That schedule is good for me.
I’m almost done with my current read. So I will start W&P tonight. I haven’t received the hard copy but I think I will begin with the ebook (Maude translation). Depending on the font size in the hard copy and my eyesight I have a feeling I will be reading from my ebook the majority of the time.
Like the idea of the check-in. I have no doubt we will do ok juggling the various versions or at least have fun trying.
I bet it will all work out. With the built in breaks hopefully we can all meet similar benchmarks. We will be able to share various lines and get a sense of nuance in translation. @kim.kovacs maybe somewhere along the line it would be fun to talk with a translator. Might that be possible? Not specifically a W&P translator but anyone who knows the work.
That’s a great idea, @Anne_Glasgow! I’ll see what I can do. I’ve been mostly hitting up publicists whose authors we’ve been featuring in the hopes of generating some more questions, and we haven’t featured any books in translation, as far as I know. I’ll keep an eye out, though!
I think the W&P translators are all dead, LOL.
Just ordered my copy. Looking forward to it — it’s been 40+ years since I read it for a Slavic Literature class.
I’ve had WAR AND PEACE In my bookcase for a couple of years. I’ve had good intentions To read it. But I also have a pile of books piled up to Read this summer. So which Good intention will I choose?
Actually, it seems Anthony Briggs is still very much alive.
@Techeditor join us! We’re reading it in bite-sized pieces, which means you can still indulge in other “good intentions.”
@Anne_Glasgow, I stand corrected. ![]()
Sorry but this made me curious so I looked it up. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky are still alive also. Briggs’ translation is dated 2005 and Pevear and Volokhonsky is dated 2007. I guess I find it kind of surprising that these translations are so current. Who knew?
The copy I have is very old, and it isn’t one of those that you have listed. Mine is the international collectors library edition. It has a note from the translator but doesn’t say who the translator is. This is so old that the copyright page is nothing like they are nowadays. This is pre-ISBN. My last sentence in part one is “‘Has he gone,” he asked. ‘Well, it is just as well,’ said he. Then, looking angrily at the unconscious little princess, he shook his head reproachfully and slammed the door after him.”
I’ve never liked reading more than one book at a time. But I guess I could do that. I’ll decide this weekend for sure.
According to the great and powerful Google, the International Collector’s Library Edition was translated by Princess Alexandra Kropotkin, a NY-based writer and translator. It also says the edition is abridged, so there’s that. How many pages does yours have?
My international collectors library edition has 696 pages of very, very, very tiny print. If it’s abridged, sorry but I don’t feel bad about it.
I started reading it this morning, and I’ve only gotten to page 8, and I am already drowning in all the different names.
I took pics on my phone of the character list from the back of the book and would be happy to post them here if anyone wants the list.
So excited to tackle this book!
That would be great, @Gabi_J. Thank you! Please put it in a new thread so it’s easy to find: “W&P Character List.” If you can’t figure out how to do that, let me know & I’ll create it for you.
Oh, great - I’ll go look for it.
Ruh-roh! Just saw this, I need to do some catching up. I’ll start today. ![]()