Chance & Genius

You are not going to believe it, but I'M DONE READING!!! And I even read the Epilogue. I think it was truly genius that we read this together because I never could have done it without the pressure from the group. Katherine, if by chance you read another translation you will have to let this genius know the difference because I have a bookcase full of books that are fighting for my attention now. I'm going to start with T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton. I thought at the rate I was reading WAP it would be available in paperback by the time I got to it but I found the end of WAP surprisingly fast reading. I can't believe that Nikolay could form a library with a rule "not to buy a new book till he has read through the last he has bought." Ha!

Did your Epilogue have two parts? Part One of the epilogue for me was focused on the end of the war, and then family and wrapping up loose ends. Once you do get into a flow of following the war and the peace it isn't so bad. Then the Part Two of the epilogue goes crazy but I kind of just looked at it as an essay and it wasn't so hard though crazy. I mean what's with this: "A steam engine moves." Was Tolstoy a genius? Was he "always along with his thoughts" (like Nikolinka?). I think that if this book wasn't such a tome and it were split up into shorter chunks (in a series or parts) I would have enjoyed it more. I think the Epilogue was interesting because there was a whole chunk that emphasized friendship and family coming together. It sort of felt like a reunion show that you hope! I'm really glad I didn't skip it--especially after reading the 1300 other pages I made it through. I truly feel accomplished. Now, onto matters of the heart. . . what book shall we read next? Let's try to start something up by say March 15! Has anyone read A Thousand Splendid Suns?

"It's not those who are handsome we love, but those we love who are handsome."