Ep. #34: Brian E. Denton - War and Peace (Tolstoy)

Tell Me What You’re Reading

My guest for this episode is Brian E. Denton. Brian has been reading Tolstoy’s great novel War and Peace every year for the last ten years, one chapter a day, which results in a year long read of the 361 chapters. Brian has also produced an e-book titled “War and Peace and A Year of War and Peace”, which includes the full text of the novel as well as Brian’s reflective essays, his insightful commentary on each chapter. War and Peace was brought to my attention at the beginning of the pandemic when I learned of Princeton Professor Yiyun Li’s online “Tolstoy Together” book club, which contemplated reading 15-16 pages a day in order to complete the novel in 85 days. I didn’t jump on Professor Li’s bandwagon but I’m glad I learned of Brian and his work.

At the time I recorded our discussion, we were a little over one half way through this epic novel. Tales of aristocratic abundance and privilege in 1805 Moscow, and simultaneously, Russia’s war with Napoleon’s France. Peace and war. Tales told through the characters, including, most notably, Pierre, Andrey, Rostov, Natasha, Nikolay, Marya, Denisov, Dolokhov, Sonya, Helene, Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon, among many, many others. I can see why Brian and others are serial readers, just to know whose who.