I managed to make it through another 100 pages (more like 85, but who's counting?) and propelled myself well into Part 2 of Volume I, which felt like some kind of minor accomplishment. Only another 100 pages until Volume II! I will say about Tolstoy that the very tidy division of his novels into distinct volumes, parts, and chapters, makes the whole endeavor so much more manageable and far less intimidating. Often when I fail to finish a long, difficult book, it has much to do with the structure (or lack thereof) and my inability to find good stopping points, which can make it impossible to return to the book.

I will also say that I'm happy to have made it through this section because it was not exactly the type of action I turn to Tolstoy for; it was largely composed of military stuff with an unfortunate amount of time spent with minor characters, and at this point I have a hard time evaluating which of them will be important in future and which will never be heard from again. If you've read Anna Karenina, you probably remember long stretches about Russian political theory or about agriculture, and the military elements in War and Peace serve a similar function. I'm hopeful that next week's sections will include a bit more of the other characters back at home.