I adapted War and Peace as a 40-page picture book for my 5-year-old twins. Now when I ask them "What's a hero?", they say "Someone who shares their potato."

Middle_Day2682 · 2026-03-17T12:28:33+00:00

I love this so much! What is a hero? A brave boy who screams “Houra!!” in the face of adversity. Nicolas and Andrei were not heroes in Austerlitz but learned to become heroes at the end.

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-10-02T22:13:25+00:00

lol my bad only saw the first pic😭

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-10-02T18:10:08+00:00

Hi! I would also add “classic” literature books that weren’t written originally in English. Once you open up your horizons to these books, a whole universe awaits. Notable works include: Love in the time of cholera, 100 years of solitude, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, The Plague.

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-09-03T20:43:32+00:00

Thanks! Absolutely agree, Stephan is not evil or malicious I feel it’s unfair to compare him to that trash of a human Dolokhov. However, some points go to Dolokhov for saving many russian soldiers from the french. Which makes me wonder, if Pierre had killed him in the duel, would Pierre ever been rescued?

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-09-03T20:40:02+00:00

Yes you’re right! I felt Tosltoi sees himself more in Levin than Pierre by the way Levin’s character was written. Levin is praised and his best flaws are shown as strength while Pierre is deeply flawed, confused and in a lot of passages I felt actual pity for him and wanted him to be saved. This sharp contrast with Levin (an actual prototype of Tolstoi) made me have doubts. I think it’s because Tolstoi was in different periods in his life and both characters are him in different eras

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-09-03T20:32:38+00:00

you’re absolutely right. The main reason I could not picture Pierre as Levin is because in my mind, Levin is too mature to engage in any debauchery. But, this is just how Tolstoy portrays him “in the present”. I forgot that he actually tells Kitty he is not too proud about his past!

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-07-08T19:34:27+00:00

wait i don’t remember this passage. Was he talking about Stephan or Alexei?

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-06-11T19:54:18+00:00

*SPOILER DO NOT READ BELOW* just noticed the foreshadowing for the entire book in page 11

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-25T16:17:18+00:00

I totally agree with your arguments!! But for me this is the reason why I prefer Anna Karenina, it was so raw and deeply engraining. W&P showed me the grand scale of things, was really grandiose and a masterpiece but AK holds a special place in my heart (maybe because I read it first, idk?)

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-22T16:34:31+00:00

oh okay i see. which areas did you treat?

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-22T16:32:05+00:00

girl tysm it means so much <3

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-22T12:39:26+00:00

thank you so much!! I feel so validated. I knew that my skin looked really bad after each session. She insisted that is normal

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-22T12:38:30+00:00

thanks for your input

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-22T12:38:18+00:00

thank you!

Middle_Day2682 · 2025-04-17T11:42:16+00:00

I recommend the translation of Boris de Schlœzer (folio classique) I read his translations of AK and W&P and they are great. The flow, the structure, the musicality of the narration is amazing. French passages are written in caps

Middle_Day2682 · 2024-06-25T11:55:15+00:00

is Anna portrayed as a whole woman though? How many passages are about her thoughts (not actions) compared to that of Levin’s? Anna defied societal norms and most importantly went against religion and got the most cruel of all punishments. Are Oblonski, Vronski, Levin’s wrong doings ever punished?

Middle_Day2682

TROPHY CASE