Wolf Hunt: The Napoleonic Murders by Armand Cabasson takes place during the Napoleonic wars while the Austrians and the French battle over some small villages by the Danube. The mystery takes second place to the author’s impressive research of the time, whether it would be battlefield tactics or a Viennese ball.
Tolstoy does not understand how historians refer to Napoleon as “great” as he does not live up to the standards of humanity and goodness, neither as a military commander, emperor, leader or even in exile. As a conqueror / enemy / ally Napoleon constantly mislead the Russians and destroyed their economy. When he gives the order for the French to retreat, Napoleon already made sure he’s the first one to withdraw.
Once more Tolstoy shows his disdain for Russia’s upper class. Even with the invasion going on, the capital battered and people suffering Russia’s elite society still lives as if their gatherings are of utmost importance.
The French army is hurt, moving out of Borodino, it advances towards Mosco. Kutuzov, realizing that the French momentum cannot be stopped, gives up Moscow without a fight or sacrificing lives to defend it. This move is very unpopular and meets with general disapproval of the populace. The “haves” evacuate Moscow.
The French troops are marching intoRussia and the two Russian leaders, Prince Bagration and the German Barclay de Tolly, represent two conflicting and opposing forces within the Russian army. Prince Bagration has the advantage since the Russians don’t like the Germans too much.
A very strong part where three of the principal players in the novel, Andrei, Nikolai and Pierre all go under different crises.
About: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy is a fictional book first published in 1869. The work is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature. The copy I read was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude. 1350 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; New edition ISBN: 0199232768 Great price on this book in paper or electronic format through the Man of la Book Affiliate Account More books by Leo Tolstoy Thoughts: I liked Book 1 Part 2 of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy much better than part 1. This part starts with the Austrian campaign where Russia and Austria have formed an alliance to wade off Napoleon’s armies. The campaign is told through the contrasting viewpoints of Andrei and Nikolai. Tolstoy is doing something here which has been done later (probably before but I’m not aware) to great success. Telling the story from the view of the higher-ups (Andrei – adjutant to Commander-in-Chief of the Russian forces) and from the point of view of the men in the trenches (Nkkolain – a cadet). The paths of the two idealistic men parallel along the story. My favorite character in this section was Dolohov. From some…
