I just now finished Volume 1 of War and Peace, which ends with the battle of Austerlitz. I feel rather exhausted by this whole reading process, almost as if I had witnessed and watched the battle itself. My attention is heightened, and my shoulders are all bunched up. I do not feel like going back, yet, to the inanities and inadequacies of television.
I have other books to read, but have yet to reach over for one. I can’t even tell whether it’s time to go to sleep yet or not. That’s probably a good indicator, but still, no. The action of Austerlitz has still got me all wrapped up in it. I don’t know why Tolstoy didn’t choose a battle that the Russian army did well in, because Borodino seems to have been a draw, too. Perhaps the Russians never did have a decisive victory in that war. They always had the option of retreating whenever winter came along.
white pebble 