Books I Read in August & September

These two huge books I complete in September. I have finally finished War & Peace, which has been on my to-be-read list since 2016. I read The Pillars of the Earth several months after it was given to me as a present at a holiday party.  

I recommended the book “The Pillars of The Earth” by Ken Follett.

I have never read a Ken Follett before; it may surprise you. I was startled by his writing style and use of the historical setting and characters’ motivations. I received the novel at a holiday party as a gift without previous knowledge of the writer and the series. I expect a much drier book without action, speedy dialogue, and clear descriptions. I expected a heavy dialogue, a slow plotline, complex character motivation, and limited characterization. The writing style is a very modern novel in that it is easily readable and does not require getting out your pencil and marking up the pages to figure out each scene and character’s motivations.

The historical setting is appropriate for the time. The historical background is easily relatable and has some fantastic elements. The historical setting is laid out from the novel’s beginning and the situation’s main problem—building a cathedral and the conflict between good and destructive power in the community. The fantastic elements of the vision of the cathedral and the fact that the characters have a deep understanding of the forces of this building on their community and future generations.

The characters’ motivations are simple at times and other times more complex. The main characters are conscious of their decision and their impact on others. At other times, the characters are lost in their desires and cannot tell you where and what is their valid reason for their actions. When I first picked up the book, I assumed the prior Phillip would narrate the book as the cathedral’s building is his desire and ambition. However, the builder and his stepson describe most of the plot, with small portions of narration by minor characters. Also, the villain of the novel narrates a portion of the novel, and we have insight into their motivations—darker elements of revenge, greed, lust, and hatred.

           The Pillars of the Earth is action-filled and clearly describes the character’s motivations and the plotline. The novel is an exciting historical fiction series.

• War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War & Peace by Tolstoy: A masterpiece of classic literature. The novel is broken up into four volumes that cover six years. The characters are many and have various names and motivations. The plot is complex. It discusses politics, social life, inheritance, religion & faith, the various forms of love and war, and nationality & patriarchy.

           The political climate of Russia during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. The identity of Russia is being threatened under the threats of a French. The complexity of Russian nationality and patriarchism is falling apart, and the people are fighting for their lives against Napoleon’s rising control and threats to claim their nation. The Russian Czar must be confident under the invasion of the French emperor; however, as the novel talks about, the nation’s patriotism starts to fall apart. The nobility of the country began to question and doubt their abilities to survive the attack of the French emperor.

While the social lives discussed in the novel are the Elites of Russian society. The nobility quietly watches the rising tension of their nation and the threat to their national identity. However, they are not touched at the novel’s beginning by the dangers of war and invasion. These people are secure in their wealth and social position. The nobility we meet continues with their mundane daily lives, romances, trifles, affairs, deaths, and births. However, as the tension rises politically, the elites worry about their safety and position in this battle.

           While inheritances change the lives of the central characters, Pierre, the illegitimate son of Count Bezukhov, inherits his father’s estate and title. However, Pierre had no intention of taking on his father’s responsibilities. Pierre’s inheritance changes his social position in his life and his power in the elite social circle. However, the inheritance comes as more of a curse to him than a blessing.

           The main struggle is with the traditional orthodox model of religion and faith. For example, Natasha, a young woman in the novel, struggles with her desire for love and her passion for freedom and identity. The young woman understands the orthodox responsibility of her position in life. However, she ends up living from her will and ends happily ever after rather than strictly conformed. At the same time, Count Bezukhov struggles with his wealth, greedy nature, and desires of the flesh. He comes to give up his great wealth for the needy and to find a healthy outlet for his self-indulgent tendencies.

           The novel has bits of romance and discussion on the origin of love. The character’s inner lives and sentiments change quite a bit. The main characters are married, widowed, divorced, and have affairs and remarriages throughout the novel plotline. I will not give away the ends and briefly summarize the romances. The main characters must face the social expectations for their marriages and the destruction that these expectations make of their personal lives. Several characters marry other elites under the direction of family and social connections, only to be very unhappy in their marriages. However, these marriages end either in affairs and separation or death at childbirth. The character goes through spiritual changes that lead to martyrdom or remarrying a second time to a person of their choice. Romance in the novel’s plotline is not the novel’s central theme.

            Nationality and patriarchy play key roles in the characters’ motivations, either for the good or the bad. Identity is threatened and questioned by the characters as their lives are changed. Several characters die during the invasion of Russia in battle and illness on the front. The patriarchy of the elites is questioned as their position in social and political circles starts coming into question as what their value to the nation is. The characters undergo political and social motivations transformation and how their privileges impact their faith, religion, and love lives. Further, the identity they hold of their privileges can destroy religious, faith and lasting love and family relations.