I just DNF'd a book which I hated doing but I just couldn't go on with it. I read to 44% and I'm thinking it was written with AI, have you had this happen? I wish they had to label books that used AI, at least then people could choose whether or not they wanted to consume it.

Also, I did not but I was wondering would you put it in a review if it seemed like they used AI to write it? I don't know all the "rules/etiquette" with this. I would hate to falsely accuse someone but also at the same time, I know I'd personally appreciate that information from other reviewers.

A year of War and Peace Day 6 Part 1 Chapter 6 Link to Project Gutenberg Chapter 6 Maude Translation Here

Final Line of Chapter 6: "What for? I don't know. I must. Besides that I am going..." He paused. "I am going because the life I am leading here does not suit me!"

Today the party comes to a comes to a close, but it feels like the real characters are just starting to show up, not the masks they have been wearing.

Discussion Questions

1. Pierre is physically awkward and socially clumsy, yet almost everyone seems fond of him. Why do you think Tolstoy leans so hard into this contrast?
2. How did you interpret Prince Andrei's behavior at the end of the party differ from how he acts once he's alone with Pierre?
3. What do you make of Pierre's beliefs about war? Naive? Admirable? Both?
4. What about Prince Andrei's response to Pierres beliefs about war? What you think Tolstoy is presenting with this response?
5. What do you think of Prince Andrei's final confession at the end of the chapter?

Not really a discussion prompt, but why do I love Hippolyte so much? He is so awkward, but I just love him haha

To help with the different translation versions, here's the last line of the next chapter for reference. Day 7 - Part 1 Chapter 7 : “Good night, Lise,” said he, rising and courteously kissing her hand as he would have done to a stranger.

A Year of War and Peace Day 5 Part 1 Chapter 5 Link to Project Gutenberg Chapter 5 Maude Translation Here

Today we make it out of the 1% mark of the book!! We are still at the party, but Pierre spices things up and Prince Hippolyte attempts a... joke?

Final Line of Chapter 5: After the anecdote the conversation broke up into insignificant small talk about the last and next balls, about theatricals, and who would meet whom, and when and where.

Discussion Prompts

1. What did you think of Pierre's speech and how the guests reacted to him?
2. How did you interpret Prince Andrei's role in this scene?
3. Why does Hippolyte's meaningless anecdote succeed where reason fails?
4. What does this chapter seem to suggest about how political ideas are "allowed" to exist in society?
5. After this chapter, how do you feel about Pierre? More naive? More Principled? Hasn't changed? As always, the discussion prompts are just some kick off questions, feel free to create you own questions, analysis, quotes you liked, confusion, vibes, character opinions, etc! There are no wrong takes here!

One end note that I found particularly helpful: Rousseau's Contrat Social as mentioned by the vicomte, the Philosopher Jean-Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778), one of teh precursors of the French Revolution and of modern democracy, argues that the body politic should be founded on the consent of the governed and on a mutually binding compact of the rights and obligations maong all its members.

To help with the different translation versions, I'm going to start putting the last line of the next chapter of the Maude translation! Shout out to @stjust for the idea! Day 6 Part 1 Chapter Six Last line: “What for? I don’t know. I must. Besides that I am going....” He paused. “I am going because the life I am leading here does not suit me!”