On the battlefront

Now we see why Tolstoy spent so much time meandering around the battlefield of Borodino with the corpulent civilian, Pierre. The battle begins, and he wants to see the action. Amazingly, improbably, he wanders into the thick of the battle on horseback. He settles in among an artillery division at one of the key hills, or redoubts I think Tolstoy calls them. At first, he's in the way, he has no idea what to do and nobody has any idea why he's there. Neither do we, frankly. Except - he's Tolstoy's entry into the scene. He's the lens through which Tolstoy can describe the action, and a particularly effective one as he's disengaged - like an artist painting a canvas. Through Pierre's eyes, we have a rather amazing description of the puffs of smoke that appear in the distance and that are followed seconds later by booms or pops of sound. At first, the distant field is filled with these tiny puffs, but gradually the smoke becomes dense, and Pierre for a time loses his way. The battle engulfs him, everything changes gradually but suddenly, like a pot coming to boil. Before we know it we're in the thick of battle. The soldiers say they're afraid but don't show it at all. Pierre has no fear. He volunteers to carry a message, I think to another company, and an explosion knocks him off his horse and to the ground. I don't know if Tolstoy ever witnessed or participated in a firefight or a full-out battle. Unlike some of the earlier chapters, in which the generals prepare for war, these chapters feel lived in, experienced, rather than researched.