Why should you read Tolstoy's "War and Peace"? - Brendan Pelsue

Zašto bi trebalo da čitate Tolstojev "Rat i mir"? - Brendan Pelu (Brendan Pelsue)

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

"War and Peace,"

"Rat i mir",

a tome,

tom,

a slog,

šljaka,

the sort of book you shouldn't read in bed because if you fall asleep,

onaj tip knjige koju ne bi trebalo čitati u krevetu jer, ako zaspite,

it could give you a concussion, right?

mogla bi da vam izazove potres mozga, je li tako?

Only partly.

Samo delimično.

"War and Peace" is a long book, sure,

"Rat i mir" je obimna knjiga, svakako,

but it's also a thrilling examination of history,

ali je takođe uzbudljivo istorijsko propitivanje,

populated with some of the deepest, most realistic characters you'll find anywhere.

u kojoj su neki od najproduhovljenijih, najrealističnijih likova uopšte.

And if its length intimidates you, just image how poor Tolstoy felt.

A ako vas dužina knjige plaši, samo zamislite kako se siroti Tolstoj osećao.

In 1863, he set out to write a short novel about a political dissident

Godine 1863, zaputio se da napiše kratak roman o političkom disidentu

returning from exile in Siberia.

koji se vraćao iz izgnanstva u Sibiru.

Five years later, he had produced a 1,200 page epic

Pet godina kasnije je stvorio epski roman od 1200 strana,

featuring love stories,

koji sadrži ljubavne priče,

battlefields,

bankruptcies,

bojna polja,

bankrotstva,

firing squads,

streljačke vodove,

religious visions,

religijske vizije,

the burning of Moscow,

spaljivanje Moskve

and a semi-domesticated bear,

i polupitomog medveda,

but no exile and no political dissidents.

ali bez izgnanstva i političkih disidenata.

Here's how it happened.

Evo kako je došlo do toga.

Tolstoy, a volcanic soul,

Tolstoj, vulkanska duša,

was born to a famously eccentric aristocratic family in 1828.

rođen 1828. u čuvenoj aristokratskoj porodici ekscentrika.

By the time he was 30, he had already dropped out of Kazan University,

Do 30. godine već se bio ispisao sa Kazanjskog univerziteta,

gambled away the family fortune,

prokockao je porodično bogatstvo,

joined the army,

pridružio se vojsci,

written memoirs,

napisao memoare

and rejected the literary establishment to travel Europe.

i odbacio je književni establišment kako bi putovao Evropom.

He then settled into Yasnaya Polyana, his ancestral mansion,

Potom se skrasio u Jasnoj Poljani, u rezidenciji njegovih predaka

to write about the return of the Decembrists,

kako bi pisao o povratku dekabrista,

a band of well-born revolutionaries pardoned in 1856 after 30 years in exile.

grupi dobrostojećih revolucionara koji su pomilovani nakon 30 godina progonstva.

But, Tolstoy thought,

Ali Tolstoj je pomislio:

how could he tell the story of the Decembrists return from exile

kako da ispriča priču o povratku dekabrista iz progonstva

without telling the story of 1825,

a da ne ispriča priču o 1825,

when they revolted against the conservative Tsar Nicholas I?

kada su se pobunili protiv konzervativnog cara Nikolaja II?

And how could he do that without telling the story of 1812,

I kako da to uradi, a da ne ispriča priču o 1812,

when Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia

kada je Napoleonova katastrofalna invazija Rusije

helped trigger the authoritarianism the Decembrists were rebelling against?

potpomogla pokretanju autoritarizma protiv kog su se pobunili dekabristi?

And how could he tell the story of 1812 without talking about 1805,

I kako da ispriča priču o 1812 a da ne govori o 1805,

when the Russians first learned of the threat Napoleon posed

kada su Rusi prvi put saznali za pretnju od Napoleona,

after their defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz?

nakon njihovog poraza u bici kod Austerlica?

So Tolstoy began writing,

Te je Tolstoj počeo da piše,

both about the big events of history

i o velikim istorijskim događajima

and the small lives that inhabit those events.

i o malim životima koji su naseljavali te događaje.

He focused on aristocrats, the class he knew best.

Usredsredio se na aristokratiju, klasu koju je najbolje poznavao.

The book only occasionally touches

Knjiga tek ovlaš dodiruje

on the lives of the vast majority of the Russian population,

živote velike većine ruskog stanovništva,

koje su činili seljaci ili, pak, kmetovi,

who were peasants, or even serfs,

farmers bound to serve the owners of the land on which they lived.

zemljoradnici osuđeni da služe vlasnicima zemlje na kojoj su živeli.

"War and Peace" opens on the eve of war between France and Russia.

"Rat i mir" počinje uoči rata između Francuske i Rusije.

Aristocrats at a cocktail party fret about the looming violence,

Aristokratija na koktelskoj zabavi paniči zbog nadolazećeg nasilja,

but then change the topic to those things aristocrats always seem to care about:

ali potom menja temu na ono o čemu je aristokratija izgleda oduvek marila:

money,

novac,

sex,

seks

and death.

i smrt.

This first scene is indicative

Prva scena nagoveštava

of the way the book bounces between the political and personal

način na koji knjiga poskakuje između političkog i ličnog,

over an ever-widening canvas.

duž platna koje se stalno širi.

There are no main characters in "War and Peace."

"Rat i mir" nema glavne junake.

Instead, readers enter a vast interlocking web

Umesto toga, čitaoci ulaze u ogromnu isprepletenu mrežu

of relationships and questions.

veza i pitanja.

Will the hapless and illegitimate son of a count

Hoće li nesrećni i nepriznati sin grofa

marry a beautiful but conniving princess?

oženiti prelepu, ali nestašnu princezu?

Will his only friend survive the battlefields of Austria?

Hoće li njegov jedini prijatelj preživeti austrijska ratišta?

And what about that nice young girl falling in love with both men at once?

A šta je sa onom finom devojkom koja se zaljubila u dva muškarca odjednom?

Real historical figures mix and mingle with all these fictional folk,

Stvarne istorijske ličnosti se mešaju i druže sa svim tim fiktivnim likovima,

Napoleon appears several times,

Napoleon se pojavljuje nekoliko puta,

and even one of Tolstoy's ancestors plays a background part.

a čak i jedan od Tolstojevih predaka igra sporednu ulogu.

But while the characters and their psychologies are gripping,

Međutim, dok nas likovi i njihove psihologije opčinjavaju,

Tolstoy is not afraid to interrupt the narrative

Tolstoj ne preže od prekidanja pripovedanja

to pose insightful questions about history.

kako bi postavio pronicljiva pitanja o istoriji.

Why do wars start?

Zašto ratovi počinju?

What are good battlefield tactics?

Koje su dobre taktike na bojnom polju?

Do nations rise and fall on the actions of so-called great men like Napoleon,

Da li nacije nastaju i nestaju na delima takozvanih velikih ljudi, poput Napoleona

ili imamo na delu šire kulturološke i ekonomske sile?

or are there larger cultural and economic forces at play?

These extended digressions are part of what make "War and Peace"

Ove obimne digresije su delimičan razlog zašto "Rat i mir"

so panoramic in scope.

ima tako panoramski opseg.

But for some 19th century critics,

Međutim, za neke kritičare iz XIX veka

this meant "War and Peace" barely felt like a novel at all.

ovo je značilo da "Rat i mir" jedva da izgleda kao roman.

It was a "large, loose, baggy monster," in the words of Henry James.

Bilo je to "veliko, labavo, nezgrapno čudovište", prema rečima Henrija Džejmsa.

Tolstoy, in fact, agreed.

Tolstoj se zapravo složio.

To him, novels were a western European form.

Za njega, romani su bili zapadnoevropski oblik.

Russian writers had to write differently because Russian people lived differently.

Ruski pisci su morali drugačije da pišu jer je ruski narod živeo drugačije.

"What is 'War and Peace'?" he asked.

"Šta je 'Rat i mir'?" pitao je.

"It is not a novel.

"Nije roman.

Still less an epic poem.

Još manje je epska pesma.

Still less a historical chronicle.

Još manje je istorijski letopis.

'War and Peace' is what the author wanted and was able to express

'Rat i mir' je ono što je pisac želeo i mogao da izrazi

in the form in which it was expressed."

u obliku u kom je izraženo."

It is, in other words, the sum total of Tolstoy's imaginative powers,

To je, drugim rečima, zbir ukupnih Tolstojevih sila mašte

and nothing less.

i ništa manje.

By the time "War and Peace" ends,

Dok se "Rat i mir" okonča,

Tolstoy has brought his characters to the year 1820,

Tolstoj je doveo svoje likove do 1820. godine,

36 years before the events he originally hoped to write about.

36 godina pre događaja o kojima je prvobitno priželjkivao da piše.

In trying to understand his own times,

Pokušavajući da razume svoje vreme,

he had become immersed in the years piled up behind him.

postao je zadubljen u godine koje su se nagomilale iza njega.

The result is a grand interrogation into history,

Rezultat je veličanstveno preispitivanje istorije,

culture,

kulture,

philosophy,

filozofije,

psychology,

psihologije

and the human response to war.

i ljudske reakcije na rat.