What kind of life?

IF YOU WERE a character in a novel what kind of life would you have? Would it be a logical series of plot points, each leading to the next? A well-designed life with few surprises, some success, and a goal of simply getting to the end in a planned and thoughtful way? That might be a good life, full of pleasure and free of misfortune.

Or would you prefer to play it by ear, to live a life buffeted by unexpected, unexplained occurrences, pushing or pulling you through the years? A life of happenstance where a chance meeting could shift your direction, and where history and the stresses of the world intrude.

If your character is living in the 21st century only the second option applies. There is nothing well planned or thoughtful about the year 2020.

I am thinking about this because I've been reading a lot. The abridged version of War and Peace that I reread not long ago is a satisfying novel. But the 1215-page version clarifies the depth and shallowness of the characters, most of whom live randomly, without intention, but always according to society's rigid expectations. In both versions, when Napoleon and history disrupt Russian society, the characters struggle to maintain their equilibrium. But their lives—without awareness in some cases—are forever changed.

Tolstoy spends a good deal of time and a great many words defining and discussing history and the effect it has on those who live through historic periods. He grants God a role in world events but he resists even Napoleon when he denies the "great man" theory and instead favors the accident, the mood, the misunderstandings, the enthusiasms, the beliefs—even the hurt feelings—of those involved.

For Tolstoy, and for me, it is our humanness that shapes history. It is the collective action of the nonessential workers: the cooks, farm and factory workers, doctors, nurses, bus drivers, grocery clerks, mail carriers, the stay-at-homes. It is they who provide the movement, creativity and hard work that forces historic change. There is no great man directing our story.

The president will be disappointed.