War and Peace Volume 2 Book 5 Chapter 17

In which Rostóv, unsettled by anxious thoughts of a wounded friend, ventures into a grim and ravaged hospital where the air is thick with sickness and despair, and the soldiers lie in silent suffering amidst broken surroundings. He is confronted with the stark realities of war’s toll, witnessing the haunting faces of the wounded and the weary attendants who bear their heavy burden.