Name: War and Peace
Rating: 4.128676470588236 (272 reviews)

L. N. Tolstoi

A Novel

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics)

M. Sosotris

What a spectacular read!

This was an incredible reading experience, and I’m glad I took my time. The character arcs, the scope, the breadth of historical analysis, this book is a JOURNEY. Much like the digressions in Les Miserables, the historical essays that punctuate the second half of the book really do feel like they add to the human drama. It gives us a birds-eye view of the Napoleonic Wars, and explores the way it affected the Russian people’s conception of themself as well as the fictions that crept up during the war as people struggled to make sense of what was happening.

Pair that with the exquisite characters and their long complex arcs, you really get a sense that you’re living this war alongside them. When Pierre is doubting his reality and battling his own ideas of morality, you really feel like you understand him.

Don’t be put off by the length. The chapters are decently short, and you can enjoy this book over time in smaller chunks if need be. This isn’t a book to be rushed through (something I learned after finishing a section I hadn’t followed well and then plowing on rather than waiting and making sense of what I read).

Overall, this was a phenomenal book, and I would HIGHLY recommend it!

Widely regarded as the greatest novel in any language, War and Peace is primarily concerned with the histories of five aristocratic families--particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs--the members of which are portrayed against a vivid background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon (1805-14). The theme of war, however, is subordinate to the story of family existence, which involves Tolstoy's optimistic belief in the life-asserting pattern of human existence. The heroine, Natasha Rostova, for example, reaches her greatest fulfilment through her marriage to Pierre Bezukhov and her motherhood. The novel also sets forth a theory of history, concluding that there is a minimum of free choice; all is ruled by an inexorable historical determinism

Lives up to the hype. After 3 months of reading, I felt as if I lived in there. They are my friends. Pierre, a brother to us all. The epilogue, I may never fully comprehend, it feels an odd way to end, but what isn’t. I can’t believe this book happened, and has happened to so many, many people, including myself. 

Adam Scharf

Erik Craigo

Sercan Y.

Görkemli bir başyapıt... Piyer, kutuzov, nataşa, andrey ve tabiki napolyon gibi unutulmaz karakterlere sahip bir başyapıt..herkesin okuma deneyimi farklı olacaktır muhakkak ama benim açımdan okunması zor ama bir o kadar büyüleyici bir kitap "Savaş ve Barış"..Ömrüm izin verirse bir kez daha okumak isteyeceğim nadir kitaplardan..

WAR AND PEACE

Wynter

June 24, 2017:

"Было морозно и ясно. Над грязными, полутемными улицами, над черными крышами стояло темное звездное небо. Пьер, только глядя на небо, не чувствовал оскорбительной низости всего земного в сравнении с высотою, на которой находилась его душа. При въезде на Арбатскую площадь огромное пространство звездного темного неба открылось глазам Пьера. Почти в середине этого неба над Пречистенским бульваром, окруженная, обсыпанная со всех сторон звездами, но отличаясь от всех близостью к земле, белым светом и длинным, поднятым кверху хвостом, стояла огромная яркая комета 1812-го года, та самая комета, которая предвещала, как говорили, всякие ужасы и конец света. Но в Пьере светлая звезда эта с длинным лучистым хвостом не возбуждала никакого страшного чувства. Напротив, Пьер радостно, мокрыми от слез глазами смотрел на эту светлую звезду, которая как будто, с невыразимой быстротой пролетев неизмеримые пространства по параболической линии, вдруг, как вонзившаяся стрела в землю, влепилась тут в одно избранное ею место на черном небе и остановилась, энергично подняв кверху хвост, светясь и играя своим белым светом между бесчисленными другими мерцающими звездами. Пьеру казалось, что эта звезда вполне отвечала тому, что было в его расцветшей к новой жизни, размягченной и ободренной душе."

What an incredible passage to conclude the first two volumes of the greatest novel ever written! So many interpretations can be formulated from the contrasting feelings of dread by the general public and Pierre's sudden inspiration upon seeing the comet of 1812. What is to happen next? We know that superstitious feeling of doom is to be proven correct soon, when Napoleon invades Russia once again in near future. But what is to come for Pierre? 

Natasha, Natasha.... I really disliked her character at first because of her endless childishness, but it is her naïveté and tendency to follow her every changing mood with reckless abandon that gets her in a lot of trouble. Now I just feel very sorry for her, and I'm anxious to see how her destiny unfolds. Part V of Volume 2 is an incredible piece of melodrama done right. I'm so in love with Tolstoy's writing.

September 4, 2017:

I finally finished War and Peace!! That's an incredible feeling of accomplishment. Volumes 3 and 4 definitely contained many more war segments, compared to the previous two. Sometimes it was trying to get through them, but once in a while a brilliant scene would emerge and capture my attention once more (ie. Pierre as a French captive). I loved how Tolstoy brought one of the most famous Russian generals, Kutuzov, to life through his field strategy and defiant nature.

I'm a bit disappointed about Natasha's marriage in the end. (view spoiler) Contrary to popular opinion, I disliked Pierre very much. He was awkward and, frankly speaking, stupid, easily manipulated by all around him, and unable to think for himself. It was much more interesting to see the love triangle between Princess Maria, Nikolai, and Sonya unfold.

The epilogue was the most painful part, of course. Tolstoy just endlessly rambled on about his philosophical ideas, and it felt like it would never end.

However, all the human drama, so wonderfully and realistically captured in this book, made it absolutely worthwhile to persevere through the slow bits. 4.5 stars overall.

Aboobacker Sidheeq M

Romaissa Bellarbi 

Nelson Zagalo

Lido em 4 volumes, em 2016.

https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/...

Vivian

War and Peace (Wordsworth Classics) (Wordsworth Classics)

laila

The way War and Peace is, it's not a novel, it's not completely historical, it's not entirely an essay or a work of philosophy- it's all these things. War and Peace cannot in no way be clearly defined as one genre, but that structure -the form that war and peace is- it takes on so many different contradictory topics [wealth and poverty, fame and obscurity, power and subordination, strength and weakness, health and disease, culture and ignorance, work and leisure, repletion and hunger, virtue and vice, freedom and captivity, etc.] that every time you turn it around and look at it you'll see something different, and I think that's exactly Tolstoy's point. We bounce back and forth between war and having that tumultuous dreadful feeling of pain and suffering in day-to-day life and "peace", those soft, wholesome moments each character experiences.

Rare edition with unique illustrations and elegant classic cream paper. Epic historical novel by Leo Tolstoy, originally published as Voyna i mir in 1865-69. This panoramic study of early 19th-century Russian society, noted for its mastery of realistic detail and variety of psychological analysis, is generally regarded as one of the world's greatest novels. War and Peace is primarily concerned with the histories of five aristocratic families--particularly the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Rostovs--the members of which are portrayed against a vivid background of Russian social life during the war against Napoleon (1805-14). The theme of war, however, is subordinate to the story of family existence, which involves Tolstoy's optimistic belief in the life-asserting pattern of human existence. The novel also sets forth a theory of history, concluding that there is a minimum of free choice; all is ruled by an inexorable historical determinism. Includes unique illustrations.

Kay Jamieson

** spoiler alert **
           It took me 4 years to get through this book! Whew! I re-read the first “book” (its broken up into 15 books.) about 6 times. I’m more proud of myself than I should be for finishing this.

My super fast summary: There’s a War, and Napoleon was there. There are many terrible relationship matches. The characters you want to be together marry other people. People are sad and struggling. War ends, spouses die, people who belong together are finally together. There are a lot of moral questions. It’s super brilliant, but maybe needs some editing. (Seriously, your epilogue shouldn’t be 102 pages long. I’m looking at you Tolstoy.)

Cams Campbell

I read this in Russian as part of my undergraduate degree at St Andrews. I was the only final honours student who was doing single Russian, so I had pretty much to take all the modules that were on the course, including the dissertation module. My subject was a comparison of Tolstoy's novel with the 1969 movie version directed by Sergei Bondarchuk. Looking back on that period some 12 years later, it stands as one of the most useful and interesting things I did at uni.

Louise Maude

Tolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. In this revised and updated version of the definitive and highly acclaimed Maude translation, Tolstoy's genius and the power of his prose are made newly available to the contemporary reader.

Fraser Simons

Don’t @ me! 


Bit of a trudge for me. Mostly owing to the strange narrative interjections with prescriptive historical context… about history. And then I just can’t stand military/war fiction in general, so I knew this wouldn’t be a favourite. I honestly think Anna Karenina is better constructed and a masterclass on introducing themes back-to-back, building a network of connective tissue with a lot of payoff without the prescriptive methods of narrative interjections. Fiction is self generated and when authors use that to tell readers what’s right—even when they’re certainly aligned with my own ideology re: politics and nationalism and history—it generates a cognitive dissonance that really bothers me.

On top of this, description was really centered on generalities and I prefer specificity. On one hand, there’s insights that bring you into a scene, such as noting a woman being beautiful for having disproportionate lips or friends that meet after a time taking a while to find their footing for a bit. On the other it dumbs things down fairly often, reducing people to bland generalities, always always, again, around attractiveness. Something that is so subjective and pointless. 

When we get that Downton Abbey vibe and I start caring about these rich people, the voice is compelling. Anytime I care about rich people, the author is a wizard. But it became too infrequent and the interjections more intrusive. 

It absolutely has some fantastic stuff to say on history and war and power and gender dynamics (from time to time)… but it also isn’t really anything new. If I hadn’t read about these subjects. Especially if I were in high school or early 20s, I think this could be a eye opening read. I love books that trick you into learning. But it became something of a dead horse being written. Points were being made after a scene that made the point already. It’s so explicit it is grating. Over time, it does feel like it’s beating a dead horse.

Hailed as one of the greatest novels of all time, Tolstoy's epic unfolds during the Napoleonic invasion of Russia and encompasses episodes of romance and historical scope as well as insightful social observation.

Presents a new translation of the classic reflecting the life and times of Russian society during the Napoleonic Wars, in a book accompanied by an index of historical figures, textual annotation, a chapter summary, and an introduction.

Kwan Ann Tan

two years... and i'm finally done with this massive tome. would i read it again? probably not until years later tbh. for now, i'll content myself with watching the 2016 version of this & listening to the musical endlessly on repeat.

Savas Yazici

The best translation...very academic... The best part is, finally one translation keeps the French sentences untouched with translations in the footnotes. Tolstoy had a reason to keep them in French...

War and Peace A Novel

Reviews

Highlights