There are so many stories in this one novel that it is hardly possible to do it justice in a short reflection or even in a well researched doctorate thesis.

I recently spoke to a person of about my age who shared with me the sense of "growing up" as a reader once we had mastered the more than lengthy story some time in our late teenage years. It became a hurdle to pass to count as a "grown-up reader". When we tried to specify the challenge of the long, long reading hours in our young, young minds, we noticed another thing we shared: we had both impatiently skimmed over the "frustrating" parts of the plot to get to what we considered "the core".

Happy to find an external mirror of our fond reading memories, we expanded - and were both quite astonished!

I "obviously" skimmed through the "boring" military passages, eagerly hoping for the various human relationships to develop. My conversation partner did THE OPPOSITE, and was just as surprised about my preferences as I was about his reading habits. To him, the obvious charm of the book lay in the historical narrative, and he couldn't care less about the "love stuff".

Now I wonder what my older self would make of this novel. Seems there are several layers to the initiation rite of mastering THE Tolstoy novel...

i am going to be so insufferable after i finish reading this book in three months

reading four chapters a day with griffin so i can catch up with emma because i was supposed to start this september 1 (i love you i'm sorry)

Video now available: https://youtu.be/6LmUlaRM-74

I sincerely doubt that I will ever read this book again, or ever feel any desire to. I can certainly see how and why it has secured its place as part of the canon, but I did not find the characters and their lives compelling enough to overcome the annoyance I felt with Tolstoy's personal vision of history and life in general.

There were moments when I came to care about what was going on in the book. I sympathized with Prince Andrey's broken heart and Pierre's search for meaning and I was genuinely interested in what choice Nikolay would make in regards to Sonya and Marya... some of the time. Prince Andrey recedes into the background in the latter half of the book, only to reappear briefly so that he can die a sudden, anticlimactic and boring death. Pierre meanders so aimlessly between various ideas and goals that I could only become frustrated with him and Nikolay is at times such a flat lifeless character that I could not care at all about him one way or the other. War and Peace is so large that no story line ever comes to fruition and instead of being a truly complex epic it seemed to me that it was only the raw material from which several great books could have been made.

Without any genuine interest in the characters I could only hope that War and Peace would be, in some way, intellectually interesting but I found it even more deficient in this regard. Tolstoy does not believe in free will, great men, the usefulness of rational thought, or military science. I know these things because Tolstoy uses these ideas like a cudgel, beating the reader about the head and shoulders. He does not trust in the reader enough to allow them to draw the ideas from the story and so makes numerous digressions to explain the same opinion as he just explained some fifty pages ago, using almost the same words, as often as not. Worse yet, the second epiloge is devoted exclusively to reiterating them one final time, using only the barest semblance of a rational argument, which is hardly surprising since he has already told us time and again that it is impossible to change any ones mind using words, and the only knowledge that matters is that which comes from ones gut and mystical revelation.

In final summation, the only other book that has ever produced such a visceral exhasperation in me is Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Perhaps, as with Atlas Shrugged, time will change my opinion of War and Peace, but I am not hopeful

The first review was from 2020 and as you can see it didn't go very well reading that time. But I for some reason wanted to tackle this beast and so I did. It took me 15 days whitch is rare for me but even though it took both time and a lot of effort, I really enjoyed it. Leo Tolstoy definitely was a talented writer and in the hand of some other authors this might been a massive boredom to read bit it really wasn't. And luckily wasn't very difficult to read, just the length of it makes it somewhat challenging. But I'm glad I spend my 15 days on it and don't feel like I've wasted time

---

DNF at 60 % I've tried to get into the book for days and hoping that the next chapter will be more my thing. I really wanted to like this huge classic but I just don't. It was a real struggle to read 60% and I almost cried of boredom. I didn't see the point of the book or even enjoyed a little bit. I might give this a book another try in some years to see if my feelings have changed but for now I refuse to read another page

This was a lengthy read but worth it's weight. To put it simple: there's war, there's peace, and there's human spirit set in early 19th century Russia. The foreground plot follows multiple key family-characters (Bezukhov, Bolkonsky, Rostov, and various historical figures) their interactions and interpersonal conflicts. The background plot is Napoleon's invasion into Russia.

Tolstoy can paint a picture in his storytelling. There was a romantic troika ride written a snowy-winter landscape:

Nikolay followed on behind the first sledge, and after him came the other two, crunching and grating. As they drove down past the garden, the leafless trees sometimes cast shadows right across the road and hid the bright moonlight. But once they were out of the gates, the snowy plain, glittering with diamonds in a wash of midnight-blue, opened out on all sides, quiescent and bathed in moonlight. pg. 576

...staring down at her face, bright in the moonlight. He slipped his hands under the coat she had thrown over head, put his arms around her, pulled her close and kissed her lips. Sonya kissed him back full on the lips, freed her tiny hands and cupped his cheeks with them.
'Sonya!'
'Nikolay!'
That was all they said.
They ran over to the barn and when they returned to the house they went by different porches. pg. 581.

My favorite character was Pierre Bezukhov. He is described as 'quixotic' and I think that's spot on. Throughout the story he continually searches for the meaning of life. Some of his internal reflections include "What is bad and what's good? What should we love and what should we hate? What is life? What is death?", pg. 375. One of the more descriptive sections was when Pierre meets a Freemason and starts an inquisitive conversation. This leads him looking into Masonry and he eventually becomes a fellow Brother Mason. Over time, he becomes disenfranchised with the organization and leaves to continue his search in life.

The story's battle scenes are lengthy and well-written with descriptive imagery. A veteran during the Crimean War himself, Tolstoy was able to capture battlefield experiences on paper.

In one terrific bang shrapnel flew like matchwood with the overwhelming smell of gunpowder and Prince Andrey was sent flying to one side with one arm in the air, and he fell to the ground face-down. He was bleeding from the stomach on the right-hand side, and a great stain was oozing out all over the grass. pg. 900

The plot runs Napoleon's 1805 campaign, the Battle of Austerlitz, the 1812 campaign, and the Battle at Borodino. The appendix in the back contains map templates of all four offensives/engagements.

Overall I thought this was a remarkable story. The writing can be lengthy and tedious at times but is fantastic. I'm probably going to read this again because of stuff I missed first time through. I would recommend this masterpiece of literature to anyone. Thanks!

Well, well, well. How to write a review for the book that changed me in ways I could never put to words? War and Peace transcends genre, categorization, and literature as a whole. It is a universal commentary on the brutality of war and how its violence affects everyone from soldiers on the battlefield to socialites in drawing rooms, and all those in between. Within its (intimidating I’ll admit) 1,350 pages you’ll find star-crossed love stories, the most vividly crafted characters ever written, head-spinning philosophy, raw depictions of historical events, and so much more. It is a story of life and dead, of love and loss, of solitude and companionship, of war and peace. And though this is certainly not the book for everyone, I believe that everyone can certainly get something out of reading it.

Before picking this up, I never believed that a work of literature could affect me so profoundly and in so many ways. While I predicted loving it, the extent at which I do is still hitting me like a ton of bricks and I never want the beautiful scars of reading it to fade.The many people dwelling inside these pages have become so personal to me, it seems impossible that I only met them a month ago. Natasha, Pierre, and Andrei, so delicately intertwined by fate, explode off the page and straight into your heart. After hours upon hours spent in their stories, they become dear as friends to whoever is reading. Tolstoy has crafted this book so intimately that after a certain point you feel not only as if you know these characters, but that you yourself are one of them. By the end of my experience I wasn’t weeping for them, but with them; our tears, love, and grief in harmony.

I owe so much to this story, for it has truly changed me for the better. War and Peace has transformed the way I see myself and other people, expanded my knowledge and views on war, gave me some of the first characters I could truly see myself in, reminded me how beautiful literature can be, and much more that I could never describe with words. A piece of my soul has fallen into this story, and I have no plans to fish it out any time soon. If you want a book with prose so breathtaking that you can’t see the words through your tears, one with such agonizing tragedy that your heart and stomach will be weights within you, or one with characters so real you could reach out and touch them… look no further!

Now I’m not going to sit here and talk about how I was never bored, understood every word, and enjoyed every second of my reading experience since that would be a bold-faced lie. In fact I’ll admit that if someone put a gun to my head and asked me to summarize any of the battlefield chapters… bye bye world, tell my mom I love her! Though there were many times where I felt like throwing this book across the wall and yelling at Tolstoy to shut up, in a way I’m glad for those sections because they truly made my connection to the characters stronger. Through the hours of yawning and glazed eyes I began to miss them, and when the story finally circled back to Natasha or Pierre or even Andrei (who I honestly hated for the first few hundred pages), it was like coming home to the people I love.

While reading this, I think it is important to note that Sofia Tolstoya (Tolstoy’s wife) had heavy influence on this work of art, and transcribed the manuscript seven times by hand! All the while being abused by her husband and caring for their 13 children single-handedly so he could write. It is vital to acknowledge that War and Peace, though an iconic masterpiece, was created at the expense of this woman’s life and happiness. Do not forget her or her contributions that history has attempted to erase!

I know many of you want to delve into this book, but are (rightfully) intimidated by its vastness and dense material. Starting War and Peace is what I can only describe as getting into a relationship. It requires commitment, time, and love. All of these you will need in order to be fulfilled in your experience.

My advice!

1. Put yourself on a schedule, and stick to it! I read 45 pages every day to finish it in a month (which is extreme and not what I’d recommend), but it’s so easy to put this book down when you hit a boring section and never pick it up again which would be a shame!
2. Read from the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation; it is known as the best, especially considering they were friends of Tolstoy and worked with him during the process. A bad translation can completely ruin a story and its prose, so double check your edition before reading it.
3. Annotate, annotate, annotate!!! Don’t be afraid to mark up your copy if you choose to buy one! You will get so much more out of this story if you do, trust me.
4. Gather some basic knowledge of the time period. I watched The Napoleonic Wars Oversimplified videos on YouTube, which helped me to better understand and retain the information presented in the text.
5. No one will skin you alive for skimming through the boring parts. You can skip a lot without missing too much of the central story, but always pay attention to dialogue and characters even in the war scenes.
6. Sit back and let the book wash over you! Reading War and Peace becomes so much easier when you don’t stress over all the characters and how they relate to each other; only about 10-20 of the 500+ characters you’ll meet will actually be important.

Reading War and Peace has marked a huge milestone in my life, and I’m so lucky to be one of millions who have been touched by its beauty. My heart is full of love for not only this book and it’s characters, but for life and the world itself. In the words of Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, “I want to weep for joy.”

Books around the globe: Russia

“The whole world is split in two for me now: one half is her, and it’s all happiness, hope and light; the other is not her, and it’s all misery and darkness.”
- Prince Andrey

It is hard to believe that a novel such as War and Peace, that is usually considered one of the greatest novels ever written, has been almost a disappointing reading experience for me. Overall the book was good, however, it was by no means a favorite read of mine, and not because of Tolstoy's writing style—a prose that is really impressive, fascinating to say the least—but because of the story that didn't live up to my expectations at all.
Even Henry James, one of my favorite authors, said in his preface to The Tragic Muse that Peace and War (now I can see why he decided to change the order of the title: in my opinion, 20% war, 80% peace) is a loose baggy monster with queer elements of the accidental and the arbitrary, and where he wonders what this piece of work means, artistically speaking. Perhaps I disagree with James—man, you can't call a novel 'loose' and 'baggy' when you actually wrote one, The Golden Bowl, that is not necessarily an understandable and to-the-point story, let's be honest here, yet it is still an all-time favorite of mine—but I agree on the fact that War and Peace is really a monster, a big monster that comes from a terrifying dream, and a story that feels like clothes scattered on the floor.

Let's be honest (again): it has been a while since I read a book where I couldn't care less for its characters. Writing my thoughts here, I realize that I couldn't feel empathy or sympathy for them, or at least for most of them. Though there were two characters who were somewhat important for me, eventually these characters 'disappeared' from the story, and consequently I lost interest in what could happen after such events. Don't get me wrong, I do believe both characters' development and plot are really well written and depicted, and even I found myself enjoying the story at the beginning, but at some point I just wanted to finish the book and move on to a new story.
When I said the story feels like 'clothes scattered on the floor,' I really meant it; sorry, but I can't help remembering the great amount of plots and subplots that this novel has and where everything feels really untidy, so to speak. For instance, when I was enjoying the story between character A and character B, suddenly a new story came and now we had to focus on character C and/or character D for a long time, then character E and/or character F, and so on and so forth; this kind of novel, where we don't know anything about the story of one character for a long period of time since there are a lot (really, a lot) of chapters in between concerning other characters or non-fiction stuff, was definitely not for me, especially when it comes to characters who I don't care about (unlike—for instance—Moby Dick, a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading). Moreover, there are some subplots that never had a proper ending, it was as though the author had forgotten to finish those stories, which was rather disappointing, notwithstanding my disinterest in them.

Even though my experience was far from being the best, I found the prose really captivating and genuinely beautiful, easy to read and very understandable, as everything I have read by Tolstoy thus far. Also, I read a review recently where someone said War and Peace is like a soap opera, with a lot of gossipy, entertaining stories inside, and certainly it is, I would agree on that; unfortunately, that wasn't enough for me. Now, I must confess that at times I found the narrative rather repetitive and boring (boring because of Tolstoy's thoughts being repetitive). It was a constant repetition of non-fiction statements about history, politics, the Napoleonic Wars, etc., and honestly, I never understood the purpose of it (the purpose of being so repetitive). For instance, when I was reading the epilogues, the first one seemed to be fine, albeit its different tone and pace with respect to the rest of the book, but the second epilogue, holy cow! I literally couldn't finish reading it; again, the author is rambling on the same topics as if his life depended on it, he just keeps going on and on and without saying anything else. I didn't care about it either, and since a friend of mine told me it wasn't necessary to read it, I just gave up before finishing chapter 4 (hopefully nobody is going to judge me for skimming those first chapters and for skipping the last ones).

Unlike Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, a book that I don't plan to read ever again, I believe I need to pick up War and Peace in the future (probably in 5 years or more) and to see if my thoughts on it can change. Perhaps the fact that I spent a lot of time reading it as well as the great amount of characters made me have such an experience, I am nevertheless very optimistic about a second read where my expectations won't be too high; additionally, I'd like to point out that the translation was by no means a problem here, it actually made me enjoy both the prose and some plots. Speaking of which, I chose to read the Anthony Briggs' translation for one only reason: there are no passages in French in the entire edition. Since I don't speak French—I don't even know how to say 'good morning' in French, despite the fact that one of my best friends is from Lyon—I wasn't into reading an edition where some parts of the text and mainly the dialogue were in French along with the same text in English as footnotes, going back and forth every now and then while I read it, so the best translation I could find was definitely the Anthony Briggs'. In my view, it was a good translation, straightforward yet poetic at times—perhaps this is just Tolstoy's style of writing after all—although it felt kind of modern, and when it comes to nineteenth century novels I prefer a not-too-modern translation, basically as if I were reading the original text. That being said, I'd highly recommend this translation, since it made me keep reading the novel until the end despite it all.
Finally, I also listened to the audiobook with the same translation at the end—mainly volume 4 and epilogues(?)—but in this case I wouldn't recommend it. Not only did I have to pay 8 dollars for it, but also I found a really bad edition in terms of the narration; sometimes, for instance, the narrator 'repeated' the same passage twice, and other times his voice was so low I could scarcely hear what he was saying. Honestly, I have done better audiobooks on LibriVox for free. On the other hand, since I only had the opportunity to do the last fifteen hours, probably the first volumes are okay—there are about five narrators for the whole novel—though I can't put my finger on it. At the end of the day, if there were some flaws in the last part, there might be similar flaws throughout the whole thing. In short, it's not worth the money.

I know this review turned out to be a personal opinion rather than an objective one, but it is what it is; I just wanted to say nothing but the truth, the whole truth based on my own experience. All in all, War and Peace was not what I had in mind; however, I promise I would give myself a second chance to read the book again in the distant future (I could try a different translation too, who knows) – hopefully my experience will be much better the next time.

Έγραφα έγραφα , αλλα μετα πήγα να κανω μια δουλεια και χάθηκε η κριτικη μου ετσι απλα και λιτά ΔΙΑΒΑΣΤΕ ΤΟ
Update:
Ανάμεσα στο δίλλημα Τολστόι η Ντοστογιεφσκι, απαντώ Τολστόι .
Αυτο το βιβλιο δίνει νέο νόημα στον όρο ιστορικό μυθιστόρημα-before it was cool-.
O Τολστόι, μέλος της ρωσικής αριστοκρατίας , ειχε πρόσβαση στα επίσημα αρχεία της ρωσικής αυλης και μπόρεσε να βρει επίσημα έγγραφα και γράμματα της εποχής των ναπολεόντειων πολέμων,τα οποια ενσωμάτωσε στο μυθιστόρημα μαζι με περιγραφές σκηνών απο μαχες και διαφόρων διηγήσεων απο την αποχή . Ενας μοντερνισμός Πεν τον μοντερνισμό . Τα έγγραφα και πι διηγήσεις αφορούσαν τον πόλεμο. Ομως τι γινόταν μετην Ειρήνη;
Εκει ο συγγραφεας χρησημοποιησε με υπέροχη πολυπρόσωπη τοιχογραφία γεμάτη ερωτα και προδοσία ώσπου στο τέλος οι ήρωες να φτάσουν στο ειρηνικό ευτυχισμένο τέλος.

Ομως ο Τολστόι δεν σταματάει εκει . Σχόλια για την ιστορια τον ιστορικό χρονο , τη χρονικότητα, τις διαφορετικές οπτικές γωνιές την υπαρξιακή αγωνία και την μεγαλη Αγωνία του Θανάτου-και την συμφιλίωση με αυτόν-δημιουργούν ενα διαμάντι .

I always believed War and Peace was one of my three favourite novels. Now, after reading it a second time, I'm no longer certain I would include it in my favourite 20. Without question, to my mind, Anna Karenina is the better novel.

On the positive side, it's astonishing how well Tolstoy knows all his characters and how vibrantly he brings them alive on the page. There's so much of life in this book. It's a marvel how brilliantly he dramatizes many of life's key emotions. The first four hundred or so pages are a joy to read. But then there's the war. He's brilliant at the action scenes but it's his digressions that wearied me. At one point I couldn't help imagining him on a soapbox at Hyde Park corner (perhaps alongside DH Lawrence, another brilliant writer who once he got an idea in his head relentlessly bludgeoned you with it). Towards the end it's almost as if his ambition is to make each new page even more unreadable than the previous one. It was like he become the drunken fixated bore at what previously seemed a promising dinner party.

I think one could make a strong case for only reading half this novel. But, in that case, is it really a great novel?

do I get a prize if I finish this?

BOOK ONE - PART ONE
so far all I know is Tolstoy loves to yap and gossip. I’ve met so many characters and it only took 100 pages for me to piece together who is who. I was definitely intimated before starting this, but it surprisingly reads much faster and easier. it’s still daunting to know I’m only 8% through the book, but slow and steady wins the race.

BOOK ONE - PART TWO
So the war has officially started for our characters and tbh they are fairly well off. Given their aristocratic status, they have pretty comfortable positions or just ride around on horseback throughout most of the battle. It's surprising how many of the men romanticize being in battle.

BOOK ONE - PART THREE
Pierre’s only thoughts toward his potential future fiancée were „she’s so ugly” and that’s kind of rough. Rostov fangirling over the emperor Alexander was goofy. Napoleon having a cameo and dialogue were unexpected and shocked me to my core.

BOOK TWO - PART ONE
marriages!!! proposals!!! finally some romance
or NOT (because they both failed)

BOOK TWO - PART TWO
It only took him 400 pages to bring up religion

BOOK TWO - PART THREE
we finally have romance!!! yay!!!!
but it’s between a 16 year old female and a 31 year old male……………..

BOOK TWO - PART FOUR
There were many chapters on hunting (unnecessary) and Natasha being a brat. Best of all we have (an age appropriate) romance blossoming after cross dressing. Did Tostoy actually write in some fruity characters?

BOOK TWO - PART FIVE
I was not expecting a love triangle so quickly. By far my favorite quote is “you shameless slut” directed at Natasha (because she entirely deserved it).

BOOK THREE - PART ONE
Napoleon = 666 (checks out)

BOOK THREE - PART TWO
You know this war is serious when Pierre finally enlists

BOOK THREE - PART THREE
Natasha: annoying
Andrei: annoying by association
Pierre (my fave): (barely) attempts to kill napoleon (only in his thoughts), ends up besties with a Frenchman, and adopting a child
Napoleon: fangirling over being in Moscow
Rest of em: irrelevant or probably dead idek

BOOK FOUR - PART ONE
If any of these characters died, I would not care. In fact, I’d applaud it.

BOOK FOUR - PART TWO
The only people I recognize in this part are Napoleon and Pierre, so most of this was confusing.

BOOK FOUR - PART THREE
I think there was war at this part but I honestly can’t remember because everything blurred together.

BOOK FOUR - PART FOUR
How is Natasha capable of attracting this many men? She’s got to be one of the worst female characters I’ve ever read.

EPILOGUE - PART ONE
Natasha in this part is acting exactly how I’d expect her to act and god is it infuriating.

EPILOGUE - PART TWO
did we really need a part two?? I sincerely don’t think so

FINAL THOUGHTS
I did it!!!! Yay!!!! I never want to do this again!!!!

"She kept thinking that no one could understand all that she understood and all there was in her."

Approximately from the start of book three (middle of the whole War and Peace) onwards, the focus massively shifts to military strategy and the specifics of the Napoleonic campaign, and those parts were really difficult to get through. I missed the main characters and wasn't interested. But the first half is inexpressibly beautiful.


*To my Italian friends: io ho acquistato anni fa l'edizione della BUR solo per scoprire che le parti in francese non sono tradotte. Perciò ho recentemente acquistato la versione ebook della Garzanti che non solo ha una traduzione che io trovo scorrevolissima e piacevolissima, ma anche tutte le note del caso e le traduzioni dal francese. Quando avrò modo comprerò anche il cartaceo Garzanti. Per cui, se volete il mio consiglio sull'edizione da scegliere, senza alcun dubbio andate sulla Garzanti, o comunque accertatevi che l'edizione che acquistate traduca il francese.