War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | Only imposing in length.

War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | War & Peace

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War and Peace

	War and Peace Leo Tolstoy Knopf, 2007 - 1296 pages average customer review:based on 61 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Only imposing in length.

I found my way to Tolstoy circumvently by way of other Russian authors. It seems all roads lead to the count one way or another when it comes to Russian literature.
Certainly in my youth the expression, "It isn't 'War and Peace'!" was a sarcastic and thoughtless epitaph when trying to get through a book or writing something. Well, this edition takes the academic intimidation off the novel and makes it a completely readable and (who'd of guessed?)enjoyable experience.
Make no mistake- it's long. The joke holds water in that regard but if it's any help even Tolstoy himself wrote it in sections and volumes published seperately.
Like any work of vision, this book teaches you how to read it. Some have argued about the extensive french in this edition (overstated in my opinion) but the author's have placed the direct translation at the bottom of the page. It isn't an elaborate endeavor to avert one's eyes downward to read it's equivalent. Tolstoy (and thus his translators) thought it important that the Russian's spoke french extensively to exemplify how prevalent that culture was saturated into the aristocracy before it was their deadly enemy.
Volokhonsky and Pevear, the translating team, retain the original poetic intention of Tolstoy's writing in various points to some readers disdain. I find it beautiful and correct.
Tolstoy made clear he wasn't writing a novel (of european invention)or trying to obey any form besides the very expression he felt apporpriate to convey his story and characters. It is essentially Russian and is simply to be taken or left for it's own worth.
Aside from the artistic and ambitious translation (an art unto itself), I found the book inspiring, despairing and beautiful. A history lesson, a contemplation of the divine and a love story.
If that doesn't appeal then don't place this brick on your lap for the weeks or months it takes to consume. But if you do, I doubt you'll regret the journey.

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War & Peace

I read War & Peace when I was 18 years old and now that I am 70 I have read the new fantastic translation and I think it should be required reading for every college graduate and then be read again with age. Tolstoy has much to inform us on the folly of war and love and a narrative that is a sheer pleasure to read. My only complaint is the weight of one volume ... one needs a dictionary stand.

A sweeping, unforgettable epic

This was my first time to read Tolstoy and this book is staggering in its breadth, skill and insight. Tolstoy wears many hats in this book--historian, theologian, psychologist, philosopher, military strategist, political scientist, ethicist--and he wears them all exceedingly well. The sheer scope of this novel (if indeed one can call it merely a novel) is remarkable. The battle scenes are stark and real, stripping off the tidy veneer that history puts on such events; not graphic or gruesome, just showing the human side of soldiers in the face of danger and death. The affairs of the Bolkonskys and Rostovs provide profound insights into good and evil, life and death, and those universal things that comprise human nature. Tolstoy's satirical comments on Napolean and the genius historians ascribe to him are well-founded and thought-provoking.

When all is said and done, however, it is the spiritual journey of Pierre Bezukhov that is the highlight of the book for me. You see clearly in this characater the expression of Tolstoy's own sirituality and the parallels are magnificent. This is a wonderful story about life, history, family and what it means to be human. While incredibly dense, this book is worth the time and effort. Highly recommended.

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At Last, An Accessible Translation

The Peaver/Volokhonsky translation makes this classic accessible and quite readable. The book is about the people and dynamics around the Napoleonic invasion of Russia in 1812; it is filled with interesting people and thoughtful insights. This topic needed the 1215 pages. If you have ever wanted to be able to brag about reading this book, I would highly recommend this translation.

good translation, but could be better...

The translation itself is very good, but I agree with other reviewers that maps of the places described would be very helpful. For the price of the book, and the prestige of the translators, this shortcoming is noticeable. And, I agree with those who bemoan the tiny print in which the numerous French passages are translated. I think a better way to indicate when the characters speak French is to use italics (but in English).

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