War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | How to read War and Peace, and enjoy it completely

War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy | A sweeping, unforgettable epic

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War and Peace

	War and Peace Leo Tolstoy Knopf, 2007 - 1296 pages average customer review:based on 58 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

From Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the best-selling, award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov, comes a brilliant, engaging, and eminently readable translation of Leo Tolstoy?s master epic.

War and Peace centers broadly on Napoleon?s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the best-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves behind his family to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman, who intrigues both men. As Napoleon?s army invades, Tolstoy vividly follows characters from diverse backgrounds?peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers?as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving?and human?figures in world literature.

Pevear and Volokhonsky have brought us this classic novel in a translation remarkable for its fidelity to Tolstoy?s style and cadence and for its energetic, accessible prose. With stunning grace and precision, this new version of War and Peace is set to become the definitive English edition.

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How to read War and Peace, and enjoy it completely

War and Peace is, without question, the greatest historical novel ever written.

However, if you carry a copy of War and Peace with you anywhere, you will be subjected to ridicule of many varieties. This, of course, says more about the critics than the reader. It tells us first that most people have largely lived their lives deprived of reading one of the most "need to read" books in Western literature.

The book, and an understanding of it, are essential for a classically liberal and comprehensive education in Western Civilization. No other single book so completely expresses the essence of a critical age in history than War and Peace. As such, the central reason to read it is that it is an efficient window into who we are and how we got here.

The customary joking and ridicule also tells us that many people have been forced to read War and Peace in school, but never understood or appreciated it. That is a very sad state of affairs. It implies a kind of abuse that comes from forcing any good thing on someone just because it is deemed good for them, and before they have a chance to understand and benefit from it.

I guess what I am saying is that this is not a book for the young, or anyone else, unless the reader is prepared and coached along the way. The only way, indeed, a youthful reader can get the lessons of War and Peace is through extensive preparation and contextual education. War and Peace requires a whole course of background to be fully revealing and illuminating.

The purpose of my review of War and Peace is not to praise it or to evaluate its literary achievements. I am simply not an expert in a position to do that.

My purpose is to draw on my experience with the book and to provide prospective readers of all ages and backgrounds with an efficient but penetrating guide that will make the journey through the pages of the book come to life and swell with enjoyment and comprehension.

For now the review will have to be a work in progress; but in the end I promise to provide a comprehensive plan of syntopical reading, complete with travel suggestions, that cement the standing of the book and equip the reader with the ability to disarm any critic and, more importantly, enjoy a life of interesting cocktail conversation upon completion of the great work.

In addition to this review, I recommend that anyone getting ready to mount the challenge of reading War and Peace can and should refer to the reading lists I separately provide on the Age of Napoleon and on the reading of War and Peace, as well as travel to and enjoyment of Paris, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

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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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Greatest Novel Ever!!!!!!

This is by far the best book I have ever read for so many different reason. Tolstoy is absolutely my favorite author and he out did himself with this book. The realism, the historical background, and the depth of the characters made this book so great.

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.

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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).

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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