War and Peace (English Edition) Paperback – May 28, 2020

This was a VERY long book, but I would say it was mostly worth it. I Just want to put it out there that Tolstoy is simply brilliant! The chief reason this book is long is probably because of the careful detail he put into it- from every single character to the historical events.However,after reading literally hundreds of chapters and still not being done I began to feel like some of the detail was really not necessary(mostly the description of war strategies and general military things)but given the title of the book I'd say it was warranted. I think the biggest thing about this book is that it's really really really well written. It's meticulous! It's brilliant! I have never read such a brilliant book. You learn very quickly that this man must have been a really clever man.You would think a book titled "War and Peace" is just about that. Well of course it is! But you see, that entails much more than just the gory details of the history of the Napoleonic wars and his invasion of Russia.It puts a character to the name Napoleon, and to the Tsar Alexander I. It gives emotion and legitimate weaknesses to the war hero so that he becomes a regular man. It is more than just war strategies, military organisation and the "genius" of commanders in chief. It is about the people that lived through the war, died in the war, fought in the war...it is about patriotism in a sense, but most of all (for me anyway) it is about the human race. When war comes, death stares the mere mortal in the face and it is simply brilliant how Tolstoy gently and carefully portrays the pain, the doubt and the almost pathetic condition of being human. He Lets you watch as that mighty man who is clever and rich is stripped of all of that grandeur as he alone stands at death's door to face that horrible pit of the unknown. It almost seems Tolstoy does not do this deliberately, but only displays it so brilliantly because all he does is describe with unbelievable detail and precision not just the war that is external but that which is internal in any man faced with death. He gives the reader a spectacle to closely view and thus earnestly consider the questions regarding life and its purpose- that seem to torment just about every man at some stage in his life, that are accentuated when one stands on the thin line between this world and possibly a world beyond. For that reason it is a very spiritual book.Another remarkable thing about this book is the way you get to know the characters, so much so that you could almost predict their response to something, yet that could never spoil the pleasure! Therefore, it makes the characters very real and it does not feel like you're reading a novel.It feels like you're just reading about regular people's lives. The pace is steady, there are not many places where your heart is racing to reach some climax. I also enjoyed that because one enjoys and learns so much between the lines of each page as opposed to racing to reach an ultimate goal. The beauty is not in reaching the end of the book and discovering what happened to that other princess, but it is in between. There are also no "important" characters in this book. You will find that your favourite character will die suddenly and in not a very heroic way- once again alluding to the brevity of life and how nobody is immune to it.Oh and of course there are those chapters explaining historical events, his philosophy of war and the details surrounding military science or art so to say. I personally didn't care about those things AT ALL, but one had to soldier on just to get to the interesting bits. I got so lost in all the geography of Russia and why these soldiers are here instead of there that I can't tell you a thing about those parts.I wish he had made it easier to read for a non-Russian who is a first time reader of Russian history. I must also add that in his historical views he is a historian disputing almost all other historians' theories (and he seems to see more clearly than them) and it is quite comical the way he exposes their faulty (if not apathetic) theories and conclusions.SO overall I would recommend it to any keenie like myself. If you've got a curious mind when it comes to history, and you enjoy good literature I'd say this one's for you! OR if you just really want to know what it's like to read a book described again and again as brilliant then why not?

Great story, great development of characters, incredible historical knowledge. I really enjoyed Tolstoy's writing style. Great insight into human character and into the way society functions. I expected this to be a very heavy book, but instead I couldn't put it down. Julie

There are three parts to this review.1. Tolstoy's Novel2. The translation into English3. The rendering on Kindle1. War and Peace is considered to be one of the greatest novels ever written both in quantity and quality. Yes, it is a long novel but I found it fascinating. With it's long list of actors and breadth of scope it reads like a soap opera. Never boring, ever moving, this is truely one of the great books of all time. It covers a full generation of the Russian nobility with all their virtues and vices, loves and losess while Napolean was raging through Europe and Russia. Note it's not just a novel - Tolstoy makes his views on the role of the aristocracy, women, the army, and historians very clear. Whether you agree with him or not, he makes you think.2. The best thing I can say about the translation is that it is very accessable. There are those who claim it is a sloppy translation, but it might be more reasonable to say that it is idiomatic rather than literal - that's what makes it accessable. I've read a lot of Tolstoy's comteporaries such as Kipling, Dickens, Twain and I don't feel I need their work modernised to understand it, but I do appreciate the effort of the translator to make the text flow naturally while still keeping a touch of archaic style to remind me that this is a historical novel.3. The rendering has problems. The frequent translations of French phrases (which were kept in the translation) are in courier (non-proportional) font but quite often the main text of the book will be in courier for a page or so before correcting back to the Roman font it should be in. It's a bit annoying. I haven't seen many typos or mis-scans which is amazing for such a large body of work.

In case you are unfamiliar with Tolstoy, or this book specifically, it's a pretty simple premise. Tolstoy was Russian and he lived back in the 1800's (in Russia). This book in particular is set in Russia in the 1800's. Like the title says, it's about both War and Peace. He does switch back and forth, writing a little about Peace, and then War, and then back to Peace. If you can handle books that change up the tempo, setting, and characters from time to time, you shouldn't have much trouble following along, This version has been translated into English and from time to time has a typo or a strange word/grammatical choice. I can't blame Tolstoy for this since he wrote the book in Russian.The author does an outstanding job of explaining how high society lived in Russia in the early 1800's. Just as you are getting into all the descriptions of mansions and clothing and social gatherings, bam, he switches over to a very vivid description of the war with France that took place in Europe in the late 1700's and early 1800's. I found both plot lines very entertaining as I was not as familiar with Russian society in the 1800's or war tactics used by the Russians and Napoleon during the war as, for instance, Tolstoy was.The best part of reading Tolstoy is how well he describes the thoughts, dreams, and fears of his characters.2 important disclosures:1) It's a very long book. It's so long, it's famous for being long.2) My review is based on the kindle version so if you buy the print version and it arrives damaged or the font is hideous or the book is so heavy you drop it on your foot, I can't help you.Just get it and read it. It's good for you.