War and Peace is considered one of the world’s greatest works of fiction. It is regarded, along with Anna Karenina, as Tolstoy’s finest literary achievement. Epic in scale, War and Peace delineates in graphic detail events leading up to Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families.
I own an original
Excellent read!!
A classic in every sense of the word. Very detailed character studies. Haunting story
Great and wonderful book, but long. really hard to remember whos who. (All long Russian names.) Keep in mind I was ateen when I read it.
I struggled to finish this. the characters seemed strange and artificial to me. I could not bond, nor identify with them.
I read this book 45 years ago, and still remember being swept up in the history.
I’ve read it 3 times
classic
Good book but it takes a lot of dedication to finish it, long, mind boggling, Russian aristocracy was a mess, makes you wonder how Russia survived as long as it did.
I didn’t buy this book from Amazon. My father gave me the book many years ago, and I’ve read it twice……third time, comint up. It has hundreds of characters, so anyone with a poorish memory, might want to jot down names with simple explanations. Many have thanked me for this advice. It’s a wonderful, Russian, passionate book, and I can recall none other like it. The author was truly gifted. Read it slowly, and you’ll be taken to a foreign world of luxury, poverty, music and colour, not to mention war. Read and enjoy, it will stay with you for ever.
Fantastic read!
The way Tolstoï writes is unique !!
This is worth every minute you spend between war and peace, just like your life!
Way too long and too convoulted. Hard to keep characters straight. Long boring stretches
A classic. Sometimes difficult to read, but always worth it. A lot more war than peace, but overall a great work if you love the Russian viewpoint or just love classic literature.
Three days to read this book is a long time for me. Still, I devoted almost four days to this book, including the last night I tried to read nonstop. And it paid off !!!
It is a fantastic book, though requires a degree of maturity and perseverance.
I’ll confess and say that I started reading it a few years ago and I could not finish it at the time. The multiplicity of characters was weary.
In my second attempt at the book, a few days ago, this time when I was ready to have more characters than I could keep track of, and listing them on a small page and as succinctly as I could – the reading was one of the more memorable experiences.
I read in English and not in the original language (although I also understand Russian). The things that made reading difficult for me were:
* The multiplicity of characters – the drawing of a name, his connection to one of the other characters, and a theorem are indeed enough to follow.
* The scope and the number of pages – this is not something that bothered me specifically, but I suppose that might bother others – if you read a little regularly and do not hurry to the end, you do not feel the scope – the fun lasts for a long time and me it may have been an advantage.
Recommended for anyone with a drop of willpower.