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.
This book was extremely hard for me to read. Read it for school, twice, but just could not get into it. I understand it’s importance it’s just not my style
Life changing! Just read it – you will be glad you did.
What I’d read this when I was younger and loved it, but reading it again made it even more interesting. It has complexity that grew on me.
and Pea If you haven’t read it, you should.
A large tale, lots of wars in it, but I loved the story & the characters.
What a wonderful book. Yes, it’s long. Read it anyway. Yes, it’s hard at first to tell the characters apart (the names are a bit confusing). Read it anyway.
People have been saying it’s one of the best novels ever, for many years, in many countries. With good reason. Read it to understand why.
This is one of the greatest books I have ever read and it is not “light reading” but it is worth every minute of time I spent with it and I cannot recommend it enough.
It took me a summer to read this book and I read others at the same time, but I had a feeling of having peeked inside great Russian literature. I did have to keep cards on the characters since their names were long and unfamiliar but I was glad I read it. However I did find Anna Karenina much easier to read and a better story
Reading it as an adult was a totally different and delightful description of war at the conclusion was apt!
Boring
Napoleon changed the lives of people across Europe as well into Russia. This epic story involved a group of well-to-do Russian families in this time of upheaval. It’s is difficult to imagine the time and tragedy evoked in this book!
A classic that lives up to its reputation, though I don’t know anybody who has bothered to slog through the preachy epilogue. Great storytelling. Much prefer it to ANNA K.
This is a must read for people who want to read books of great literature! It is life changing as a novel. The characters are fascinating and the Russian history is impressive. It is a long read, but well worth it.
Classic. Required reading for anyone seriously interested in literature.
Make sure the French is translated as well as the Russian
I KNOW IT’S A CLASSIC BUT WATCH THE MOVIE INSTEAD.
I’ve heard so much about this book all my life- I had it on my bucket list to read. I think I could have made better use of my bucket. It was OK and I would read other books by the author but I was overall disappointed.
Such a book!
I read this as a teenager and then again as an adult. So much as already been written about its epic scope, the horros of war, the broad sweep of culture clash, personality clash… that I will simply repeat the adage of those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it.
I loved this book; however, I don’t know if I could’ve managed it by myself. I read it as part of a Russian lit course in college. The lecturer was fantastic and facilitated keeping all the plot threads and characters straight. Gave me a deep, abiding appreciation for Tolstoy, in general, and this book, in particular.