Rating: 
Summary: In my opinion the greatest novel ever written
Review: I've read War and Peace 4 times, and I aim to soon read it a fifth time. No book I've read before or since gives a better portrayal of life than War and Peace (I haven't read Anna Karenina, which some say is even better). Some moments of the book have stayed with me as memories almost as if they had been a part of my own life, rather than mere fiction. Don't be put off by the length of this book, it is not a difficult read at all.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the Effort
Review: I expected to find War and Peace difficult to read and to understand. I was surprised and pleased to find the story very readable. The three main characters, all young, lovable men with wealthy but very different fathers, follow their own paths through life and the horrors of war. Their hopes, dreams, disappointments and fears are so vividly portrayed that at times I dreaded turning the page and at other times I stayed up much too late, unable to put the book down. It was certainly worth the little extra time it took to read.
Rating:
Summary: Literary litmus test
Review: War and Peace is a litmus test. If you gave it fewer than five stars (OK, I'll be generous and say fewer than four stars), then the problem isn't with the book -- it's with you. You need to understand this. Everyone else does.
Rating: 
Summary: An aggravated descent into boredom
Review: Let me start by acknowledging that Leo Tolstoy is often regarded as one of the preeminent authors of all time. Let me follow that with the acknowledgement that many consider "War and Peace" to be the greatest triumph in human literature.Let me follow that by saying that I don't get it. This book is horribly boring. While other lengthy works, like Les Miserables, excite and build intrigue, War and Peace does nothing of the sort. It ambles on, like a wounded victim hoping to be put out of its misery. After a thousand pages, that is exactly what I did. I threw the book clear across the room in disgust with what was a lethargic, uninteresting, and needlessly convoluted tale.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought-provoking, masterful, epic----and long
Review: War and Peace is perhaps the grandest novel ever written. Leo Tolstoy condenses or hollows out none of the grace and majesty of the Russian royalty, and the characters are more than human enough to learn from, and to argue with. Throughout the 1456 pages, the main characters struggle with who they are and what they believe--and everpresent in the background is Napolean and his apocalypse with the Russian people. War and Peace tries to be a philosophical novel about history, but it is really a philosophical novel about people, about morals, about what to die for--and what to live for. It is as provoking and beautiful as it is challenging. And long. Does it take 1500 pages to write a novel that will stand the test of time? No, but it takes 1500 pages to write War and Peace.
Rating: 
Summary: Very overrated
Review: This book is an embodiment of proof that the plot of a novel could theoretically have no end. It just drags on and on. "Yes, I want to get married, no I don't want to get married, oh wait, yes, I do." Plus, the nationalistic flavour of the novel bothers me. It's a "good" book, but by no means superb. Plus, the political essays are annoying.
Rating:
Summary: The best book of 19th Century Russia literature
Review: To have only 1,000 words to describe why I like this book is not nearly enough. I have read this book 6 times and I confess I find something new everytime. I expect I will the next six, or eight or ten times. The story of War and Peace involves a large cast of characters. The ones to keep an eye on are the Bolkonskys (based on Tolstoy's own family), the Rostovs, and Pierre Bezukov. There are also the nasty Kuragins whose presence generally means trouble of one sort or another for one of the other characters.
Tolstoy originally wanted to do a book on the Decemberists, a group of aristocratic Russian rebels who really came of age during the war with Napoleon. However, his novelist's sense told him that it would be a more interesting story if he looked at how the generation of 1812 came to be what they later became.
This book works on different levels. First there is the plot of book which contains some of the most fully realized characters in all of literature. It is also about Tolstoy's theory of history which is meant to be an answer to Carlyle's "Great Man of History." In Tolstoy's mind, great men of history, with their many concerns are the slave of history. In this book he manages to turn Carlyle on his head. Finally, this is the great national epic of Russian literature. Considering the competition this is a fairly bold assertion. What Tolstoy is writing about here is how Russia, at least the Frenchified upper class became Russian. This translation is much superior to the Constance Garnett translation which contains a number of questionable judgements. Ms Garnett single handedly translated most of Russian literature, but some of her translations are a bit of a departure from the original. The Bolkonsky family estate is best rendered in English as "Bald Hills" not "Bleak Hills." The Maud translation is superior in many ways. Don't just read this book, reread it.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome characters which everyone can love.
Review: Only a genius can handle with many characters at once yet give them all unique traits. One of my favorite character's in this epic is Prince Andrei. A true Cary Elwes of Russian times, he is bored with living a normal life, seeks for more action to enhance the dull consequences of his noble birth, and discovers the meaning of life on the battle field. I believe the best part of the book has to be the part where Andrei is injured in combat and he stares at the sky to wonder upon the trifle challenges humans throw on themselves that only they feel is important. Pierre, a young Mel Gibson or Fabio who suddenly inherits millions from his departed father, discovers his friends only like him for his wealth. He seperates himself from his worldly posessions to search for fullfillment in religion. Nikolia Rostov, a Keanu Reeves of the Napoleonic Wars is an ambitious officer of the horse guards, who only seeks to prove himself worthy. He is always at the forefront of a battle in search of the sensation of fullfillment in his duty and almost has a heart attack every time he sees Emperor Alexander. Boris, a Brad Pitt of noble birth, who seeks women only for their wealth and propierty, is not satisfied with himself until he reaches such heights in social and economic circles that he is assured of fortune and security for the rest of his life. Refuses mysticism and looks only for material gain and profit. Probably one of the truest tragic characters of the novel. What makes War and Peace so great is it's massive array of characters with multi-facet ideals upon life.
Rating:
Summary: good but rambling & disconnected classic
Review: I just finished War & Peace, and I have to admit I didn't find it to be all that great. Compared to popular fiction, yes, it's a great book, but in comparison to other classics I don't quite understand how it came to be so well-regarded. The stories of the different families are all interesting, and I think the characters are well-written, for the most part. The only problem is that the men are fully formed, multi-dimensional human beings, but the women are all one-dimensional saints and martyrs, serving only as examples of Christian purity to inspire the men to a better life. I know men need love interests and inspiration, but women should get the full complement of human fallibility too, if they are to be believable. The battle sequences are fascinating, as is Tolstoy's portrait of Napoleon. The weird thing is that Tolstoy goes on these long digressions about his theory of human history and free will, and the digressions aren't really worked into the story. Dostoevsky writes extensively about free will, but the philosophy is IN the story, not interleaved as standalone chapters in between the parts of the story. Dostoevsky explicates his philosophy via his characters, and they (believably) work out the competing ideas for themselves though their actions and words. This is much less true of Tolstoy, though two characters (Pierre and Andrey) do have spiritual crises where they try and find the meaning of life. These crises are worked into the story, but most of the philosophical meaning-of-life issues are addressed in standalone chapters as pure philosophical tracts. The characters aren't even mentioned in these chapters, and there is no tie in (other than perhaps thematically) with the story. I found though awkward, though some may not. So the novel did have a great, interesting story going for it, the only weak thing (in my opinion) being that the story was separated from the philosophical meaning Tolstoy was trying to convey. Some may disagree, but that's my take. Even so, despite what I considered a weak structure, I'm still glad I put forth the effort to read War & Peace. It certainly wasn't boring, and I don't feel the time was wasted. I guess I'm just disappointed that I never felt that surge of emotion I get from reading Dostoevsky. In a nutshell, I would say that Tolstoy lacks Dostoevsky's intensity, but has greater scope. The novel didn't quite cover EVERYTHING, but the sweep was very broad. I read the Konemann edition, which I do recommend. There are 4 volumes in this edition, each about 450 pages. This makes the book much less intimidating, because you aren't carrying around this single huge tome while getting depressed because your bookmark isn't getting any closer to the rear cover. The books are bound fairly well, and should stand up to multiple readings, assuming you aren't too brutal with your literature. The translation is by Constance Garnett. That translation may be a little dated, but I can't say, since this is the only one I've read. But this was the translation read by Hemingway and other great authors in the early and mid 20th century, and they didn't seem to be put off by it. I hope Peavear and Volokhonsky do a translation. I may consider reading it again if they do. I rate it 4 stars because, as a classic, War & Peace does stand above the vast majority of what's published today. But rated against other classics, I found it to be a little less than I expected. I expected the intensity of Dostoevsky, or the insight of Proust, or any number of other superlatives I've come to expect from the classics. What I found was short of that, but still a good, solid read, that may warrant another reading in a few years. War & Peace is worth your time, but I can't put it at the very top of my list.
Rating:
Summary: Intimidating but Worthwhile
Review: This is a huge, complex, and highly detailed novel describing early 19th century Russia through the eyes of several characters, all members of aristocratic Russian families. The reader not only learns how the war against Napoleon affected Russia, but this is also a character study and an examination of class issues in Russia. By viewing the situation through different eyes, Tolstoy gives us a more comprehensive view of the situation. In retrospect, using a more diverse set of main characters might have further expanded and enriched the view. (Did I just question the effectiveness of Tolstoy as a writer? Smack me upside the head!) George R.R. Martin uses this tactic, to an even greater extent, but with equal effectiveness, in his "Song of Ice and Fire" series ("A Game of Thrones", "A Clash of Kings", "A Storm of Swords"). It would not surprise me to find out that Martin is a Tolstoy fan and found inspiration from novels like "War and Peace". "War and Peace" can't be called a fun read, but it is definitely worthwhile and rewarding -- for the patient, dedicated reader. If you enjoy Martin's series, and also like historical fiction, "War and Peace" is probably right for you.
|
