Rating: 
Summary: Book good, Translation not
Review: I recently read the Carmichael translation of Anna Karenina... I enjoyed the book but found the translation to be less than impressive in some parts. The word "highfalutin" was used at least three times, which I found to be more appropriate in a John Wayne movie than a Tolstoy novel. I would certainly recommend this book, but not necessarily the Bantam edition.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book which Requires Thought and Concentration
Review: This book was wonderful being sad, thought povoking, and moving. It shows great insight on human nature. The characters are complex and emotional people we can identify to. War and Peace contains everything a great book needs; drama, plot and depth. This is an extremely long book and it takes about a week to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book I think is Worth Reading
Review: My feelings on this book are odd and difficult to describe, to say the least. I found that though there were many details of it that I disliked immensely, that as a whole, I quite enjoyed this book.It is, of course, set during the Napoleonic Wars in Russia, and follows the lives of many characters both fighting and in Russia. Throughout the story, Tolstoy inserts chapters stating his own feelings on the course of history, battles, and human nature. The fact that the chapters are so short, only about 2-7 pages, makes this book easier to read. It was very long and at times tedious. I found the descriptions of battles boring , and in order to know what on earth Tolstoy was talking about, one would have to keep flipping to the maps in the front of the book to find the placement and movement of troops. I was too lazy to do this and so had no idea what was going on during most the battles. I found that the characters interested me more. As for the characters, I didn't really like any of them, and the presentation was like that of a soap opera. I found the women to be shallow and fickle, constantly falling in love with one man and then another. The men were also thus, but to a lesser degree than the women. Another thing that bothered me was that everyone wept. They seemed overly emotional. None of the characters had a logical thought in their head, and it was hard to respect any of them or want to cheer them on. The manner in which Tolstoy described the people was also interesting. I do believe he described a chubby woman with a hairy upper lip as beautiful. I suppose this could have been the case at the time, but I had trouble reconciling my modern taste to suit his descriptions. However, at certain times Tolstoy would say something that was not exactly profound, but I though pinpointed perfectly human nature. It could just be a little thing like the tone of voice one uses when speaking to a certain type of person, but I found these things to be so accurate. I have always known about these aspects of human nature, but have had trouble articulating to myself exactly what people do, but Tolstoy said it perfectly. I also found his views on history, free will, and other topics interesting. Not that I agree with him, as a matter of fact I don't for the most part, but it was fascinating to read another point of view. To sum up, despite the little details about this book that I didn't like, as a whole I found it to be interesting, insightful, and worth reading at least once in your life. If for nothing else, it would be a good topic of conversation and the fact that I have read it (as a teen it's unusual for me to have read it) seems to impress people. A shallow reason to read it, I know, but if the rest doesn't do it for you, that might work. It would also be a good read for a paper, which is why I read it, if you are looking for that type of book.
Rating:
Summary: War and Peace: Excitement and Boredom
Review: As the title indicates this book is split up into two parts. One about War and the other about peace time during the invasion of Russia by Napoleon. The War part is excellnt and gives you an insight into this period of time which you can not find anywhere else. The peace times however are very boring and hard to suffer through. I'd have actually given the book three and one half stars if given the option.
Rating:
Summary: A gripping, thought provoking book
Review: Even after more than a century, this is a spellbinding book. Its scale is monumental, portraying the ravages of war and its impact on an entire society by following a large cast of characters, chiefly from the Russian nobility. But more than that, it is also a treatise on the nature of war and the role of chance and human ambition in shaping its outcomes. While requiring mental effort and a significant time commitment to read, this book will amply reward the reader's effort, leaving her with much food for thought, and a deeper understanding of human nature. A word of caution on the Konemann edition. Although it is very handy - having this massive text presented in four small-size, nicely bound volumes is wonderful - this edition is seriously flawed by an incredible number of typographical errors which often completely distort the meaning of the text. In my over 50 years of serious reading, I have never come across a book that shows this degree of negligence on the part of a publisher. unprecedented. My advice: buy another edition.
Rating:
Summary: Great, Great, Great Novel!
Review: This novel is absolutely spellbinding ... it is so intricate in detail, so comprehensive in its scope, and so TRUE in its depiction of all of its characters, and in their development ... it has to be the best super-novel of all time ... and, it may indeed be the greatest novel ever written ... it took me a long time to finish this novel, but it was wonderful all the way through, and I found myself drawn to the Russian characters and the Russian landscape, and to the humanness of this magnificent novel ... This is a great book, and it is a great translation from Constance Garnett, and I highly recommend this book to everybody.
Rating: 
Summary: Dull Read, Why Bother, Get Cliff Notes
Review: What kind of simpletons have to use the constant phrase, "The Best Book of All Time"? Truly, Tolstoy's work is nothing but a meager, self-sustaining, turgescent waste of time. I was forced to read it in school and I dread the fact. If you want real literature, try Celine or Hamsun...stay away from this monotony.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: A long read but brilliant. The mixing of the hundreds of characters, with figures from history, and to still follow several main characters, is a great testament to Tolstoy. No wonder it took so long to write. The story is much simpler to follow then his numerous opinions of war, and I found his final long discussion of war a bit tedious. But overall a great novel. It has the reputation of a classic, and it is so.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Ever???
Review: I know it has become somewhat of a cliche' to call War and Peace the greatest novel ever. Because of this, it seems that no self-respecting literary critic would ever call it the greatest ever. In fact, many would avoid calling it Tolstoy's greatest work, favoring instead Anna Karenina. Nevertheless, if I had to choose the greatest novel ever written, I'd probably go with War and Peace. It is, of course, very difficult to compare various novels, especially ones from different countries and different time periods. There are several novels that I'd rank right up there with War and Peace, but I'd be hard pressed to come up with any that are better. War and Peace takes place during one of the most consequential wars ever fought. Tolstoy does a brilliant job of weaving together the lives of many different characters, showing how the war affected them and, in some cases, how they affected the war. In the process, he uncovers some of the fundamental aspects of human nature. This is, of course, a very long novel, and while many books only half this length seem overly tedious and drawn out, War and Peace is able to hold the reader's attention throughout the entire novel. My only complaint is Tolstoy's extensive editorializing on free will. I merely skimmed over the final 30 pages, as they had nothing to do with the actual plot of the book and simply contained overly-long, monotonous explanations as to why man has no free will.
Rating:
Summary: They Shall Eat Horseflesh!
Review: - so says Tolstoy's all-Russian hero, General Kutuzov, as he plans Bonaparte's defeat. A fusion of literature, nationalism, history, philosophy and good-old-fashioned soap (let's admit it), there is only one War and Peace. Most of all, I will always love the wry observation in the first chapter, where two ladies are complaining about the behaviour of young people "these days." As if, Tolstoy remarks, there is a special something called "these days" which separates them from any other time.
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