Rating: 
Summary: Staggering yet remarkably clear
Review: It takes an act of courage and determination to begin reading "War and Peace"-- not only because of its size but also because of the staggering reputation that precedes it. If you have the time to read a 1400+ page novel and the patience to sift through a large variety of Russian characters, then I promise you won't be disappointed. "War and Peace" is many things to many people. It is a love story, a heroic military epic, a vast panorama of Nineteenth Century Russian society, and possibly the most incisive spiritual essay produced in the West to date. The core component of the story is the adventures of three characters, Count Pierre Bazukov, Prince Andrei Bolkansky, and Natasha Rostova. Prince Andrei is a cynic whose battlefield experience in the early Napoleonic campaigns has left him bereft of his idol, Napoleon. His dour outlook on life is changed when he meets Natasha at a ball and falls in love with her. Pierre is also smitten with Natasha, but his close friendship with Prince Andrei prevents him from revealing his feelings or acting on them. Prince Andrei and Natasha become engaged, but this turns to disaster when Natasha attempts to elope with a man who has beguiled her. Pierre intervenes to save Natasha's honor but the damage is done and the heart broken prince Andrei exiles himself to the countryside. The lives of each character are irrevocably altered by Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Prince Andrei is mortally wounded at the Battle of Borodino and transferred to a field hospital outside of Moscow. Natasha and her mother arrive in the same location as refugees while Pierre remains in Moscow and attempts to assasinate Napoleon. While Prince Andrei lies in the hospital bed he sees his nemesis--the man who tried to steal Natasha from him--in the process of having his leg amputated. At that moment he feels immense compassion for the man and bears no more rancor towards him for destroying his relationship with Natasha. Prince Andrei's only wish is to see Natasha again so that he can forgive her. Later that night Natasha goes to the hospital in hopes of seeing Prince Andrei. When they meet again, Prince Andrei says, "I love you." This is probably the most powerful moment in the book since the love Prince Andrei expresses is not the adulating, possessive love a man feels for his bride. Prince Andrei loves her with a universal compassion and gentleness. He loves her as another human being, not as in instrument of his happiness. Prince Andrei has reached a point of spiritual evolution and in this sense, both Natasha and his rival are his teachers. Back in Moscow, Pierre lines Napoleon's figure in his gun sights but is unable to shoot. He does not have it in him to alter the course of history. Instead, Pierre is captured and marched off with the French Army until he is liberated near the Russian border. He returns to Moscow and marries Natasha. And this is just a summary of the core of the story. It omits many of the most interesting characters such as Prince Andrei's stern, ascetic father, or Natasha's temperamental brother, Nikolai. Entire sections of the novel are essays in themselves. For example at the beginning of the battle of Borodino, Tolstoi argues that the course of battle is not a matter of command or control but of fate. Many readers have claimed that Tolstoi was a genius, but it would be more accurate to say that he was a genius on several levels. Tolstoi was a gifted writer, as well as a brilliant philosopher and social scientist. He was also a spiritual genius on par with Ghandi. Tolstoi's interpretation of love is a universal one that transcends any belief system. But this is hardly surprising from the man who said that if most Russians practiced true orthodoxy then the government would deem it a heresy.
Rating:
Summary: What can compare?
Review: Nothing can compare to this novel. It is humanity on paper. Tolstoy is a miracle worker, nothing can miror the genius of this book. Or maybe it's just me. I have a long tension span for novels, and this one I was unable to put down. What can compare? I can't get over the personalitys of Natasha, Sona and Densov. Prince Andre` copleatly took away my breath. From reading about Tolstoy, it seems that Perrie was molded out of him. And Perrie was a characer so deep that it is imposible to comprehend. Tolstoy has a wonderful gift to diplay a country in its broadest, and humans in their finest and most subtle respects. Nothing can compare. If there was anything to complain about in this eddition, it would be that the paper smelled strongly of formadahide and the binding desintegrated. The only thing I didn't enjoy about the experence of reading this is that it ended much too soon and other 12 year olds stareing at me.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Novel Ever Written
Review: Tolstoy is master of understanding the human mind and how it operates in reality. This is a book whose principles still ring true today and has changed the way I look at the world and myself. For those worried about the famed number of characters and for those who are intimidated by the sheer size of the novel, have no fear. Because of the broad range of characters, Tolstoy cannot focus in great depth on each one and so there are really 3 "main" characters. The chapters are short and the story continually moves. I found the book hard to put down. Tolstoy knows what he's doing and won't let the reader become too dissinterested. Truely a great novel.
Rating:
Summary: A real feast for those who love storytelling
Review: Don't be put off by the size of this book. I've read books a fifth of its weight that have taken five times as long to read. Tolstoy is a brilliant storyteller, his characters and situations are utterly involving and compelling. War and Peace is packed full of human highs and lows. It depicts an incredible world which is now completely gone. Read it on the tube going to work and you'll be happy that you have to commute. I have read for a living and this is my favourite story because it attempts to hold so much. (No single story of Shakespeare's can beat it!)
Rating:
Summary: LOVE LETTER TO HUMANITY
Review: Imagine a man sitting at his desk for six years writing an ode to all the men and women of the world. A love letter, if you will, for the ages. An undertaking so vast, so sweeping that your horizons will never be the same for having read it. That work, that love letter, is "War and Peace." At 1400+ pages you can be forgiven for shrinking away from it. But it flies. I read it in a month. Most nights I actually kissed it before turning out the lights. Ann Dunnigan's translation is the version to own. The other translations are too dry, too stiff. Hers contains all the humour (yes, humour), sadness and happiness Tolstoy drenched his work in. A book of remarkable insight, and perhaps the greatest we have.
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Summary: Rich historical novel
Review: Tolstoy narrates a dramatic epic story w/ astounding talent - one which shouldn't be missed! He is able to adeptly describe two very different aspects of the novel - human feelings which drive the lives of a wide cast of characters (i.e. those between two people who first fall in love; of a mother for her family; of a family as it watches death take away a loved one) and the technical progress of the Napoleanic wars. Further, his use of philosophy and science throughout the book continually draw the reader's interest and challenge one to think about history (the development of national power/political movements/world conflict) in an entirely new context. Main characters are richly developed and many undergo significant change - allowing for a fascinating before/after comparison. Perhaps the most interesting theme to gain however, is his overriding thesis throughout the novel - of the inevitably of historical events and influences which serve to drive the world around us - stunning to contemplate given the novel's completion years before the defining historical moments of the past century.
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Summary: about norton edition
Review: This review is mainly about the 2nd edition of Norton Critical Edition of War and Peace. This book is superb. The layout now is much better compared to the first edition -- almost as good as A. A. Knopf -- which makes reading an enjoying. But there are certain drawbacks. The detailed content list has been dropped from the previous edition. If you are familiar with the content, there is no problem. Otherwise, it's not very convenient. Also some maps were omitted. Now we have only three maps of 1812 campaign. The are no maps of '05 or '07 campaigns. Also a list of main figures and brief chronology are appreciated since it's such a big book. A suggestion of the remedy--xerox what you need from, e.g., other editions and bring with you. A common drawback in almost all current English translations and editions of W&P is the lack of the translations of French words. In my opinion, it's appropriate to keep the French usage in the context as the author desired but have the corresponding English translation in footnote. It should not be that difficult, shouldn't it? Finally, my suggestion is: read the book, live with it at least for a period in your life. You can actually read from some very different viewpoints and the book presents itself in very different aspects when you do so. If you don't like it, it's OK. You can always enjoy life itself. I repulsed the book when I was young. But I go back to it after all.
Rating:
Summary: There are not many of his greatness
Review: Tolstoj's story of war between France and Russia, who finally stopped Napoleon in his quest for taking over the Europe, is exceptional in his size and narration. Story is written through lives of four main characters - Andrei, Pierre, Natasa and Nikolai. There are, of course, many persons, who are also involved (their friends, families and foes), but their relationships, thoughta, actions and feelings are the guiding light through the story. Through the pavilions of pre-war Moscow over the start of war, Napoleon's pillage of Moscow (he also is an impotant character in the book)we see the growing of people, affections on their thinking, living, feeling. They are shown very colourful, writer's tribute is paid even to the foes, we cannot say which character is ugly and which is good. Though it reads like a soap opera from the beginning, you soon start to feel the depth of every single person. I believe Tolstoj's greatness lie in fact that he took himself time to show the complicated nature of this people (and complicated nature is ours also), which was the basic for their decisions and actions. Although they seem sometimes foolish and irrational, so they seemed to think at that time and we can see our lives from that perspective, too. What seems quite normal, perhaps necessary to me, can be immoral, even unexceptable to you. The story is written from everybody's point of view. It's this view that makes this book so exquisit. I wish everyone would read this book and gain such a view. Many things on Earth would be easier.
Rating: 
Summary: It's REALLY long!
Review: Good word usage, but too flowery. It was a good.
Rating:
Summary: This tale belongs in a museum!
Review: Even though I am only 13 and I just finished reading War and Peace, I think it is the best thing I have ever read! Tolstoy's use of description made the battles seem real. His eloquence pushed what could have been a pathetic read into a timeless classic. The conflicts, both domestic and otherwise, were the most realistic I have read about. It's amazing how Tolstoy could make even war look good. Read this book!
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