Napoleon invaded.
It snowed.
Napolean failed.
Russia won.

Perhaps that does encapsulate it. Tolstoy would have probably respected such as description, for, as verbose as he and other Russia novelists seemed to be (given a purely page-count analysis), he appreciated brevity and essentialism in the description.

This holds true for 'War and Peace'. I was amazed at the lack of what one might hold to be extraneous detailing in the text -- I would have expected long, drawn out and tedious renderings of situations, emotions or events, but such is not the case.

In Tolstoy's following of the Rostovs (poor country gentry) and the Bolkonskis (higher society), and a hero Pierre Bezuhkov, he illustrates basic truths in the way life is lived, and the way it ought to be lived. Tolstoy was a moralist, but no mystic in his writing (unusually so, given his general mystical sentiments in life). He felt it absolutely essential that the novelist should tell the truth, and mystical digressions lead away from that. His characters grow as we watch, and he recounts details that are important (such as Natasha and her doll as a child, and then later Natasha going to church -- these are two ages of the same person, to be sure, but not a simple updating of the character, as if an actress wearing a different costume).

Each circumstance, the day-to-day conversations and events, the family interactions, their dealing with life and success and death and defeat, all have an uncanny ring of truth about them. The family resemblance of characters leap off the page: the Rostovs all have a common element (beyond the basic social class attributes), and likewise there is and intangible similarity between Prince Andrei and his father.

'War and Peace' has been described as the Illiad and the Odyssey of the Russian people, with just cause. This is a work that speaks to the meaning and hope of life. His realism forced him to strip away much of the glorification of war and show the realities. Yet Tolstoy presents the events of 1812 as a moral crusade, and that the Russians won against the Napoleonic onslaught because of their adherence to simple, good and true virtues (as much as they relied on the snow to come to their defence). Even the upper classes, the urbane, wealthy and sophisticated Russians in 'War and Peace' have an underlying simplicity (contrasting to the French, and other foreigners', complexity and slyness) that gives them the moral upper hand.

One almost hears the echo of 'Simple Gifts' in this Russian epic:

Tis a gift to be simple...

Yet this is not a stupid or ignorant simplicity. It is a wise state of being. One could imagine Tolstoy being at home with the philosophies of Emerson and Thoreau, and while he might sympathise with Thomas Carlyle in moral and political terms, he would be opposed to his historical hero-worshipful stance, preferring to think of the collective of humanity as the true agent and mover in history.

'War and Peace' is often held up as an example of a long book that nobody can read. This is rubbish. I have three editions, each of which is fewer than 1500 pages (yes, I know that is quite a lot), fewer pages than the Bible, fewer pages than some anthologies of modern novelists. It is long, there is no denying that. But it can be read, and I contend, given the right translation, one might become so enthralled that one might wish it were longer.


the longest book i've ever read   April 6, 2005
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

In November last year I made a resolution to read a book that I would normally use as a doorstop or paperweight, and this book got the job (mainly due to its well-known reputation for stopping doors). It is truly colossal, and such a slow starter it takes real effort to get into the lives and times of the numerous characters. It's worth the effort though, once you are there the book really starts to fly, the details and emotions of the characters are beautifully sculpted by Tolstoy. By the time you are flying through the snowy Russian countryside in a troika thinking about Natasha's eyelashes it will be really hard to stop reading.

Make your own resolution, don't read another novel or book, read literature.


In a nutshell...   January 30, 2005
 4 out of 26 found this review helpful

1) It's not easy being posh
2) Cause and effect for historical events aren't as simple as historians make out, they occur within a nexus.
3) Women, know your limitations and don't sleep around.

I found it dated and pompous although it was pretty interesting to see the similarities and differences between how war was conducted then compared to now though.


War And Peace (penguin classics edition)   January 4, 2005
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

War and Peace is one of my favourite novels. Quite frankly I feel that it is a superb piece of literature. War And Peace is not a book for someone who wishes to appear well read or particularly intelligent as it is too long for people like that, and not worth their effort. Also, if your historical knowledge on Napoleon, the Napoleonic Laws, and the Napoleonic Wars are sub-par, then much of the story will leave you far behind. Tolstoy wonderfully juxtaposes family life; loves (first childhood, then mature loves), tragedies, doubts and parental fears, with epic war scenes, and Prince Andrei charging forth with the standard will stay in your mind, and as each cheer of 'hurrah' is read, your mind fills with the burst of 160,000 Russian voices. This book had me hooked, but only after chapter 5, bear in mind W&P starts slowly.



Take what you want   August 3, 2004
 11 out of 13 found this review helpful

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There's a lot being said about War and Peace, the main praise seems to be that it is a great literary achievement, the worst is that it doesn't live up to it's reputation. I have two things to say

The first is that when I read this I was 18, about to sit the Leaving Cert (the Irish A levels) and my literary tastes did not really extend beyond Pratchett, Tolkien and a few random novels like Animal Farm, The Day of the Jackal, Jaws and a few Ian Flemmings. Then I discovered cheap classics like Fitzgerald, George Eliot for 1 and wondered why (what I then percieved as real adults) would pay 10 times as much for a book that was probaly a lot worse (new books, thrashy bestsellers, James Joyce etc). Also, I was the kind of person who just read a book and didn't care about reviews, reputations etc (If you told me I would be writing verbose reviews like this on the internet I wouldn't believe you)

Anyway, after a long day at school, I loved to come home and read a bit of War and Peace it was my Monday to Thursday entertainment, and I looked forward to reading it during the long school days. So if I read it now I might be a little dissapointed, but then it was both brilliant and very entertaining. I finally then understood what people meant when they said something was a page turner. I could easily sit still and read this, something I haven't really been able to do since.

I've read many pretentious books, some that deserve to be called dissapointing, not worth the effort etc, but I don't think War and Peace is pretentious or any of those corrollary insults.

Secondly, my taste in literature aside, here are the facts about War and Peace as I see them:

1) It is very long
2) It is very old
3) It is part novel, part essay
4) It probably appeals to me more than the next guy because I love Russian culture and history, so a novel with both was a dual blessing.
5) It might not be the best novel ever written, but since it is so hard to aggree on what makes the greatest novel, I think this is a happy medium.
6) Anyone who wants to sound well read or pretentious can read this instead of Ulysses. Both have similar high-brow reputations, but War and Peace is easier to understand

7 and most important) It only costs a few euro/pounds. It's better value than a bestseller like the Da Vinci Code, most people will think it better (more intelligent, entertaining, easy to read, interesting - however you rate a good book), some will think it's just as good and be glad they saved themselves the price of a pint and then the people who think it is a worse book than (insert generic bestseller name here) can at least tell their friends they've read Tolstoy's Masterpiece.