As for the long passages on the inexorable process of history which man cannot influence, well if I were living in a feudal Europe which was governed by a small extended family of in-bred nobles whose family squabbles were settled by the slaughter of their citizens, then maybe I would think that history is uncontrollable too. These passages are not hard to spot and anyone with a bit of common sense can read between the lines and take them with a pinch of salt.

He may seem to approve of serfdom, but in those days democracy was a concept which hadn't quite taken root and most people (including Tolstoy) didn't know any different.

This is an exhilerating read for anyone who has what it takes to get right through it.


One Big Soap Opera   August 25, 2000
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

This books size should not put anyone off, it is actually very easy to read -read a bit each night and it is just like a big soap opera where you become interested in what will happen to the numerous characters and over the 900 or so pages you enjoy seeing them progress throught the years.

Occasionally there are some dull essays on the authors opinion of wars and how they work etc. but iother than this an enjoyable story about people combined with insights into a period of history.

Plus when you have finished it sounds dead impressive when you say you have read war and peace!

Though it should not since the only hat=rd thing is its sheer size.


A long-winded and tedious marathon   July 26, 2000
 1 out of 11 found this review helpful

I tried to read this book in one go, and failed. I reckon that I must have read three other books before I summoned up the courage scrape myself out of the mire that is War and Peace. It just goes on and on with passages that any other author would have described within twenty pages but Tolstoy takes three to four times that. If you're a glutton for punishment and have the mental constitution of a banana then I would recommend this book otherwise read Solzhenitsyn.


So disappointing   October 15, 1999
 3 out of 14 found this review helpful

I read this hoping it would be the greatest novel I ever read. How disappointed was I when, 1444 pages later, I concluded it was far too long, far too tedious, and hopelessly amateurish. Admittedly, there are wonderful and forceful sections, such as Prince Nikolai's visit to a field hospital, but these are outnumbered by sections of seering banality. A thirty-page description of wolf-hunting, anyone?

Behind Tolstoy's frustratingly forensic depictions of Russian life lies a desire to glorify Tsarist Russia. His arguments are weak, unconvincing, and (as you would expect from someone so involved with the aristocracy of the time) one-sided. Should you need proof of this, read the ecclectic coda concerning the predestination of the world's events.

It will be a fair while before I make the effort to read another Tolstoy.


The Greatest Book   August 27, 1999
 1 out of 4 found this review helpful

War and Peace is a book that in no way can stand with the rest. The amount of description and time Tolstoy put in his masterpiece is what may just hold this novel in as the best ever. The book maybe long and at some points, endless in Tolstoy's dislike of war (which shows much in some of his writings), but you can always continue just waiting to see what the character will do or what they will have to hurdle next. I fell in love with the characters of War and Peace and so will you. From the energenic Natasha to the shy Princess Marya. The loveable Pierre and the perfect Nikolay Rostov. The book is a great masterpiece and the perfect book for anyone with intrest's in Romance, Action, History, War or Russia.