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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
NOTE: After realising that I gave Harry Potter and the Cursed Child 3 stars, I've had to increase the rating to 4 stars. It would have been perverse of me not to.
FURTHER NOTE: For anyone keeping count, I reduced cursed child to 2 stars in the end anyway... Oh well, War & Peace is still a 4 star book at the end of the day. Like Lord of the Rings, it's quality is undeniable.
Original review:
Before I attempt to give my thoughts on War and Peace, can I have a pat on the back? I finally managed it. It took me 18 months (that's even longer than it took me to read Lord of the Rings), but I've finally finished it.
War and Peace is a philosophical epic that paints a picture of Napoleonic Russia in breathtaking scope. Through the experiences of characters - those playing both major and minor roles in the drama - Tolstoy lets us into the drawing rooms of the gentry, onto battlefields aplenty and into his own feelings and theories on the very causes of historical events.
It is true that this is a novel to be experienced and not just read. For over a year, I have been dipping in and out of these flawed characters' lives - watching them fall in and out of love, sympathizing with their decisions and experiencing their angst as they try to make sense of the world around them. War and Peace is immersive and I learned more about Russian history than I even expected I could from a novel.
Why did I only give this epic drama 3 stars? Because it took me 18 blooming months to finish, that's why.
Despite boasting some spectacular set pieces and some truly absorbing writing and characterisation, the structure and pacing is dreadful. There is so much gold here, but it is swamped in unnecessary detail and seemingly endless repetition. It doesn't have a proper ending. The characters' stories fizzle and as a second epilogue we are treated to a weighty lecture on the interaction of free will and reason in determining the path of historical events.
Don't get me wrong, this was a fascinating essay, but sacrificing a relevant ending to the story for 60 pages of fatalism was a stylistic flaw in my opinion (even though, admittedly, I find Tolstoy's observations to be impressive.)
An amazing piece of literature that I lived and breathed, but an undeniable slog.
FURTHER NOTE: For anyone keeping count, I reduced cursed child to 2 stars in the end anyway... Oh well, War & Peace is still a 4 star book at the end of the day. Like Lord of the Rings, it's quality is undeniable.
Original review:
Before I attempt to give my thoughts on War and Peace, can I have a pat on the back? I finally managed it. It took me 18 months (that's even longer than it took me to read Lord of the Rings), but I've finally finished it.
War and Peace is a philosophical epic that paints a picture of Napoleonic Russia in breathtaking scope. Through the experiences of characters - those playing both major and minor roles in the drama - Tolstoy lets us into the drawing rooms of the gentry, onto battlefields aplenty and into his own feelings and theories on the very causes of historical events.
It is true that this is a novel to be experienced and not just read. For over a year, I have been dipping in and out of these flawed characters' lives - watching them fall in and out of love, sympathizing with their decisions and experiencing their angst as they try to make sense of the world around them. War and Peace is immersive and I learned more about Russian history than I even expected I could from a novel.
Why did I only give this epic drama 3 stars? Because it took me 18 blooming months to finish, that's why.
Despite boasting some spectacular set pieces and some truly absorbing writing and characterisation, the structure and pacing is dreadful. There is so much gold here, but it is swamped in unnecessary detail and seemingly endless repetition. It doesn't have a proper ending. The characters' stories fizzle and as a second epilogue we are treated to a weighty lecture on the interaction of free will and reason in determining the path of historical events.
Don't get me wrong, this was a fascinating essay, but sacrificing a relevant ending to the story for 60 pages of fatalism was a stylistic flaw in my opinion (even though, admittedly, I find Tolstoy's observations to be impressive.)
An amazing piece of literature that I lived and breathed, but an undeniable slog.
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yes! It’s started off in the dense, intricate realism which is the cardinal pleasure of longer novels.
Easy to read and in-depth with lots of co-existing plot points and multiple characters: nice.
He’s a brilliant story-teller. About a quarter through and so much has already happened, twists and turns all over the gaff.
He uses trees throughout as a foreshadowing tool. It certainly is literary realism. I can even see the influences of style that Nabokov drew on in his novels - a phrase or sentence in French making the point or punchline of a joke.
Old Prince Bolkonsky, the poster-boy for frontotemporal dementia
Julie and Boris, the OG emo kids.
Anatole, the devious rizzler at engaged women.
He ends each chapter with humour or jest and that’s quite fun.
Wow what a story, I’m locked. in.
What a dense and complex book.
Following each event of the The Great Patriotic War of 1812, Tolstoy weaves a complex path for all the characters in which in between he covers age, truth, religion, death, marriage, warfare, the beginnings of socialism and philosophy.
Great use of visions and dreams to foreshadow.
It was massive though, would be lying if i said I wasn’t tired of it by the end.
At the end I feel so connected to the 4 crucial characters (Nikolai, Pierre, Maria and Natasha) that I feel sad to leave them behind.
He whacks a mega essay on history, sociology, philosophy and religion at the end.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes