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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I couldn’t finish this. I have it a really good effort. I just couldn’t do it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I started it after the great BBC adaptation, so it's taken me over two years of stopping and starting to get through this one. It's a combination of riveting characterisation and Tolstoy theorising about how history gets written. I can take or leave the latter, but the characters are utterly absorbing and so engagingly real. A particularly moving moment for me was Prince Andrei's death. Really glad I persevered, and the translation is excellent. Make's me want to read biographies of both Tolstoy and Napoleon. My only complaint is that the book ends with twelve chapters of historiography, when I'd rather it ended in a way where I could say goodbye to the Rostovs and the Bezhukovs properly.
3.5 Stars overall
I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. I admire the way that themes of free will, power, and the lenses we view history were explored, but the parts of the book that explicitly discussed these topics (like part 2 of the epilogue) could be extremely boring. When it wasnt boring, however, it was really interesting, and I gained new perspective on things I never would have considered.
The only character in this book that I really loved was Pierre. I didnt really like Andrei or Natasha, but I liked them more towards the end than I did in the first half of the book. I did not like Nikolai (Rostov) at ALL and I found myself dreading the sections of the book about him. I have to admit, however, that most of the characters were all dynamic and well fleshed out, even the ones that I hated.
The pacing of the book was kind of all over the place for me. You would think that the parts about the battles would be the most fast paced, but these were some of the most drawn out sections of the book for me.
I can admire what Tolstoy achieves with this book. He didn't consider it a novel, and I can see why. It's a love story, a war epic, and an essay about some really lofty ideas bound in the pages of one giant tome. It wasn't the most enjoyable book for me to read though. I didnt really connect with any of the characters. The book got really boring at times, and I skimmed all of part two of the epilogue, so it's definitely not without its flaws.
I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. I admire the way that themes of free will, power, and the lenses we view history were explored, but the parts of the book that explicitly discussed these topics (like part 2 of the epilogue) could be extremely boring. When it wasnt boring, however, it was really interesting, and I gained new perspective on things I never would have considered.
The only character in this book that I really loved was Pierre. I didnt really like Andrei or Natasha, but I liked them more towards the end than I did in the first half of the book. I did not like Nikolai (Rostov) at ALL and I found myself dreading the sections of the book about him. I have to admit, however, that most of the characters were all dynamic and well fleshed out, even the ones that I hated.
The pacing of the book was kind of all over the place for me. You would think that the parts about the battles would be the most fast paced, but these were some of the most drawn out sections of the book for me.
I can admire what Tolstoy achieves with this book. He didn't consider it a novel, and I can see why. It's a love story, a war epic, and an essay about some really lofty ideas bound in the pages of one giant tome. It wasn't the most enjoyable book for me to read though. I didnt really connect with any of the characters. The book got really boring at times, and I skimmed all of part two of the epilogue, so it's definitely not without its flaws.
I loved this book! I’ve owned it for almost ten years and finally got myself to read it. There was lots of drama, which I did not expect. The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars is because the last 100 pages about power and free will and historians being dumb was extremely hard to read. The sprinkles of battle and Tolstoy’s opinions of Napoleon were annoying too, but the Epilogue was the final nail in the coffin.
Outside of that, I truly fell in love with the characters and I am so glad I finally finished this book!
Outside of that, I truly fell in love with the characters and I am so glad I finally finished this book!
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:
Complicated
Hot take: overrated! It’s just an aristocratic Russian soap opera with occasional historiography essays from Tolstoy on why HE thinks Napoleon was a dumbass.
slow-paced
I am a different person now than I was before I had read War and Peace.
”Yet it was necessary to live on.”
”Yet it was necessary to live on.”
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes