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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
challenging
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is my favorite book and even after this re-read, still a favorite book
Никогда не думала, что буду предаваться эскапизму и отдыху от обязанностей новоиспечённой мамы, читая именно «Войну и мир». Но оказалось, граф Толстой знал своё дело и писал так, что не оторваться. Надо найти что-то ещё такое же объёмное и с хорошо прописанными характерами.
This translation deserves 5 stars -- it's both beautiful and readable. The novel itself is amazing; though the lengthy 'essay' parts of the epilogue are repetitive, the questions it raises are important ones as to how we view and should view history.
I thought I would get bogged down in the battle scenes, but to my pleasant surprise, I didn't. I did have trouble with two lengthy preparation for battle passages, however. Tolstoy obviously did his research and was passionate about what he was talking about, but those passages are definitely for those who care about military strategy and philosophy.
I liked the battle scenes themselves, because they focused on the characters and the confusion. These passages, as well as others, including one before a battle preparation scene, are exquisite. Tolstoy knew and understood his characters fully.
I couldn't read the whole thing again, as I know a few have. And I've always been 'against' abridged editions of novels, but in the case of this book, I can definitely see the value.
I thought I would get bogged down in the battle scenes, but to my pleasant surprise, I didn't. I did have trouble with two lengthy preparation for battle passages, however. Tolstoy obviously did his research and was passionate about what he was talking about, but those passages are definitely for those who care about military strategy and philosophy.
I liked the battle scenes themselves, because they focused on the characters and the confusion. These passages, as well as others, including one before a battle preparation scene, are exquisite. Tolstoy knew and understood his characters fully.
I couldn't read the whole thing again, as I know a few have. And I've always been 'against' abridged editions of novels, but in the case of this book, I can definitely see the value.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I went with the War and Peace combo platter: I listened to the Amazon Classic version translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude and read the version translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. I much preferred the Pevear/Volokhonsky version. There were times while listening on Audible when I was taken aback by a word or phrase used as it seemed too modern. Maybe it was just me, as I know little of that period in history, but it felt out of place. I had the same reaction to some of the words and phrasing in the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey.
War and Peace was every bit as epic as advertised, and as I expected it to be. I was worried going in that I would drown in this tome trying to keep track of the MANY characters so I printed out a character guide from the interwebs and it did help me early on, but gradually I was able to sort things out and the excellent narration by Edoardo Ballerini really helped also as he gave each of the main characters a distinct voice. Still, sometimes it did take a bit to recall a character's background as they could fall in to the novel’s background for several hundred pages before becoming part of the plot again.
The best parts of the novel in my opinion were the stories focused on the drama surrounding five Russian aristocratic families during the Russian war with the French during the early 19th century. There were so many memorable characters and it was interesting to read how their lives changed over the 15 years the book covers, especially during the war. I didn't know going in that the Russian aristocracy spoke French and were well versed in French culture, so it was surprising how much French was spoken by Russians throughout the novel.
As expected, there was plenty of war strategy discussion and period history in the novel which provided background and helped explain the motivations of the characters. I found this all rather interesting, and it brought the time period to life for me. What I didn't like was the historical fiction aspect of the novel, particularly involving Napoleon. Historical fiction is fine in small doses but I'm not keen on listening to speeches from Napoleon which were invented by an author. In a related note, in the Appendix, Tolstoy does address the divergence of his descriptions of historical events to accounts of historians. In the paper book, there are also 42 pages of notes and a 24 page Historical Index. Impressive. The amount of work that went in to this novel is mind boggling!
The only other complaint I have is the anti-climactic nature of the second Epilogue. In retrospect, the novel wrapped up nicely in the first Epilogue but at the time I was excited to see that I had 36 pages to go and was looking forward to more "story".
Overall, I really enjoyed War and Peace. I found most of it to be fantastic and hard to put down / turn off. What a remarkable, complex novel this is, and I'm so glad I took the time to experience it. I listened to a good share of this on long nightly walks with one of my dogs and during my working-at-home, never-go-anywhere life I really looked forward to bundling up and hitting the road with him every day. 4.5 stars.
War and Peace was every bit as epic as advertised, and as I expected it to be. I was worried going in that I would drown in this tome trying to keep track of the MANY characters so I printed out a character guide from the interwebs and it did help me early on, but gradually I was able to sort things out and the excellent narration by Edoardo Ballerini really helped also as he gave each of the main characters a distinct voice. Still, sometimes it did take a bit to recall a character's background as they could fall in to the novel’s background for several hundred pages before becoming part of the plot again.
The best parts of the novel in my opinion were the stories focused on the drama surrounding five Russian aristocratic families during the Russian war with the French during the early 19th century. There were so many memorable characters and it was interesting to read how their lives changed over the 15 years the book covers, especially during the war. I didn't know going in that the Russian aristocracy spoke French and were well versed in French culture, so it was surprising how much French was spoken by Russians throughout the novel.
As expected, there was plenty of war strategy discussion and period history in the novel which provided background and helped explain the motivations of the characters. I found this all rather interesting, and it brought the time period to life for me. What I didn't like was the historical fiction aspect of the novel, particularly involving Napoleon. Historical fiction is fine in small doses but I'm not keen on listening to speeches from Napoleon which were invented by an author. In a related note, in the Appendix, Tolstoy does address the divergence of his descriptions of historical events to accounts of historians. In the paper book, there are also 42 pages of notes and a 24 page Historical Index. Impressive. The amount of work that went in to this novel is mind boggling!
The only other complaint I have is the anti-climactic nature of the second Epilogue. In retrospect, the novel wrapped up nicely in the first Epilogue but at the time I was excited to see that I had 36 pages to go and was looking forward to more "story".
Overall, I really enjoyed War and Peace. I found most of it to be fantastic and hard to put down / turn off. What a remarkable, complex novel this is, and I'm so glad I took the time to experience it. I listened to a good share of this on long nightly walks with one of my dogs and during my working-at-home, never-go-anywhere life I really looked forward to bundling up and hitting the road with him every day. 4.5 stars.