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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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:
Complicated
If I had a penny for every time my favourite character decided to romantically pursue a teenage girl and then die poignantly in front of her I'd have two pennies and I'm angry about both.
POV: You are Victor Hugo having just finished Les Mis and basking in the glory of having written the definitive doorstop classic when suddenly one of your friends comes running in with a copy of War and Peace. And you choke back tears of envious rage as you realise Tolstoy succeeded where you failed. Not only was his book more compelling and better structured, but he also managed to hang together a realistic cast of characters whose constant interactions sprung from them being in the same social circles rather than being the only five people in Paris. On top of that the characte arcs of his three main protagonists actually back up the point he was trying to make and while they are all flawed this simply makes them realistic rather than just unlikeable as each of them has enough redeeming features to counterbalance the bad parts. This book was compelling, but in a contemplative and philosophical way not because there was wall to wall action and I kept reading because I wanted to not because I felt forced to. There were sections that really brought the story to life such as Natasha attending her first ball or Andrew staring up at the sky having been wounded during a charge and in those moments Tolstoy's ability to get inside his characters' emotions and thoughts really shone. Despite the sad demise of my favourite character I was still willing to give this book a 4.5 and then we hit the freaking epilogues and this was almost on the level of the Paris sewer system in being so uneeded that you want to go back in time and give Tolstoy's editor a slap. Still I would recommend this book as a sometimes funny, sometimes devastating, and sometimes profound classic that deserves its place in history.
POV: You are Victor Hugo having just finished Les Mis and basking in the glory of having written the definitive doorstop classic when suddenly one of your friends comes running in with a copy of War and Peace. And you choke back tears of envious rage as you realise Tolstoy succeeded where you failed. Not only was his book more compelling and better structured, but he also managed to hang together a realistic cast of characters whose constant interactions sprung from them being in the same social circles rather than being the only five people in Paris. On top of that the characte arcs of his three main protagonists actually back up the point he was trying to make and while they are all flawed this simply makes them realistic rather than just unlikeable as each of them has enough redeeming features to counterbalance the bad parts. This book was compelling, but in a contemplative and philosophical way not because there was wall to wall action and I kept reading because I wanted to not because I felt forced to. There were sections that really brought the story to life such as Natasha attending her first ball or Andrew staring up at the sky having been wounded during a charge and in those moments Tolstoy's ability to get inside his characters' emotions and thoughts really shone. Despite the sad demise of my favourite character I was still willing to give this book a 4.5 and then we hit the freaking epilogues and this was almost on the level of the Paris sewer system in being so uneeded that you want to go back in time and give Tolstoy's editor a slap. Still I would recommend this book as a sometimes funny, sometimes devastating, and sometimes profound classic that deserves its place in history.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Princess Maria and Natasha should've banged other than that no notes.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
Where to start where to start.
War and peace is the biggest book I’ve ever read. It doesn’t have any plot it is pretty much just a hundred subplots. I was intimidated going in because of the obvious size and the amount of characters, plots, and names to keep track of, but when you start they aren’t actually much of an issue. I loved the characters and by the end you wish that it was even longer. The only thing I didn’t like was the very end, (Epilogue Part 2) which was a bit of a slog, one that was not an actual part of the story. I wish it had stayed on with the lives of the families at the end rather than ending their story lines relatively abruptly and going into political and philosophical ramblings. Definitely an experience of a book.
❤️denisov
War and peace is the biggest book I’ve ever read. It doesn’t have any plot it is pretty much just a hundred subplots. I was intimidated going in because of the obvious size and the amount of characters, plots, and names to keep track of, but when you start they aren’t actually much of an issue. I loved the characters and by the end you wish that it was even longer. The only thing I didn’t like was the very end, (Epilogue Part 2) which was a bit of a slog, one that was not an actual part of the story. I wish it had stayed on with the lives of the families at the end rather than ending their story lines relatively abruptly and going into political and philosophical ramblings. Definitely an experience of a book.
❤️denisov
- A completely different kind of reading experience for a modern reader, glad I gave myself the whole year to digest and work through this
- Sweeping, realism
- This book does what the classics always do for me, make me feel the timeless beauty of being a HUMAN!!! The art!!! Some parts of this were just so achingly beautiful. When Pierre sees the comet! When Natasha and Andrey are reunited and she is forgiven??????? Incredibly moving
- Wish there were more deep, intense looks into different points in history in different cultures, this was a really immersive reading experience
- You can't rate a book this long the way you rate an average length modern book, they're just in different planes of existence. So yes, not all of this was thrilling lol, but that isn't what we're here for
- Sweeping, realism
- This book does what the classics always do for me, make me feel the timeless beauty of being a HUMAN!!! The art!!! Some parts of this were just so achingly beautiful. When Pierre sees the comet! When Natasha and Andrey are reunited and she is forgiven??????? Incredibly moving
- Wish there were more deep, intense looks into different points in history in different cultures, this was a really immersive reading experience
- You can't rate a book this long the way you rate an average length modern book, they're just in different planes of existence. So yes, not all of this was thrilling lol, but that isn't what we're here for
Enjoyed this (as part of Simon Haisell's W&P readthrough) but I felt it was a little overly didactic and the naivete of many of the characters dragged even hundreds of pages in. It's clearly a great work of literature, so I'd love to revisit it - I just can't do so this year.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
“How is it I haven’t seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I’ve finally come to know it. Yes! Everything is empty, everything is a deception, except this infinite sky. There is nothing, nothing except that. But there is not even that, there is nothing except silence, tranquillity. And thank God!…” - Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, page 281
Each time I read this book, there is something new to be learnt. 1215 pages of life lessons!
Each time I read this book, there is something new to be learnt. 1215 pages of life lessons!
challenging
medium-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
When I purchased this audiobook, I did so with the mindset that it would be my commuting companion for at least a few months. The excellent writing easily carried me through, and I was almost sad it ended -- 62 hours after it had begun. This is a superb, broad, sweeping epic that covers an important period in Russian history from two points of view: that of the upper class, and that of the military. The co-mingling of the two is excellent. If you're listening to it instead of reading, it might help to follow along with Cliffs Notes (available free online) in order to keep the characters and flow of the story more manageable. To sum it up, I'm much the better for investing 62 hours in this classic!