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liza_maria 's review for:
War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
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.