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War and Peace

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'If life could write, it would write like Tolstoy.' Isaac Babel Tolstoy's epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys, of Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei, are intimately connected with the national history that is played out in parallel with their lives. Balls and soirees alternate with councils of war and the machinations of statesmen and generals, scenes of violent battles with everyday human passions in a work whose extraordinary imaginative power has never been surpassed. The prodigious cast of characters, both great and small, seem to act and move as if connected by threads of destiny as the novel relentlessly questions ideas of free will, fate, and providence. Yet Tolstoy's portrayal of marital relations and scenes of domesticity is as truthful and poignant as the grand themes that underlie them. In this revised and updated version of the definitive and highly acclaimed Maude translation, Tolstoy's genius and the power of his prose are made newly available to the contemporary reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more. Hide synopsis

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Reviews of War and Peace

Overall customer rating: 5.000
Aarrgghh

This is the translation to read

by Aarrgghh on Dec 8, 2011

Reading literary masterpieces crafted in a different language puts a great burden on the translator; Constance Garnett's 1904 version in English was the benchmark for a century, but it has finally been superseded by this fantastic edition, the work of Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. It cleaves ... More

Welly

The Russian Response to Woody Allan

by Welly on Nov 19, 2009

Anyone who wants to try to understand the Russian soul must try to read this book. The Russians were not then, nor are they now, people like us (i.e. people raised in the English tradition. More

Ron Townsend

Easy to read

by Ron Townsend on Jul 18, 2008

I read War and Peace in 1984 along with the three famous novels of Dostoevyski. It occurred to me the reason I liked all four was the translation made them accessible. Also In War and Peace the novel was divided up into small sections which made it easy to read and put down. I found all four novels a ... More

BigBenaben

There's a reason why it's considered The Best

by BigBenaben on Apr 1, 2007

I took a Tolstoy course in university and it ended up being my favorite class of all time. What a lot of people don't realize is that the brilliance of Tolstoy and "War and Peace" is that in spite of its intimidating size and reputation, it's wonderfully easy to read and absorb. The way Tolstoy writes ... More

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Would recommend?: Yes  1 out of 1
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Discussions about War and Peace

Neil

Tolstoy War and Peace

Need Knopf edition, Pevear and Volokhonsky, Translators.

BrianE

Accomplishment or just a long, long, long book?

Seriously, I tried picking this back up again (hadn't read since high school) and found it impossible to keep going. Perhaps it's just the short attention span that modern life creates? But I can't imagine that my patience and attention levels were higher 25 years ago...

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