Leo Tolstoy: War And Peace

[{Tigress}]

I don't want to go into the "official sticky" until I'm done reading this monster, but I'm curious to know who's read it or who's currently reading it for the first time. I'm about 400 pages into it and it's finally starting to draw me in (thank goodness).

 

[Crystal]

I once read it long time ago after I had watched the movie.
The film is bloody wonderful!! I watched it for couple of times. I was impressed by some senarios such as Prince Bolkonsky,(spelling maybe wrong), passed a great old oak tree with his thinking of peace that kinda stuff; Natasha's first public party dancing exhilaration with Prince Bolkonsky; and Pier's touching love for Natasha,..... Hope you can see the film version which helps you to go on with the book.

 

[member 737]

I read it few years ago and I really liked it, except analysis of history, which I left unread.

 

[Wabbit]

Hmmmm, I may have to be brave and attempt this at some point lol I have always been put off by the hype and the size.

Regards
SillyWabbit

 

[{Tigress}]

Hmmmm, I may have to be brave and attempt this at some point lol I have always been put off by the hype and the size.

Regards
SillyWabbit

That was me. Plus, I found Anna Karenina to be pretty uninteresting and difficult to read, so diving into another book three times the size of AK just wasn't appealing. Of course I tackled AK at the age of 12, so that MIGHT have had something to do with the difficulties I had in appreciating it.

I will admit W&P IS getting more interesting with every chapter. I still don't think I could recommend it as a good read yet, but maybe later I'll change my mind once I've gotten even farther into it. Oh, and did I mention slow? LOL My pages read per day are now about 50 whereas they used to be about 100 -- maybe that's because it hasn't hooked me yet, or maybe it's the style... can't tell which.

 

[Themistocles]

War and Peace, I think, does in fact deserve its reputation of greatness-and not merely due to its physical dimensions! The character development is excellent, the portrayal of Russian society immaculate and of course the background against which it plays out is very dramatic. Tolstoy's historical and philosophical musings can in fact be quite interesting, if in places nigh-impenetrable, and I would definitely agree with his view upon the uselessness of generals and battle plans, somewhat similar to the old adage "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy."

 

[Severian]

I've owned it for a few months but haven't got around to reading it yet. same with Les Miserables. just purchased another tolstoy book, Resurrection, which I'll read first.

 

[{Tigress}]

War and Peace, I think, does in fact deserve its reputation of greatness-and not merely due to its physical dimensions! The character development is excellent, the portrayal of Russian society immaculate and of course the background against which it plays out is very dramatic. Tolstoy's historical and philosophical musings can in fact be quite interesting, if in places nigh-impenetrable, and I would definitely agree with his view upon the uselessness of generals and battle plans, somewhat similar to the old adage "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy."

I'm now a little over half-way done. I will agree with you that the character development is very good, but there are so MANY characters that it is difficult to remember all the blood and social ties for all of them. When the focus switches to antoher character, it's sometimes a struggle to remember where they came from (which family, social circle, etc) -- that's a bit of a turn off for me, but I keep pluggin' away.

I will say I am enjoying the book more and more as I go along. It still hasn't completely hooked it's claws into me, but I have found some story lines I enjoy following.

 

[Themistocles]

Yes, I found the intricate webs of family relations, political ties, friendships and emnities, old flames and all the rest were sometimes quite hard to keep track of, and thus it loses some of its drama whilst you wonder just why these two are at each others throats or whatever it may be.

 

[{Tigress}]

Yes, I found the intricate webs of family relations, political ties, friendships and emnities, old flames and all the rest were sometimes quite hard to keep track of, and thus it loses some of its drama whilst you wonder just why these two are at each others throats or whatever it may be.

Well said!

Oh, and completely off-topic, I like the Avatar.

 

[Themistocles]

As did I. There's always something curiously attractive about world domination...

 

[Wabbit]

Mmmmmmmmhahahaha!

 

[Ashlea]

I'll be starting this as soon as I finish the arthurian romance I have going now. I have a feeling I'll need lots of encouragement.

 

[{Tigress}]

I'll be starting this as soon as I finish the arthurian romance I have going now. I have a feeling I'll need lots of encouragement.

Just look me up.

I'm a little over 1/2 done now, and although it's not one of those books I will sit and read for hours on end, I am enjoying it much more now than I did in the beginning. So, there's hope for you. LOL

 

[Freya]

I was this close *indicates incredibly small distance* to buying War and Peace yesterday but I ran away at the last moment and bought something I felt I'd eventualy be able to finish. If I found a copy that looked really nice in hardback I might be tempted... that way it could at least look pretty sitting on a shelf, rather than just staring at me with its ugly fat spine, being a constant reminder of the book that got the better of me...

 

[{Tigress}]

Freya,

I don't blame you. Even after being over 900 pages into it, I still can't rant and rave about how incredible it is. But, if you ever did decide to tackle I can tell you that eventually the story does get interesting.

 

[Wabbit]

So do you feel that you can recommend the book now?

 

[{Tigress}]

So do you feel that you can recommend the book now?

I don't know that I can go so far as to recommend it, but if you are a lover of classics and/or liked Anna Karina and/or enjoy historic novels, then yes, this is a good book to read and it has a diverse storyline so there's probably some character you can intimately relate to.

 

[True@1stLight]

Definately a must read for those into classics or descriptive Russian Authors. Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, and possibly in the future Solzenitzin (sp?) go down as some of the best authors to develop characters ever. If you can't take dry and insanely descriptive writing that picks apart every look a person gives and pulls out every sound that is uttered then these writers may not be for you. However, if you love history, and the dissection of the human psyche (Dostoyevsky) or heart (Tolstoy) then welcome to the club and you will not be able to put down these types of books no matter how long they are!

 

[member 737]

Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, and possibly in the future Solzenitzin (sp?) go down as some of the best authors to develop characters ever.

Why possibly in the future? What do you mean by that? To my mind, Solzhenitsyn has already written his most recognised and admired books. I don't think he will do anything better.