War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
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Book Reviews of War and Peace
Book Review: Great Challenge
Summary: 5 Stars
I must have read the first twenty pages of this book about ten times before I committed to reading this mammoth and complex work. I'm glad I did!
Tolstoy is an absolute genius and unlike a James Joyce his work is accessible and relatively straight forward. Tolstoy doesn't try to make the work overly intellectual but because of his towering abilities he is able to create a textured, thoughtful and compelling masterpiece. He is able to exhibit his intellect without alienating the reader.
I took several Russian history classes in college and knowing the background of this period was invaluable. The Russian sensibility is distinctive and varies from European thought significantly. Tolstoy is able to convey these differences without losing the reader.
Set aside some time to tackle this book!
Book Review: After all the superlatives, more than anything War & Peace stands as a great story
Summary: 5 Stars
Most articles on Tolstoy's mammoth War & Peace ooze superlatives, whether in regards to its length, its genius, or the trouble people have getting through its 1200 plus pages. Yet for all of that, I found it above all to be a really great story, not just epic in scope, but full of exciting human characters and entertaining dialogue. While I cannot speak to the debates that now rage on the various translations of War & Peace, I can say that having twice picked up the book before, this third translation proved for me to be the charm. Not only do Peaver and Volokhonsky bring a poetic rhythm to much of the prose, they also capture what I can only imagine was Tolstoy's dry humor and powerful sense of irony.
While not a work to be taken likely, I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Book Review: TIP FOR COMFORTABLY MANOEVERING THIS MASTERPIECE
Summary: 5 Stars
First time I read this wonderful saga I was twenty-something and skipped all the politics, just devoured the love stories; that was in early Fifties. Next time, some years later, paid attention to the politics and loved it even more. Now I want to read it again, because of the new translation and because it's time, and would like to pass on a tip of handling a tomb of almost four pounds. I can't really hold it for more than a second these days. So I sliced through the binding between each "Volume" and now have four manageably sized books easy to hold, and less daunting to finish. To me the pedantic babblings about different translations is less important than the fact that it is a great book, a multiplicity of persons realized beautifully, and engrossing accounts of events both factual and fictional.Book Review: Excellent novel, excellent translation, but is there a mistake?
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read WAR & PEACE in Russian and in various translations in English. These translators are excellent and this edition is very solid. However, I should like to point out that I work at a bookstore in Chicago and found a mistake on the FIRST PAGE! DOES ANYONE PROOFREAD!!!??? I mean, come on, it's a mistake on the first page. Where it should read "et" in the first part, it actually reads "and." Ouch...this must be an embarrassment for the publishers or for whomever is to blame for such a blatant error. Of course, we all know that the translators have an excellent command of Russian, English, and French...so let's not be hard on them. But someone is really idiotic for letting this go to the press.Book Review: Luminous & lyrical, this translation makes Tolstoy come alive
Summary: 5 Stars
War & Peace is one of my favorite novels. I've read it four times before, all in the Garnett translation and always loved it. But I'm blown away by this translation. When I first saw it, I skimmed some of the introduction and became obsessed with getting and reading it. Reading two pages was enough to get me hooked.
The writing is so lyrical, so beautiful, that I can't wait to get to the next part. And that's really saying something when you know the book so well.
If you love War & Peace, get this translation, you'll see the book with new eyes. If you've never read it before, read it in this translation, you'll see immediately why people love it.