I'm currently watching a mini-series on tv based on this literary masterpiece:D and i'm enjoying it like mad. I've fallen in love with it. I've still not read the book though and i'm planning to really soon...so i was just wondering, for those of you who have read it, what did you all think of it? :)
2007-10-25 07:29:49 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Quite voluminous, so many confusing Russian names
The chapters alternate between the battlefield and families of those on the front-line.
If you are a good reader, read it at a sitting at once / fixed period. It is a wonderful realistic tale and you'll be grateful to have read one of the world's major classics.
good luck
2007-10-25 07:55:56 · answer #1 · answered by ari-pup 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best way to understand War and Peace is to get a good translation - go with the Penguin Deluxe Classics edition translated by Briggs, *not* the Knopf edition by Pevear and Volokhonsky. It would also help to read a few of Tolstoy's short stories, like "The Death of Ivan Illyich," and if you're really into it, Isaiah Berlin's essay on Tolstoy's theory of history, "The Hedgehog and the Fox".
2016-04-10 04:53:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never could wade through that one - but Anna Karenina is my favorite book of all time and Russian authors, in general, are my favorite. I would suggest reading a few short stories or less cumbersome Russian novels before you tackle that one, just to get familiar with the style. Every character has several names, and there is a world of undertones to Russian novels of that period because government censure affected everything, especially the creative arts.
2007-10-26 00:54:25 · answer #3 · answered by Barbara M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I read the book during my senior year in high school, and I absolutely loved it. Granted, it is long, and the Russian names are difficult if you are not used to them, but it is both an epic novel and a personal story, which was great. It's the novel that got me into Russian literature (and consequently, now I'm double majoring in English and Russian Studies.) Take your time with it, and don't get frustrated; reading it is an awesome experience.
2007-10-25 20:42:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
GOD--that book was so huge and cumbersome.
if you want to make it easier for you to read, an extremely good translation of War and Peace is by Louise and Aylmer Maude. It has a list of characters, maps, and summarizes every chapter. It makes it a lot easier to read.
If you start to read it, don't worry if you're completely clueless at the beginning, everything will eventually make sense.
2007-10-25 15:35:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
beautiful, he was a genius
read Anna Karenina too
very good
2007-10-25 09:21:57 · answer #6 · answered by sad 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋