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I will note, though, that in the second half, Tolstoy does include several essays on "The Inevitability of History" and takes time away from the narrative to discuss his philosophical views. This one is a classic for a reason. This is someone who really understands how people operate. Really, it seems to deal with nearly every aspect of life at the time--there are battles, of course, but also plenty of daily life, parties, hunting, courting and so on. I can't even count how many times I reacted to some statement with, "hey, that's so true.
I look for books that provide great stories and characters--that provide entertainment, not just material for study. I highly recommend this one, particularly to American readers who don't speak French, and people who are reading it for non-academic purposes, for the following reasons: 1. This book will leave you understanding not just how war worked in the 19th century, but how it works in general.On a related point, many of Tolstoy's insights into human nature are just astounding. The time devoted to character development, scene-setting and so forth definitely pays off, and the chapters themselves are quite short, so something new is always happening.Really, this book deserves its superlatives, and there's not much more I can say that hasn't already been said. There is quite a bit of French in Tolstoy's original. On Dunnigan's Translation: This is the only translation of War and Peace that I've read, but I did look at several before deciding which one to read--when the book is this long, which translation you read is important.
If you want a more academic experience and background on the text, though, this may not be the edition for you.Finally, for those who are thinking about reading War and Peace but a little intimidated--don't be. It's a long book but absolutely readable and worth the effort. Why have I never read that in a book before." High praise indeed. Other versions leave it untranslated in the text and include footnotes, but when I sampled one I found it tiring. The story is great, the characters incredibly lifelike, and the language not nearly as dense as many people expect from classics. I'm not a big classics reader.
These sections are well-done, but it does mean that especially later on, the narrative spends quite a bit of time away from any main characters. One or two of the other translations Anglicize them, which seems silly to me. Some readers argue that there's too much here, but I think it's all enjoyable and useful in some way provided you're comfortable with long books. Here it's almost all translated, with only a few words and phrases left in French for flavor or because the language being spoken is important. Dunnigan's choice may have less flavor, but it doesn't call attention to itself or give a false flavor to the characters' speech.4. I'm pleased to report that War and Peace works on all fronts, that it is honestly a great read. Tolstoy originally used local forms of speech which some British translators decided to translate as Cockney accents. "Andrei," for instance, is not that difficult a name--no need to call him "Andrew." 3.
2. When an entire conversation is in French, Dunnigan simply tells us that it's in French. Dunnigan renders peasant speech into standard (American) English. Yes, it's long, but it doesn't feel like it. If you'd rather miss a few allusions than feel like you have to flip to the back of the book to look something up every couple of pages, this is a plus. A considerable amount of time is also spent with minor, unnamed characters, when Tolstoy looks at the situation of the army, or in Moscow, or what have you, and no main characters happen to be there. No endnotes, and minimal footnotes. As most potential readers probably know, the book deals with several Russian families from the years 1805-1812 (particularly that last one, when Napoleon invaded Russia).
The characters' names remain in Russian. Whether these aspects of the book thrill or annoy you will depend on what kind of reader you are. I will add that this book taught me a lot about war; most novels gloss over the confusion of battle, for instance, but it's clear that Tolstoy learned a lot from his war experience, and probably does a better job writing about it than any other novelist I've read. Usually they last no more than a few pages, and as they're set off in separate chapters, they can be skipped entirely if the reader so chooses.
Tolstoy captures every feeling of these people when their lives are torn apart by war so beatifuly, he shows to us every emotion and makes us feel it just as his characters do. I first read this book because my mother kept going on and on about me needing to read more classic literature, but when i started reading it I was amazed. This book definitely lives up to its reputation as one of the greatest books ever written and will change the way you look at your own life. You cant help falling in love with these characters and feeling heartbroken when things go bad. War and Peace chnged my entire outlook on life. Every character in this book is unique and has his own voice and style.
There were only small folds in the cover on each end of the binding. The description said that it was used and in good condition, but when I received it, I could hardly tell if it had even been read before. It was in much better condition than I was expecting. This novel is a classic. I received it well within the estimated time frame and in EXCELLENT condition.
Most of them are nobility and they go through all kinds of soap opera drama, generally self inflicted. If you can make it through 1300 pages of one book, I recommend at least giving this a try. When I say several, I mean it. True the size is daunting. you'll want to keep a list, and leave lots of room because each person has several variations of their names that are used interchangeably.
but I'm so freakin proud of myself for reading this book that I had to document it some way. oh, and they move around a lot. It turns out that the reader follows several people, of nobility through the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. so is the material. seems like they are always packing up and moving. Then the war breaks out and all of the guys other than Guy D go to war, and the Girls whine and cry about it.
It will never go down as one of my favorite novels, but it will go down as one of my lifelong accomplishments. Simple, I read it online with little bits being sent to my email each day. We follow about 12 main characters and a few other extraneous ones from before the invasion through the end of the conflict. that's what servants are for.So just when we think we are getting a handle on who is who, who they are in love with at the moment, and what the heck is going on. I don't agree with much of his philosophy but it is certainly an interesting topic to read on. Reviewing classics is always a touchy thing to do.
Meanwhile Guy D is everyone's pal, who's married to Girl D who's really a bit of a hoe, so he wanders about joining clubs and thinking to himself. Now each in its own is a very interesting tale, but when mashed up together, they can be rather jarring to the mind. but then again. not that they do any of the packing. Tolstoy has no problem killing off the people you like, and when you get to the end, and are expecting a huge revelation, or some sort of major explosive dynamic finale. How did I do it. But don't get too attached to them. I do have to agree with the others that the battle scenes are very well written, and I did enjoy Tolstoy's commentary on the Russian leadership during the war.
Tolstoy will rant and rave for a bit about war in general, Napoleon, or the idiocy of both Historians and the Russian Military leaders. we have a cut scene to - history class. and after a while I liked some of his characters. Tolstoy's writing appears excellent (remember, we're reading a translation so we have to give them credit too) and he has a brilliant wit and handle on his subject matter. I'm glad I read it, and I wish I knew someone else who had because it would be interesting to discuss it with someone. But Girl C is best of friends with Girl A so they hang out and throw little pity parties for themselves. the curtain closes without even a spark.Still, this is a brilliant work. that way I never knew how many millions of pages I had left, and believed that I was making progress.I have had this book mentioned to me, and quoted to me for years, but I have never met anyone who has actually read it.
Okay you think, I can deal with a bit of sarcastic Russian historical education, but just as soon as you get your mind in gear for that - BAM you are knee deep in fighting and trying to remember just who the German guy was and how he was related to all of the people you were reading about before the cut scene.This book ends up feeling like 3 books mixed into one - a satirical historical text, a family drama, and a wartime epic. Then Guy D figures out that he's in love with Girl C, but she's still in love with Guy B. To be honest I didn't have the first clue what this book was going to be about. Guy A is in love with Girl A but she's poor, so he marries Girl B who's really in love with her brother (Guy B I guess) who loves Guy A's sister (Girl C)., but she tries to run off with Guy C who was just screwing with her head, so now she's tainted and no one wants to marry Girl C.
Tolstoy goes far beyond just hitting the peaks of the story but also, writes at length on the hills, valleys, and everything in between (the material that other authors leave out). Always with a spiritual force, Tolstoy captures well the cultural interactions and the Russian aristocrat families as they are caught between their fanciful lives and the looming French invasion, lead by the delusional Napolean. Being that the high-points are few and far, I did have to trudge through this mammoth work. The epilogue is almost completely devoted to these assessments and can be read virtually on its own merit.
This straight-forward thinker finds a way to search through the clutter to critique the cause, and the why, and with it, generate a unique hindsight. There was a feeling of contentment at the beginning, but that would soon be dispelled as Russia would be forced to wage unconditional war to push the French out. Finally the story brings us to the aftermath and what befell the families. For Tolstoy I believe it was more important to find the goodness and cheerfulness amongst the chaos, as if the war didn't exist----life moves on. Tolstoy reminds us, the varied perceptions of the war can only give us a partial understanding of the truth: We must dig deeper to understand. It is exhaustively detailed, down to the most mundane description of a character.
And it would be spirit that ultimately wins the war for Russia. Most enthralling of all is his examination of the contradiction, or is it conundrum, that arises between mans' free will and law through reasoning, that "if the will of every man were free, that is, if every man could act as he chose, the whole of history would be a tissue of disconnected accidents", though "once admit that human life can be guided by reason, and all possibility of life is annihilated".May the LORD bless youScott But what an opportunity to perfect, enhance and, give character to our own writings, through these wonderful, brilliant prose.The story is played out in the present tense but sporadically, Tolstoy intervenes in short chapters with a second person history lesson on how the historians got things wrong (we discover history revisionists are nothing new) and a delving into the workings of the human mind. This edition (translated by Garnett) is complete with helpful footnotes and endnotes.
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