false <![CDATA[War and Peace]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255876679m/290979.jpg 656 209 In Russia's struggle with Napoleon, Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind. Greater than a historical chronicle, War and Peace is an affirmation of life itself, `a complete picture', as a contemporary reviewer put it, `of everything in which people find their happiness and greatness, their grief and humiliation'. Tolstoy gave his personal approval to this translation, published here in a new single volume edition, which includes an introduction by Henry Gifford, and Tolstoy's important essay `Some Words about War and Peace'. 4912783 book 1869 War and Peace total:12646|5:5145|4:3657|3:2179|2:576|1:244| 12646 51811 23084 1782 4 67 false false Thu Nov 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Sep 30 20:38:45 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 08:39:11 -0800 2008
After all my agonizing and the thoughtful suggestions below about whether I should mutilate m...more...]]> 1 25 false false Thu Dec 20 20:11:40 -0800 2007 Wed Oct 17 15:17:16 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 26 16:11:03 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 19 false false Thu Aug 14 10:46:00 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 03 20:02:22 -0800 2008 Thu Aug 14 10:46:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 16 false false Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 21:36:55 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 13 02:01:27 -0700 2009 War and Peace was the sine qua non of difficult books: the scope, the length, OMG the length! Conquering this Everest was The Test of whether you were a Man/Reader.

I have now read it. Thump chest and make Tarzan yell.

A...more...]]> 1 7 false false Mon May 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 11:06:37 -0700 2008 Mon May 05 02:30:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 5 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 09:08:53 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 14 06:49:37 -0700 2009 …And now the bragging rights are mine.

Even so, just how much do I want to linger over this dead corpse: Tolstoy’s challenge to all those who, rather than climb mountains, would subject themselves to the masochistic come-on presented by the d...more...]]> 5 4 false false Mon Feb 12 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Mar 20 09:58:17 -0700 2008 Fri Mar 21 11:53:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 5 false false Sat Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 22 07:40:34 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 29 09:13:17 -0700 2008 War and Peace. That's how I know it's the summer, when Doris is reading War and Peace."

War and Peace is sort of the go-to book when looking for an example of ...more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 03 08:00:35 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 07:15:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 3 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Sep 19 09:40:32 -0700 2007 Fri Dec 21 07:57:18 -0800 2007
I have to confess that while I enjoyed the first half of this book, I was thinking 4 stars and certainly not "greatest nov...more...]]> 5 3 true false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 17 20:30:12 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 13 10:34:47 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 5 false false Wed May 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 26 23:54:56 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 13 01:30:41 -0700 2009 War and Peace based on general assumptions: its length, dullness, how long it would surely take one to read it, and the degree to which the reading of it would make one want to kill oneself.

First off, I never wanted to kill myself, though it d...more...]]> 5 3 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Tue May 22 16:16:53 -0700 2007 Tue May 22 16:19:03 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 3 false false Wed Feb 20 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 10 17:11:38 -0700 2007 Wed Feb 20 04:58:08 -0800 2008 Times website alerted me to the fact that the long-awaited and highly-anticipated Pevear & Volokhonsky translation of War and Peace is here. I dashed to Borders immediately, and am now a hundred pages in.

Not by any stretch an easy read, and s...more...]]> 4 4 false false Tue Feb 17 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 01 17:05:16 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 17 13:51:21 -0800 2009 This is a Russian novel, and it has the characteristics of all Russian novels:
-- There are a great many characters.
-- They discuss everything they do at great length.
-- They talk about God a l...more...]]> 1 3 false false Wed Oct 29 15:41:57 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 10 19:19:47 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 29 15:41:57 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Tue Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 23 11:58:27 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 16 18:02:52 -0700 2008 War and Peace, he specifically states, “It is not a novel.” Having finished reading this long work, having perceived its broad historical sweep, having appreciated its rich characterization, and having navigated its long philosophical passages, I certainly agree that ...more...]]> 5 2 false false Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 18:33:38 -0700 2008 Sat Jul 26 20:49:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Apr 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 21:37:37 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 21:44:13 -0700 2008
2. My friend Ero was giving away a copy. I never thought I would read War and Peace and turned it down. But then he said that he read it --...more...]]> 3 2 false false Thu Apr 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 28 18:45:34 -0800 2008 Thu Apr 03 16:44:09 -0700 2008
There were three separate components interwoven throughout this book. The first is the story of the people of Russia. The loves and lives of the Rostovs and t...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=290979