Questions About War and Peace

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I'm trying to find the best translation available on kindle as I live on an island with no bookshops or viable postal service. Any advice?

Roshan Marlon Richard Pevear Larissa Volokhonsky ( Translation Date-2007) (Vintage Classics)
Anthony Briggs ( Translation Date-2005) (Penguin Classics)
Rosemary Edmon…moreRichard Pevear Larissa Volokhonsky ( Translation Date-2007) (Vintage Classics)
Anthony Briggs ( Translation Date-2005) (Penguin Classics)
Rosemary Edmonds (Translation Date-1957)
Aylmer and Louise Maude (Translation Date-1922)
Constance Garnett (Translation Date-1904)

These are the common translations you can find. I have tried chapter comparisons and actually read the book, and found Anthony Briggs one is the excellent version when it comes to the beauty of the language. Penguin used Rosemary Edmonds translation for almost 50 years and switched to Anthony Briggs one. P&L one is alright, but I felt its kind of flat, but sentence flow is good. Aylmer and Louise one is easy to read. Constance Garnett and Aylmer Louise translations are in public domain now. Garnett one is very readable but has some minimal errors here and there.

People often talk about faithfulness to the original Russian. But if a sentence is capable of reproducing 100% of the original meaning, that's what matters. When Tolstoy was trying to make a joke, translation should give us an appropriate joke.

So if I rate these translations, number one for me is Anthony Briggs one. Second Aylmer and Louise Maude, third Richard Pevear Larissa Volokhonsky. (less)

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Melissa McCrackin

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summery of war and Peace?

Sasha More wintery than summery, to be honest.

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What does this book have in content? What sexual or violent content is inside of it?

Stefania Mihai I think such a question is a bit out of place here. It's a classic, for God's sake. It's Tolstoy, not Dan Brown :) You don't read a classic for sex or…moreI think such a question is a bit out of place here. It's a classic, for God's sake. It's Tolstoy, not Dan Brown :) You don't read a classic for sex or violence. If you're looking for sex and violence, go watch an action movie. Besides, it will only take you 2 hours, not 2 months!

And if you are a parent trying to see if this is appropriate for your child, the questions you should be asking yourself are: Is my child smart/mature enough to understand Tolstoy's philosophical musings on wars between peoples? Does my child already love reading, so that he/she will not be discouraged by a 1200-page 'monster' ? Does he/she already know something about Imperial Russia and the Napoleonic Wars, in order to not feel completely lost when reading about battle descriptions and about the lives of dozens of different characters living in a society which differs quite a lot from our own?

If the answers are yes, then you should congratulate yourself for having an awesome kid and you should not censor what they read. If the answers are no, then maybe your kid is better off with an easier book.(less)

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