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Another all time favorite. Tolstoy is an amazing chronicler of humanity. The passion! The turmoil! Worth a good cry and a few months of reflection.
I'm glad I reread this. I didn't like it as much as I did at the first reading, but I felt a clearer understanding of its themes and ideas. I thought it was interesting as I read in the afterward (thank you for putting it at the end and not spoiling the novel by having it up front!) that Tolstoy had travelled Europe and was influenced by Europe writers, specifically George Eliot's Middlemarch, which was the last significant book I read. You can see her influence on his converging storylines, whi
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First read in January 2006. Just finished reading for the second time April 2016. Enjoyed this reading substantially more, which is saying a lot considering I rated it 5 stars last time.
I really think I would recommend this book to everyone. (perhaps carefully with the adolescent crowd although certainly many would be ready for it.) Tolstoy is masterful at presenting his tableau of relationships, faith, and the purpose of life in spite of pain and isolation.
I really think I would recommend this book to everyone. (perhaps carefully with the adolescent crowd although certainly many would be ready for it.) Tolstoy is masterful at presenting his tableau of relationships, faith, and the purpose of life in spite of pain and isolation.
I gave up on this epic brick which was supposed to be a great love story, in addition to a great outlook on society in general. The writing? Ok. Not brilliant but enough to keep me trying. The whole thing just sucked the life out of itself by excess ambition, moralizing and lecturing about various (interesting?) subjects whenever it seemed proper (too often). The conventional plot and predictable characters were surrounded by trifles and irrelevant details. It soon became clear that I would neve
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This is one of my favorite books of all times. I read it before my senior year in high school, and write about it for my college admission essay. It is amazing, thought-provoking, and a wonderful portrait on the life of russian society of that time period. I would love to read it again when I get a chance!
Feb 11, 2008
Stephanie Zundel-Smith
rated it
liked it
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review of another edition
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read-in-2013
I finished it and I think that I can tell some of the Russian names apart from each other. This was a long read, and I was disappointed at the ending.
Jan 18, 2010
Sarah
rated it
did not like it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-didn-t-finish
Oct 02, 2011
Isabel
added it
