Stefania Mihai answers “What does this book have in content? What...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about War and Peace:

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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