War and peace is a novel by the russian author leo tolstoy, published serially, then in its. At over 1400 pages long, this book may seem daunting but i urge anyone to read it, and like me, you may find it the one of the most rewarding book you will ever read. The standard russian text of war and peace is divided into four books comprising fifteen parts and an epilogue in two parts. This book was written by leo tolstoy and was first published in 1869. Free download or read online war and peace pdf epub book. Conquering this everest was the test of whether you were a manreader.
Count leo tolstoy 18281910 was born in central russia. I knew little about the time period, the war or the culture in russia at this tkime but tolstoy masterfully draws the reader into the world. At 1400plus pages, war and peace can seem daunting. Dec 02, 2008 1296 pages 618 x 914 isbn 9781400079988. My edition translated by richard pevear and larissa volokhonsky is about 1,200 pages. There are none of the leaps and flashbacks that many modern novelists go in for. Her hardback copy of leo tolstoys 1,200page saga bristles with coloured.
In war and peace, tolstoy entwines grand themes conflict and love, birth and. But whatever we call it, war and peace is an astonishing worka book that incorporates historical characters, vivid battle scenes, several love stories, shrewd glimpses of everyday life, an examination of western ideas and the russian soul, and a disquisition on the nature of history itself, among other things. When i was growing up, the conventional wisdom was that war and peace was the sine qua non of difficult books. War and peace is primarily concerned with the histories of five aristocratic familiesparticularly the bezukhovs, the bolkonskys, and the rostovsthe members of which are portrayed against a vivid background of russian social life during the war against napoleon 180514. Pdf war and peace book by leo tolstoy free download. Before turning the last page of this herculean novel, which had lain neglected on my bookshelf for. The 587,287 words in war and peace end up being 1,215 pages. And if youve already read war and peace, or dont have any interest in a 1,200page historical treatise masquerading as an aristocratic romance novel whats wrongwith you. Front page of war and peace, first edition, 1869 russian.
War and peace broadly focuses on napoleons invasion of russia in 1812. Many people find the first 100 pages dauntingly full of characters, and only then does it seem to smooth out and become lucid. War and peace is an epic tale of russian life before, during and after napoleons invasion in 1812. War and peace is a perfect book to read together for the duration of our necessary isolation. The first edition of the novel was published in 1868, and was written by leo tolstoy. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. See important quotations explained at a society party in st. Despite the various locations, the use of several languages, a host of unfamiliar names and titles, war and peace is rather easy to follow. The novel was translated almost immediately after publication into many other. The bbc is screening a lavish adaptation of tolstoys epic novel over six weeks. Roughly the first half is concerned strictly with the fictional characters, whereas the latter parts, as well as the second part of the epilogue, increasingly consist of essays about the nature of war, power, history, and historiography. I have not read war and peace, and i am so unacquainted with the story that i. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are napoleon bonaparte, pierre bezukhov.
Readers across the world are finding solace in war and peace. Pevear and volokhonskys new translation gives us new access to the spirit and order of the book. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page. War and peace is a perfect book to read together for the duration of our. Compiling a list of longest novels yields different results depending on whether pages, words or characters are counted. Petersburg in 1805, anna pavlovna scherer speaks to her old friend prince vasili kuragin about the threat napoleon.
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