REVIEW: "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

 

SYNOPSIS

Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece intertwines the lives of private and public individuals during the time of the Napoleonic wars and the French invasion of Russia. The fortunes of the Rostovs and the Bolkonskys, of Pierre, Natasha, and Andrei, are intimately connected with the national history that is played out in parallel with their lives.

The prodigious cast of characters, both great and small, seem to act and move as if connected by threads of destiny as the novel relentlessly questions ideas of free will, fate, and providence. Yet Tolstoy’s portrayal of marital relations and scenes of domesticities is as truthful and poignant as the grand theme that underlies them.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT

Honestly, War and Peace truly is a fantastic book. It is a deeply engaging book as we look into the fortunes of its main characters, several noblemen and noblewomen in Napoleonic Russia, as they quest for ideals such as happiness, personal fulfillment, or understanding of one’s meaning in life.

I first read War and Peace, in Mandelker’s edit of the Maude translation, about five years ago, and it was one of the most engaging books I had ever read. No stranger to classics of literature, I decided to tackle this immense novel and found a book that I could not put down.

Its characters were fascinating as I watched them engage in their domestic struggles. From Andrei’s feelings of unfulfillment with his married life driving him to the army, to Pierre’s complete bewilderment with his own life leaving him unmoored and frustrated, to Nikolai’s and Natasha’s youthful naivety leading them into dangerous pitfalls at violent war and precarious peace.

The moments we see in the narrative from the mundane to the chaotic, in my opinion, show meaningful description. We see this from scenes of war, where noble and impressive commanders give orders that are ignored, worthless, or past enforcement, and description of convoluted and tricky scenes as characters try to navigate the social circles of high society.

I truly felt this was an amazing novel.

LOVING CRITISIM

Frankly, the book is long. Many people would automatically see that as a nonstarter, and I admit that people who don’t read fast or find it tiring will struggle with this. The mass of text can seem overwhelming, and side characters are not the easiest to keep track of either.

The principal issue lies in the dozens of chapters without narrative. See, this book was written with a theme in mind, and back when this book was written, authors (like Victor Hugo) did not always shy away from giving the most precise reflection and description of various plots and themes. These chapters are increasingly prevalent in the second half, and if one decides to read them, they can kill your interest.

MY FAVORITE CHARACTER

Personally, my favorite character is Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky. I feel he has a fascinating storyline, being driven to find a purposeful, fulfilling, and happy life.

At the beginning, we find an intelligent, driven, and witty young man. He finds his wife, while friendly and sociable, to be enamored with trivialities and thinks of himself as chained to this unfulfilling life.

In his attempts to escape this, he becomes an officer in the army, after which, he pursues a source of happiness through glory, domestic life, and romance. He attempts and struggles with all of these, and ultimately finds truth in his epiphanies on the nature and importance of man.

SHOULD YOU READ THIS BOOK?

Yes, absolutely. This is a masterpiece of literature, though I feel it should not be one’s first foray into high literature as it is long and didactic at times. If one likes historical fiction, one should definitely give it a try. I recommend this to adults as there are scenes of violence and the prose is opaque and hard to understand. Any sexual content is merely implied or happens off-page for those who are uncomfortable with that.