Reader discussion: War and Peace

Public reader discussion about War and Peace by graf Leo Tolstoy.

We should stop saying “War and Peace” is hard to read

By mossOcean

I might be jumping the gun here since I’m not even 5% into it yet, but honestly this is not nearly the brutal slog I was bracing for. The things that seem actually hard so far are: - It’s really long. - A ton of Russian names, plus different titles and nicknames for the same people, though I guess that’s pretty normal for Tolstoy. - Some vocabulary that’s a little fiddly, but I’ve dealt with way worse wording in other books. Other than those maybe-obvious hurdles, I’m actually liking it a lot. The characters and the setting details are really nice, and the political/historical stuff is interesting too. There’s also a lot of good royal arguing, so it kind of feels like a fancy soap opera. So yeah, it’s not as intimidating as I thought. What do you all think? Edit: I don’t usually do edits like this, but I wanted to clear up a couple things. Sorry if my wording came off like I was looking down on anyone. I saw one comment that thought I was gatekeeping, which was basically the opposite of what I meant. I actually feel like the gatekeeping goes the other way sometimes, like people act as if the book is too hard for anyone to enjoy. I realized pretty quickly that the actual prose wasn’t as dense or exhausting as I expected. For me, a book’s length matters less than the wording on the page. Something like Heart of Darkness is way denser and harder to get into than War and Peace, at least for me. I shouldn’t have said the book is accessible for everybody. I wasn’t trying to claim it was easy—because it isn’t—and I even said in the first sentence that I might be speaking too soon. Based on what people are saying in the comments, I’m guessing there are tougher parts later on. Sorry if I sounded smug or arrogant or just plain dumb for posting this. It was my first post here, and probably my last. Thanks to the people who were actually contributing to the discussion.

Book Review: War and Peace

By TGrand8

I grabbed *War and Peace* back in 2016 thinking I’d blow through it. Yeah… that didn’t happen. It kind of got me instead. I finally managed to shut the cover in 2021 after five years of dragging myself through it with a ton of stops. It doesn’t feel like Tolstoy is just telling you what happens—he makes it all feel real. The big stuff, like war and love and loss, is mixed up with what the characters are actually going through. Natasha is bright and hopeful, but it still hurts to watch her dreams run into betrayal. Andrei keeps getting flashes of understanding, but he never really lands anywhere peaceful. Pierre bumbles around trying to find meaning, from love to Freemasonry, and then somehow ends up learning to just accept the mess instead of fighting it. Honestly, the most “human” part is the war. You get sent to Borodino and it’s not some glorious movie scene—it’s confusion, survival, and the leadership part feels kind of pointless. Kutuzov just seems done with it all, like he knows control is basically an illusion. Napoleon’s supposed to be this mastermind, but he’s stuck in his camp while everything falls apart. The whole thing makes it feel like nations and history hinge on regular people doing whatever they can. And still, for all that bleakness, there’s love and resilience and all this beauty too. The book is huge, but it somehow stays personal. It’s got everything, and I know it’s going to stick with me.

Some Love for the BBC Adaptation of War and Peace

By Crimson_Saddle3913

Yeah, I get that it’s an adaptation, so it leaves out a bunch—especially a lot of Tolstoy’s sharper jokes about the whole military/hero vibe and his bigger thoughts on how messy and not-so-clear cause and effect can be. Still, wow, it really hit me hard. Seeing these actors and actresses bring out those really sad, meaningful character arcs was honestly so moving. If you haven’t watched it yet, I’d say it’s worth your time.

Anthony Briggs' translation of War and Peace

By frozenCrown6

A lot of people seem to say Briggs’ version of War and Peace is the easiest to read, like it just flows better than the others. But I’ve also seen complaints that it takes liberties with what Tolstoy actually wrote. So I’m not totally sure—how does Briggs compare to the Pevear/Volokhonsky translations? And if you’ve read the Briggs one, do you actually feel it’s a good translation?