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.