War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy 

Review of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

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       There can be no debate that this is one of the greatest novels ever written! It contains all of what you look for in a novel: great plot, great characters (over 500 of them), philosophical inspirations, outstanding motiffs and meaning. In addition, it has a good deal of history to it, so it that aspect its not entirely a work of fiction. (Is there a word for a book thats both fictional and non-fictional?)

       However, there is one less than perfect characteristic I did see to this work by Tolstoy. There are parts in this book that do not keep the reader begging for more. In other words, its not one of those books you can't put down. At times you just have to put it down and think about what you just read, and reflect. Other times the novel has sections where they have to delve into historical aspects which can be a bit bland. These cases, however, are very important to the story so I understand why they are there. Don't let this attribute of the book shy you away from the book. The quality of a book should not be judged by its ability to keep the reader reading, but I felt it was necessary to inform people that there are some 'down times' in this book.

       Overall, if you can't look past the size of the book (depending on the translation you read, it can be over 1400 pages), you will be rewarded with one of the greatest works of literature of all time. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading. A top 10 of all time in my opinion.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Jake

       I consider War and Peace to be the greatest novel ever written. Truly vast in its scope, it provides a true panorama of Russian life in the early 19th century, while at the same time letting us into the lives and minds of many characters who are among the more memorable in the history of literature. Dont let the length keep you from plunging into this timeless classic  the writing is fairly straightforward and the various plots and sub-plots will have you eager to keep turning the pages.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Joe P.

       This book is beyond this world.

       I can probably compare it to the scene is which Prince Andrey was lying, wounded on the Paratzen hill, gazing at the infinite lofty sky, realizing how trifling and insignificant everything on this world was, compared to the vastness of that sky he "had never seen before". Even the "great" Nepoleon Bountapart was diminished to nobody and greatness meant nothing, success and ambition were all meaningless compared loftiness of the sky above... In my opinion, this probably the most powerful scene in the book.

       War and Peace can be difficult to take up, but once you've read the first few pages you won't let it down untill u're finished with it.

       Make sure you u read Tolstoy's essays on matters of greatness and history and etc throughout the book and at the end.  Also pay attention to his comparisons.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Belberova

       The reason books like War and Peace are not higher on this list(or at the very top) is that this list is voted on by readers and very few casual reader take the time to make it through a book of this size.  In Search of Lost Time is another example ranking much lower on the list than the work deserves.  I hope that the decent ranking of this novel with urge more readers to pick it up and make their way through it.  Maybe some of them will even come back and vote for it after they are finished.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Professor Jayson

       Whichever of the two novels your read first, Anna Karenina or War and Peace, will probably be the novel you rate as the greatest of all time and the second one read will be number two on your list.  Amazing plots and characters.  It helps immensly to understand this book if you know something about history during the Napoleonic era.  If you don't know the history you can still follow everything, but you'll miss out on the significance of some things. Not an easy read and it helps if you keep a list of the characters as you meet them in the book - with the Russian names being so different , the characters being so numerous, and the book being so long - this list was a necessity for me.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Bill J.

       I am currently half way through the almost 1000 pages; I'm having a very hard time putting this book down.  With all the characters, high society, customs of the times...it's phenomenal.  This is my second Tolsoy novel and I can understand why he is considered one of the best writers of all times.  His attention to detail makes you feel as though you are there.  This book might be the best look at Russia that any person will ever get.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Karen Roche

       War and Peace is one of the greatest novels ever written! We can all learn from Tolstoy.  Of course this book was written many moons ago and you can't compare it to modern day writing.  But it's a book that will forever stay with you, if you take the time to read it.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Charmain

       This book is wonderful. It is totally amazing, facinating, philosophical and very good. People except of the war, can find powerful feelings of love, hatred, anger and every thing else. This is definetily one of the greatest novels written ever in the history of literature.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Eni

       Of course War and Peace is a massive work in many ways,insight into human nature,Russian high society ironically modelled on Parisian culture while Napoleon approaches Moscow,the description of complex battle scenes and complex romantic relationships,but for me the hypnotic effect arose from Tolstoy's concentration on what really causes events ,as opposed to the normal historical versions which attribute much to the alleged genius of Napoleon and other senior figures.

       Many people are put off reading the book on account of its massive size which is exacerbated by the small print required of a paperback-a similar problem facing the reading of Atlas Shrugged,another book which I found absolutely dazzling.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Alex Dowden (South Africe)

       An essential read for any thoughtful mind. This novel, like other novels, draws you in, keeps you at bay, draws you in a little further, etc. Yet War and Peace is very unique, it contains other, more powerful elements. The book casts a spell on the reader, a spell of enlightenment, nature, love and all that is great and small. A philosophical read. A personal read. A profound read. I urge everyone to read this book.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by David

      This is one of the greatest novels I have ever read. Even though I only read the short version of it (600 pages or so) I still want to go back and read the whole thing. It's characters are fascinating and you feel with some of them that they are really living characters that you see in everyday life. It is also great because if gives you some information about the time of history back in the Napolean era in a novel interesting kind of way. This is a novel I really think people should read.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Simao

       It was one of the great experiences of my life emersing myself in this novel. As intimidating as it is, I recommend to everyone.  To finish this book is a very special thing.  And reading it was so easy because the story is so interesting and compelling.  There are passages I read without consideration which now impact my life.  Just read it...my ramblings will make sense...to paraphrase a TIME article: to describe WAR AND PEACE to someone who hasn't read it is like describing an elephant to an eskimo...

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by wes

       I have read "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy twice. I' d say that personnaly for me it is the greatest book of all times because there's no other book with so many characters and different scenes from private as well as military life. I think that Louis Aragon' words about "War and Peace" are uncondionally right. He says that it is maybe the most valuable work of all times. I agree. "War and Peace" is the world itself.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by Oliver Twist

         I have read this novel once an I think that it is the one of the best novles of all.  One thing I want you to tell about this novel is that the characters in this novel really looks real but not fictional.  I thanks Tolstoy to write this best novel I have ever read.  It is one of the best oth the 100 novels.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was reviewed by elina

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