WAR AND PEACE by LEO TOLSTOY ((1865-1869)

Second reading; first read in 1962 or '63.



It would be presumptuous of me to write a conventional review of War and Peace, a book considered by a majority of academics to be the greatest novel of all times. I first read it one summer while I was in college, and by that I mean it took me all summer. Of course I had a lot more social life then, and I was also taking a couple of classes. This time I read it much faster, but it still took almost two weeks. Although I don't recall exactly, I believe I must have skimmed parts of the book back then, because while I remembered the stories of the main characters--Pierre, Natasha, Prince Andrey, Nicholay, Sonya, Princess Marya--I don't have a recollection of reading the sections about the military actions or Tolstoy's musings about history. That was my loss.

I believe most people are hesitant to read this novel, because they think it will be too difficult. Here's the good news--it is not difficult at all, just long, very long. The core plot is highly interesting and could be (and probably has been) adapted in a modern setting for a daytime or prime time soap opera. It's primarily a love story, with multiple twists and turns. Tolstoy adds depth, however, which causes the story to transcend events and to include character growth, extending to the influence of religious faith and world events on the lives of the participants.

The "war" portion of the novel is not a depiction of the actual battles, but a portrayal of the political maneuverings and examples of how a quest for personnel glory can determine the course of a battle or the course of the war. His emphasis is always on the great waste of lives demanded to feed the egos of those in command.

The only tedious part of the book comes in the last 30 pages, when Tolstoy has finished his plot and devotes a last section to a discussion of the wrong interpretations made by modern historians.

This might not seem like a book to read over a summer vacation, but it is. Really.