Product Description

"War and Peace" is one of the richest novels ever written. Tolstoy's enthralling epic combines history and fiction in his depiction of Russia's lengthy war with the French armies of Napoleon and its effects on the domestic lives of those caught up in the conflict. He creates some of the most vital and involving characters in literature as he follows the rise and fall of families in St Petersburg and Moscow who are linked by their personal and political relationships. His heroes are the thoughtful yet impulsive Pierre Bezukhov, his intelligentand ambitious friend, Prince Andrei, and the woman who becomes indispensable to both of them, the enchanting Natasha Rostova. Stunningly translated with remarkable fidelity to the all-important tone of Tolstoy's original, and including an introduction, notes, a chapter summary and an index of historical figures, this edition of "War and Peace" is destined to become the definitive English translation for our time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6153 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1296 pages

Independent
'Translators give their wits and craft selflessly in service of others' work; this is a triumph of fidelity and unpretentiousness'

About the Author
Leo Tolstoy was born in central Russia on 9 September 1828. In 1852 he published his first work, the autobiographical Childhood. He served in the army during the Crimean War and his Sevastopol Sketches (1855-6) are based on his experiences. His two most popular masterpieces are War and Peace (1864-69) and Anna Karenina (1875-8). He died in 20 November 1910. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have been nominated for the PEN-Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize three times and have won it twice. They live in Paris

Customer Reviews

Immense. Truly.
W&P is set in early 19th century Russia during the Napoleonic wars and traces the fortunes of several society families (Bolkonskys, Rostovs, Bezukhovs, Kuragins) and other individuals as they carry on with all that living entailed during those turbulent times. We also come face to face with the Emperor himself and the Tsar and countless historical figures. Needless to say the wars with Napoleon are a big part of the book. About 500 pages is devoted to the second war that led to Napoleon's occupation of Moscow in 1812. On the flip side W&P journeys through various love affairs (with cliff endings worthy of a good soap), the impetuous demands of the old, the dreams and naivete of youth, dreams of glory and fears of dying, courage and cowardice, wealth and poverty, patriotism, loss and despair, hope and rebirth. In short a compendium of life.

Woven in everywhere is Tolstoy's own take about war as an undertaking "contrary to human reason and to the whole of human nature". As Tolstoy sees it our best laid grand plans invariably come to naught. Life is one vast experiment of Murphy's Law. The Iraq war is a blunt reminder. Here's Prince Andrei talking about his father: "My father also built at Balds Hill (the family home) and thought it was his place, his land, his air but Napoleon came and, not knowing of his existence brushed him aside like a chip of wood". For me, this one sentence encapsulates one of Tolstoy's two themes: that we are at the mercy of life's "chance" events.

The second theme fleshed out in the epilogue is that historians may ascribe history to the actions of historical figures but the real engine of history is divinity. That's hard for an atheist to digest.

Should you read this book? Well it is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. This translation delights and Tolstoy is a master story teller if a bit saccharine and preachy at times. Yes, you should read it.

From an inexperienced reviewer
I first read War and Peace in my teens and thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of Russian literature. My daughter bought me this version after hearing me praise this book whilst discussing favourite books. Having convinced my daughter that this was a truly outstanding book, she decided to read the Briggs translation and then went on to read this translation. We both agreed that this translation is the best translation that we have read to date. I wouldn't presume to provide a critical review but I will say that if you have never read Tolstoy, this is the translation that will draw you in and hook you on Russian literature!

Excellent to read, but some curiosities
It seems presumptuous to write anything about War and Peace. The writing of such a book towers over the formidable task of translating it; and both of these dwarf the not inconsiderable undertaking of reading it.

But the forbidding size of the book contrasts with the intimacy of Tolstoy's writing - right from the start we are drawn in to the conversation of the salon, rather than a sweep of great events, the book being ultimately about people. I had concerns about being able to remember who was who, my concerns not being relieved by the translators' brief introduction to the nature of Russian names; but the list of principal characters is clear, and an easy and in my case well-used reference. Perhaps I was helped by the memory of the excellent BBC radio dramatisation of the early 1970s, now apparently lost. The maps of the battlefields are useful; a map of the larger European area would have helped too, to give some idea of the distances involved.

I was drawn to read this translation by Simon Schama's enthusiastic praise on BBC Radio 4; I would endorse it, almost completely. The prose is clear, if a little stilted at times; but for a portrayal of people speaking in a different country two hundred years ago I would not expect the same kind of speech that I use now. Characters retain their own voices, even the annoying Denisov; Tolstoy is given a clearly recognisable voice, addressing the reader directly.

My only proviso is that with such a huge linguistic undertaking, a few lexical disasters stand out, perhaps so noticeable because they are so few. It is odd that having constructed such a complex and extensive translation coherently and consistently, the publishers' editorial proofreading manages to leave me feeling that I have been reading the work of someone for whom English is a learnt rather than a lived language.

The most startling of these sore thumbs is the description of Helene as "totally undressed" in her box at the opera. Others include "fill the bill", "homey", and "dearie" for a huntsman addressing his dog. These do not spoil the book; rather they leave it unfinished. Or maybe the translators suffered from the same problem as Natasha Rostov and Napoleon Bonaparte; the pull to do the wrong thing at a critical moment was just too strong.