War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The only thing that has taken me longer than the time it took to read War and Peace, has been the time it took me to finally write this review. In light of major personal events in my life, I have taken this as an opportunity to completely clear my head and simply focus on what word will come next. I like this idea; it reminds me of a line I read in another book today: “the crystal was dirty. And you needed to cleanse your mind of negative thoughts.” So, instead of cleaning my kitchen (which I’ve done twice already to no avail), I am now attempting to cleanse my mind with these words.

Pretty obscure way to start a review of an 19th century behemoth of a Russian novel, huh? Then why don’t you tell me where to start. I wanted to start at the burning of Moscow by the French Napoleonic forces, but in order to do that, I must start at the battle of Smolensk. And to do that, how could I leave out the backstory of Prince Andrei’s inner turmoil between a passionate love and a civic duty!? You see my point…

In fact, this is the same dilemma that Leo Tolstoy himself faced. When setting out to write War and Peace, Tolstoy intended on writing about The Decembrists and the fall of the Russian Tsars. But in order to do that, he had to start at the… yeah, you get the point. So where does the book begin? We start at a soirée in the house of Anna Pavlovna. Don’t worry, she’s not important to remember; in fact, neither are 90% of the people that are introduced in the first 100 pages. However, at this dinner party, we are introduced to some key figures such as Pierre (the step-son of a wealthy noble), Prince Andrei (likewise, actually), and Prince Vassily (who is of no importance other than who his children turn into). The book begins somewhere in the space between war and peace. With Russia on the verge of war with France, we dive into the Russian aristocracy as Tolstoy prepares us to follow the lives of these three key characters throughout the dramatic impending history of what is to come.

Without going into plot detail of what happened, I want to talk about what I felt, rather. The luxury of such a long book, is that after a while, I truly felt as though the characters were real human beings. Tolstoy does a phenomenal job in describing what it means to be human. In times of peace and war, in times of love and lust, in times of birth and death, War and Peace covers pretty much everything. And the best part about it? It’s so human.

Many people, including myself, shy away from attempting this read due to its length. However, I found it to be a pretty easy read. It’s the ability to relate to each character in the most innate way that makes the book so convincing. Throughout the story, the characters experience love as a young adult, death of a spouse, death of a father, they question the existence of God and their own role in the world. With the length of the novel, we are fortunate to see these characters grow with every passing page. For example, we are introduced to a young teenage Natasha Rostov and experience even her children’s lives! The vastness of War and Peace is such that my head is swimming in an attempt to reel in all of my emotions. With that being said, I’m accepting the futility of this review, and chalking it up to a “the book is good.”

Do I suggest reading War and Peace? Absolutely, although under many circumstances. In the life of a college student, I was able to finish this under a couple of months. I knew that I had the luxury of time on my hands, but if this is not your reality, I strongly suggest reading five other books under this same frame of time. But if you find yourself with plenty of time and a mind of curiosity to discover some of the most famous characters in the history of literature, then by all means, go for it. The hardest part of reading War and Peace is opening the lofty front cover. For anyone interested in classical literature, then you will fall in love with the fantastic battle scenes and the intertwining love triangles. Who knows, you might even pick up on some French language as well. Ok, that is all; I accept defeat on reviewing this one. Just go read it yourself, I hope this helped in some way, I’ll leave the following quotes to speak for themselves.

Favorite Quotes

- Nothing is so necessary for a young man as the company of intelligent women.

- I shall remember that one can expect no reward in this world, than in this world there is neither honor nor justice. One must be cunning and wicked in this world.

- To tell the truth is very difficult, and young men are rarely capable of it.

- Let the dead bury their dead, but while I’m alive, I must live and be happy.

- There exists in men a certain after-dinner state of mind which, more strongly than any reasonable causes, makes a man feel content with himself and consider everyone his friend.

- ...unfortunate widows of living husbands... (On women who’s husbands are at war)

- Everything comes at the right time to him who knows how to wait.

- Once we’re thrown off our habitual paths, we think all is lost; but it’s only here that the new and the good begins. As long as there’s life, there’s happiness. There’s much, much still to come.