War and Peace (Wordsworth Classics) (Paperback)

by Leo Tolstoy (Author)
Key Phrases: Princess Mary, Anna Pávlovna, Mademoiselle Bourienne (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
?There remains the greatest of all novelists?for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?? ?Virginia Woolf


From the Trade Paperback edition. -- Review --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
'there are pages of useful information making this volume the ideal vehicle to introduce the general reader to Tolstoy's epic ... the whole novel is here contained in one single volume ... so well bound that it will lie open at any page - an admirable quality in any book but rare to find in a paperback' Jean Fyfe, Scottish Slavonic Review, No. 20, 1993 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 992 pages
• Publisher: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853260622
• ISBN-13: 978-1853260629
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,309,951 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consuming, and the Oxford edition is excellent, December 22, 2006

By	anemones (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I'll admit that I only read this so that I could honestly tell people I've read it. And yet it was extraordinary, the greatest novel I've ever read. As the spotlight reviewer says, it's long because it covers everything. Tolstoy surprises, reassures, and consumes at the turn of every page. He knows me. He knows my life. He knows how I will turn out and how my life will turn out. His characters are all so alive and realistic that when a knock on the door interrupts my reading and I go to answer it, I expect Prince Andrei standing on the other side. You'd think that it would be hard to get into the head of a Russian cavalry lieutenant from two centuries ago - the equivalent of my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather - via the imagination of a Russian aristocrat who is the equivalent of my great-great-great-grandfather. But no. Tolstoy makes them feel like my friends. He describes war as the utterly confused and perpetually unjust mess that it must surely be (like the WWI poets), and covers so many other themes that it would take a work almost as long as W&P to do them any justice.

Especially when taken with Anna Karenina, which is almost as impressive and somewhat more coherent as a single story, Tolstoy seems more like the omniscient god of mankind's imagination to me than any religious "God" does. Bravo.

PS: The Oxford World Classic edition is great. The translation by Aylmer and Louise Maude was approved by Tolstoy himself and is never stilted - it hasn't even aged greatly. There are a handful of helpful maps, a list of characters, and a timeline. The typeface is easy to read and by no means small. The inner margin is wide, meaning that the words never run too close into the spine, which is itself quite strong. The endnotes are helpful and thankfully referenced by page number, thus not being difficult to find, unlike the accursed numbers-arranged-by-chapter format. The only drawback is the weight: one-handed reading will be uncomfortable for some, but on the whole I think the ever-so-slightly heavier paper will be appreciated. The price is certainly a bonus. For the record, this is the only classic which I bought and read straight away, right the way through on the first go!

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of 19th Century Russia literature, January 13, 2003

By	M. A Newman (Alexandria, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

To have only 1,000 words to describe why I like this book is not nearly enough. I have read this book 6 times and I confess I find something new everytime. I expect I will the next six, or eight or ten times. The story of War and Peace involves a large cast of characters. The ones to keep an eye on are the Bolkonskys (based on Tolstoy's own family), the Rostovs, and Pierre Bezukov. There are also the nasty Kuragins whose presence generally means trouble of one sort or another for one of the other characters.
Tolstoy originally wanted to do a book on the Decemberists, a group of aristocratic Russian rebels who really came of age during the war with Napoleon. However, his novelist's sense told him that it would be a more interesting story if he looked at how the generation of 1812 came to be what they later became.
This book works on different levels. First there is the plot of book which contains some of the most fully realized characters in all of literature.

It is also about Tolstoy's theory of history which is meant to be an answer to Carlyle's "Great Man of History." In Tolstoy's mind, great men of history, with their many concerns are the slave of history. In this book he manages to turn Carlyle on his head.

Finally, this is the great national epic of Russian literature. Considering the competition this is a fairly bold assertion. What Tolstoy is writing about here is how Russia, at least the Frenchified upper class became Russian.

This translation is much superior to the Constance Garnett translation which contains a number of questionable judgements. Ms Garnett single handedly translated most of Russian literature, but some of her translations are a bit of a departure from the original. The Bolkonsky family estate is best rendered in English as "Bald Hills" not "Bleak Hills." The Maud translation is superior in many ways.

Don't just read this book, reread it.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-facetted brilliance, and mind saturating reading, December 6, 2000

By	Thomas Maydon (Edinburgh, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War and Peace (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This was one of the roads on my mission to read the Worlds Top Classics - and a long road it was. However, after getting into the novel and trying not to get too intimidated by the number of characters, I was totally absorbed by the whole experience of reading such a book.

The amount of work that Tolstoy put in to write this extremely detailed and great historical novel must have been incredible. The book works on many levels: as a romantic novel - following the lives of various charcters; it is also a historic account of the Napoleonic wars and of social history at that time; it has chapters filled with the "science" of war; Tolstoy also includes his views and the philosophies of life and history: therefore it can be read on many, and every level. I was totally spellbound reading about aspects such as the communication problems there were during this time and the different values of the people.

The book deals with many issues, including leadership which has inspired people such as Nelson Mandela (who read it while in prison). The book's chapters are also very short (sometimes 2 pages) - therefore you are also able to read the book in short doses: which I did (it took me nine months to complete the work).

However, like a small sponge in a large puddle of water, I was unable to absorb everything that this novel had to offer, and I can certainly see myself returning to re-read this book in few years.

Make yourself read this - it's worth it.