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Leo Tolstoy

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War and Peace Kindle Edition

by Leo Tolstoy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.4 2,758 ratings

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Hailed as one of the greatest novels of all time and a classic of world literature, War and Peace unfolds in the early nineteenth century during the turbulent years of the Napoleonic invasion of Russia. Tolstoy's epic ranges from stirring depictions of historical events to intimate portraits of family life, moving between public spectacles and private lives to offer a tale of both panoramic scope and closely observed detail.
From the breathless excitement of 16-year-old Natasha Rostov's first ball, to Prince Andrei Bolkonsky's epiphany on the battlefield at Austerlitz, the novel abounds in memorable incidents, particularly those involving Pierre Bezukhov. A seeker after moral and spiritual truths, Pierre and his search for life's deeper meaning stand at the heart of this monumental book. A tale of strivers in a world fraught with conflict, social and political change, and spiritual confusion, Tolstoy's magnificent work continues to entertain, enlighten, and inspire readers around the world.

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1329
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EN
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The Classics
Publication date

2023
December 7
File size

3.7 MB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?” —Virginia Woolf --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Inside Flap

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is seen clearly in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle—all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers and placed War and Peace in the same category as the Iliad: "To read him . . . is to find one's way home . . . to everything within us that is fundamental and sane." --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From AudioFile

[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review of WAR AND PEACE Vols. 1 and 2.]--This reviewer derives a special pleasure listening to a good book that he's already read delivered by an excellent narrator. He can thus better appreciate values the performer extrapolates from the text. Such is the case with Neville Jason's mature rendering of Tolstoy's massive classic--25 CDs to Volume 1 alone--of the Napoleonic Wars in Russia. His efforts are abetted by an excellent, uncredited translation. Once you get used to Russians with British accents, he gives you a fresh and consistently insightful interpretation of the action, atmospheres, numberless characters, and author's apostrophes. Only his very young women ring a bit false. An accompanying booklet, intended to help the listener keep characters and events straight, is unnecessary, thanks to Jason's skill. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Publishers Weekly

British scholar Briggs unveils his lucid new translation of Tolstoy's masterpiece-the first in almost 40 years-to a slightly anxious audience, from first-timers who, balking at the amount of time required by this massive yet startlingly intricate work, want to ensure they are reading the best translation available, to purists who worry that clunky modern prose will replace the cadences of earlier translations. But these concerns melt away after the first 100 pages of this volume. Briggs's descriptions are crisper and the dialogue is sharper, with fewer "shall's," "shan't's" and "I say!'s" than the Garnett, Maude, or Edmonds translations, leaving readers free to enjoy the rich and complex plot, vivid characters and profound insights into war and the nature of power. There are some awkward spots: Briggs claims his earthy rendering of soldierly banter is more realistic than earlier, genteel translators', but it reads distractingly stagy: "Give 'im a right thumpin', we did." It's also a shame to have lost Tolstoy's use of French, not only in the mouths of his characters, but also in the essays, as when he plays with Napoleon's famous "sublime to the ridiculous" quote. Briggs will face competition next year when Pevear and Volokhonsky release their new translation, but for now, this is the most readable translation on the market.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

'The greatest of all novelists -- for what else can we call the author of "War and Peace"?' Virginia Woolf 'The pure narrative power of Tolstoy's work is unequalled. To read him is to find one's way home, to everything within us that is fundamental and sane.' Thomas Mann 'What an artist and what a psychologist! It seems to me there are some passages worthy of Shakespeare. I found myself crying out in admiration while reading.' Gustave Flaubert --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

“There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?” —Virginia Woolf --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

WELL, PRINCE, Genoa and Lucca are now no more than private estates of the Bonaparte family. No, I warn you, that if you do not tell me we are at war, if you again allow yourself to palliate all the infamies and atrocities of this Antichrist (upon my word, I believe he is), I don’t know you in future, you are no longer my friend, no longer my faithful slave, as you say. There, how do you do, how do you do? I see I’m scaring you, sit down and talk to me.”
These words were uttered in July 1805 by Anna Pavlovna Scherer, a distinguished lady of the court, and confidential maid-of-honour to the Empress Marya Fyodorovna. It was her greeting to Prince Vassily, a man high in rank and office, who was the first to arrive at her soirée. Anna Pavlovna had been coughing for the last few days; she had an attack of la grippe, as she said—grippe was then a new word only used by a few people. In the notes she had sent round in the morning by a footman in red livery, she had written to all indiscriminately:
“If you have nothing better to do, count (or prince), and if the prospect of spending an evening with a poor invalid is not too alarming to you, I shall be charmed to see you at my house between 7 and 10. Annette Scherer.”
“Heavens! what a violent outburst!” the prince responded, not in the least disconcerted at such a reception. He was wearing an embroidered court uniform, stockings and slippers, and had stars on his breast, and a bright smile on his flat face.
He spoke in that elaborately choice French, in which our forefathers not only spoke but thought, and with those slow, patronising intonations peculiar to a man of importance who has grown old in court society. He went up to Anna Pavlovna, kissed her hand, presenting her with a view of his perfumed, shining bald head, and complacently settled himself on the sofa.
“First of all, tell me how you are, dear friend. Relieve a friend’s anxiety,” he said, with no change of his voice and tone, in which indifference, and even irony, was perceptible through the veil of courtesy and sympathy.
“How can one be well when one is in moral suffering? How can one help being worried in these times, if one has any feeling?” said Anna Pavlovna. “You’ll spend the whole evening with me, I hope?”
“And the fête at the English ambassador’s? To-day is Wednesday. I must put in an appearance there,” said the prince. “My daughter is coming to fetch me and take me there.”
“I thought to-day’s fête had been put off. I confess that all these festivities and fireworks are beginning to pall.”
“If they had known that it was your wish, the fête would have been put off,” said the prince, from habit, like a wound-up clock, saying things he did not even wish to be believed.
“Don’t tease me. Well, what has been decided in regard to the Novosiltsov dispatch? You know everything.”
“What is there to tell?” said the prince in a tired, listless tone. “What has been decided? It has been decided that Bonaparte has burnt his ships, and I think that we are about to burn ours.”
Prince Vassily always spoke languidly, like an actor repeating his part in an old play. Anna Pavlovna Scherer, in spite of her forty years, was on the contrary brimming over with excitement and impulsiveness. To be enthusiastic had become her pose in society, and at times even when she had, indeed, no inclination to be so, she was enthusiastic so as not to disappoint the expectations of those who knew her. The affected smile which played continually about Anna Pavlovna’s face, out of keeping as it was with her faded looks, expressed a spoilt child’s continual consciousness of a charming failing of which she had neither the wish nor the power to correct herself, which, indeed, she saw no need to correct. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Leo Tolstoy was a Russian novelist and moral philosopher noted for his ideas of nonviolent resistance. His diary reveals an incessant pursuit of a morally justified life. He was known for his generosity to the peasants.His best known novels are "War and Peace" (1869), which Tolstoy regarded as an epic rather than a novel, and "Anna Karenina" (1877). His work was admired in his time by Dostoyevsky, Checkov, Turgenev, and Flaubert, and later by Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From Library Journal

Thanks to British narrator Frederick Davidson's performance, it is safe to say that there will not be a better recording of Tolstoy's masterpiece for some time. The heart of this drama is the metamorphosis of five familiesAsome peasant, some aristocraticAamid the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. Each individual is immersed in experiences and conversations elucidating Tolstoy's themes of self-sacrifice and self-indulgence, anguish and ecstasy, diplomacy and deception, and religion and perdition. The complexities of character and plot are sometimes enigmatic, and names are often exhausting to recollect, but the genius of this book is everlasting. The impressive dialog sparkles with humor and wit, and the vivid scenes of battle are riveting. An entire universe is created by one of the foremost thinkers of the 19th century, and Davidson's exquisite narration heightens the perfection of this novel, regarded as one of the greatest in literature. Highly recommended for all collections.ABarbara Mann, Adelphi Univ., Garden City, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07MGHPFBJ
Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Classics (December 7, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 7, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3824 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1329 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #544,022 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #33 in Russian & Soviet Drama & Plays
- #81 in Russian & Soviet Literature eBooks
- #102 in Eastern European Literature (Books)

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Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) wrote two of the great novels of the nineteenth century, War and Peace and Anna Karenina.

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Anthony S.

More than worth the time and effort

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2015

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At the outset, I found myself continually asking... Why is this a classic? He (Tolstoy) is just a story teller. A bit wordy, but not really earth shattering. I wondered if something was perhaps lost in the translation. But I slogged on, and on and on... Maybe I should have started with the final prologue (who has more than one prologue?) but, I confess, without the story line, the machinations of men and women, small and great--the conclusions would have lost much of their impact. From and to this current age where it seems that there are no absolutes, his ability to cut through much of the fluff to the underlying truth was actually refreshing.
I would recommend this to anyone with time on their hands, a love of reading and a mind open to a different age and and philosophy. In our 30 minute society of instant gratification, few will be so inclined. Ah, such a pity.
One final comment... Thank you Kindle! This translation is rife French passages, of which I would have been at a loss without the translation feature. This made for a much richer experience. The vocabulary was at times archaic, words that I was unfamiliar with, and again, Kindle to the rescue. If you plan to read this version, you will appreciate the technology!
And now, I can finally claim success, I have read "War and Peace"! 😀

8 people found this helpful

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Coach Z

Tolstoy brilliantly merges his fictitious characters with these events

Reviewed in the United States on November 7, 2017

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Such a classic. Don't give up in the first 10% of the book. Initially you wonder where this is leading but realize that it is setting up characters that play a major role throughout. Also know that this is a history of Russia/France relations during 1805-1813 which includes Napoleon's march to Moscow making it a centerpiece of the novel. It is worth giving yourself a short review of the history of these years and Napoleon's term as Premier of France.
Tolstoy brilliantly merges his fictitious characters with these events. However, he also includes actual French and Russian generals and other heads of state that directed the war. I looked them up on Wikipedia to get more insight as to who they were and what role they played in history.
Tolstoy's fictitious characters are very interesting and you will find that they change and mature (or not) throughout and so will your opinion of them. At the end there are a couple of epilogues where Tolstoy relates his opinion to history in general and how history is created. Fascinating thoughts from a genius but not easy to comprehend. I held off reading this for years but was so glad to have plunged in. It is a masterpiece.

27 people found this helpful

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George Z.

Classic that I am glad I read

Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2022

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I guess this must be one of the original historical novels where one mixes historical events with fictional characters. Liked how Tolstoy intermingled fictional characters, their struggles and triumphs with the harsh reality of the Napoleonic Wars.

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MaitlandMike

A Classic for all ages

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2020

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Is there really anything new under the sun? A 150 year old novel of a history of 210 years ago would tell me "no". This is more than war/peace. It is that. But it is also love/hate, youth/age, pride/humility, searching/finding, destiny/free will, sincerity/pretense, upstairs/downstairs. A bucket list item to read; thank you Covid19 for presenting the prime opportunity. Thank you Leo Tolstoy for characters that nicely become very 3 dimensional in a paragraph or page and yet you keep the story moving along.

Best quote: "There is nothing certain, nothing at all except the unimportance of everything I understand, and the greatness of something incomprehensible but all-important" 3:19 by Prince Andrew

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James M. Larson

Greatest Novel ever written??????

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015

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This was a long read sometimes easy and other times hard to get through. The parts dealing with the war were very hard to follow. The book had some of the best and clearest maps I have seen on any kindle book, but there could have been more of them. Sometimes it seemed that parts of the book were written by two different people. The two epilogues were really hard to get through and really had no part in the book, They were very hard to understand and had no meaning to understanding the rest the book. Why some think that this is one of the greatest novels ever written is beyond me. The storyline about the civilians was interesting but then reading the chapters on the war I found myself wanting to get back to the story about the civilians.

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Paul Brantley

Great book, easier to read than first thought.

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2010

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I will be finishing this epic novel in a week from now.
Its been a month since I started it and read other books along with it. I like to read more than one book at a time to break things up a little bit. Who watches only one television series for a month? Well OK, there are those that probably do that.

It has been quite an amazing journey with many twists and turns. There seems to be many things to be learned about Russia. War and Peace is a massive book, but I found it much easier to read than Atlas Shrugged(fiction displaying what pure socialism could produce) which is also quite a large book.

The free Kindle version from Amazon ended up being the translation from "Louise and Aylmer Maude"(1922-23) and not from "Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky" (2007) though the image shared displayed the later.

Amazon rules for offering these classics!
Thank You Amazon.

27 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Read as Challenge, Delighted with Journey, Surprising

Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021

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I was delighted at the pace, depth, and detail Tolstoy brought to a subject I had little background on. Was delighted 2/3rd through with revelation his characters come to, especially in faith and living.
I've heard readers of LOTR and GOT series get along well with this and can see why. Well worth the time investment.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Rishabh kumar

While by admitting our dependence on the external world, on time, and on cause, we arrive at laws.

Reviewed in India on September 18, 2023

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💂‍♂️🏳️💒 War and Peace 💒🏳️💂‍♂️

“It is true that we are not conscious of our dependence, but by admitting our freewill we arrive at absurdity, while by admitting our dependence on the external world, on time, and on cause, we arrive at laws.”

Why did Leo Tolstoy write war and peace?
Did he knew in the beginning whether this book he was working on was going to be around 1200 pages?

So I won't leave you wondering on few of these questions as they are significant in order for us to learn the true purpose of this creation by Leo Tolstoy.

Leo Tolstoy wanted people to learn about the war that took place between the forces of Napoleon and Alexander, he wanted the common people to learn what goes in the backside which is usually not visible to common people like us when a war is going on. So he could have chosen to write a non fiction book of his thoughts on war and its reality, but he wanted something beyond this simple thing, he wanted people to see themselves in the shoes of the soldiers, the common people of russia, the generals, the royality, the people who suffered due to wars and the people who chose to create ruckus in other people's lives. The simplest way of doing this was creating a story which is engrossing. So he chose to write a novel called war and peace, created complex characters and took time to build and develop their persona, built a complex yet easy to conceive storyline and used romance and tragedy to keep people biting their nails and turning pages over and over again. So basically he wrote a novel or I can even call it an Epic of 18 books and 2 epilogues which might raise fear in the heart of you though it shouldn't.

Coming on to the next question, did he knew that this book is going to be of 18 parts, no he didn't! As most of the writers write, they don't know how the story is going to proceed, they just build a basic premises with the help of their intellect and imagination and keep working on the premises and everything else just keeps on pouring out of their mind through their hands on to the paper in front of them. So he wanted us to learn about the great war of 1812 which eventually led to the capture of Moscow the capital of Russia, but that wouldn't be possible if we weren't aware of what happened in the previous years of this war and what eventually led to it, so he kept on thinking and finally came up to one decision of telling us everything from the very beginning i. e. 1805, which led to this huge book which lies in front of my eyes.

I took 2 to 3 months in completing it, I could have completed it in few weeks had I completely put myself on to it but I didn't, just because of my commitment that I have to post at least one review per week, hahaha. So this goes, I kept of reading books besides this epic book and thus leading to its completion in almost 3 months, sorry War and Peace for that, hope you forgive me.

The character I loved the most was of course Pierre, he's the best, really the best, grew the most, learnt a lot through sacrificing everything he got in life, had the most depth by the ending of this EPIC book and had a happy ending!!