War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
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Well y'all I did it! I finally did it! I FINALLY finished War and Peace! And you know what? It was actually kind of great. Tolstoy has two different dialogues in this book. The first is a story and has to do with the characters he has invented (and the real characters he's invented for) and these sections of the book are wonderful. He writes the characters wonderfully and you really are on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next with this diverse group of people who all come together in the end. The other dialogue running through this book is a reflection on war, and how historians handle it. These parts sort of felt like I was getting beat over the head with a political science textbook.
Tolstoy is very emphatic that events go the way they do not because of the wills of certain individuals (like Napolean and Alexander I) but because of the force of the movement of many people. I'll be honest, my eyes would tend to glaze during these sections. Especially because Tolstoy is a tangent lover. There was an entire chapter describing Moscow to a decimiated bee hive and I was like, OH MY GOD I GET IT. But it really was one of the greatest books I've ever read- I can see why it has such a prestigious place in literary history. Especially as an American, it's interesting to hear about the other war of 1812, and what went on in Russia.
My rating:
Go Lauren! I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and thanks for the break down :).."beat over the head with a political science textbook" is probably why I won't get around to reading it for quite awhile though.. haha!
ReplyDeleteJen
Jen.amileamemory@gmail.com
Yeah there were some parts that I had to slave through but the actual story line with characters was amazing!
DeleteWay to go! I love Russian lit, but I haven't read this one. You inspire me! Because you're still the kind of person who likes reality TV (as I do), but you can read the classics! I may have to at least pick this up so it can be an option to read it sometime.
ReplyDeleteIf you love Russian lit you should DEFINITELY read this! It's massive and the non-story parts get a little tedious but I really enjoyed it and that is really saying something for me, haha.
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