War and Peace

nice and very hefty book, quite thick because its one volume only, you need to read it sitting down for you to be a little comfortable, I have yet to read this book

Now that I am retired I plan on fully enjoying this massive masterpiece of 1600 plus pages.

Tolstoy has been reviewed by readers more qualified to comment than I. However, I first read War and Peace before a trip to Russia and it gave me a vision to search out in Moscow and St Petersburg.. A great novel...

A human story to inspire any reader

Great!

Very good condition.

James Joyce wrote " Tolstoy is a magnificent writer. He is never dull, never stupid, never tired, never pedantic, never theatrical!" In respect of "War and Peace" Joyce may be thinking of Tolstoy's novelistic innovations, apart from length, and the constant ironic ambience. He employs exacting detail, so that in a few packed words he captures the indifference of authority combined with the consequence of indifference: "A doctor in a bloodstained apron came out of the tent, holding a cigar between the thumb and little finger of one of his bloodstained hands to keep the blood off it."Another innovation is authorial intrusions that have the quality of essays, especially his thesis of the preponderance of impetus, of the unimportance of the individual, whether it is Napoleon or Kutuzov at the Battle of Borodino, or the ineffective Pierre Besukhov, who seeks Napoleon on the battlefield . But his efforts, like those of any individual, are futile. As Napoleon occupied Moscow, Pierre Besukhov combines numbers with the French alphabet, to determine that Napoleon is the devil, his nature encapsulated in the number 666. Besukhov is turned into a well-meaning buffoon in his twisted machinations, turning himself into a megalomaniac in his folly to find an equal who can oppose Napoleon: "Dropping the e again (quite unjustifiably) Pierre got the answer he was after in the phrase l'russe Besuhof - exactly 666!"Though Tolstoy makes fools of his heroes, he is a psychological writer who delves into the complexities of human motives and emotions, whether it is Pierre's angst over murdering a tyrant, or his heroine's as she is confounded by love: "And Natasha's face had shone with happiness, though it also had a pathetic look as if to apologise for any happiness."The novel is notable for the smallness or the insignificance of its parts, including the subsets of Natasha's emotional responses. The characters are governed by chance, including the chance by which Pierre . And the only way to show this is minutely. Tolstoy is the greatest miniaturist in the history of the novel. He is economical. This outlandish, wonderful novel determines, wrongly, his destiny. So that it can be described as a masterpiece of reduction, in which the individuals are swept up into the tides of war and peace.

Prompt service. Excellent quality of product. Bought as a gift and it will be much appreciated.