Boring

I am listening to an audio-book version of War & Peace. I find the novel appallingly boring and stilted. The anecdotes are pointless and go nowhere. The characters are detestable, superficial, petty russian aristocracy. The writing is stilted and mannered. <br><br>Tolstoy is skilled at depicting subtle psychological situations. Too bad I can't care about the characters. <br><br>His description of russian military officers is critical and unflattering. It is easy to see how their incompetence and lack of caring for their troops foretold the revolution.<br><br>Maybe it's great litterature, but it sure ain't great entertainment.<br><br>I'm about 20 hours into the 62-hour narration. I'm sticking with it mainly because I want to read about Napoleon & Moscow from the russian perspective. Also so I can tell friends how painless it is to listen to the book, something few people would ever sit down to do.<br><br>I enjoyed "The DaVinci Code", "The Company", "A Beautiful Mind" far more than W&P. BTW I have an arts degree, and have studied french, english, latin, spanish and greek litterature.

First of all, learn to spell literature! This post is totally ridiculous. When a book is thought of by thousands of experts to be one of the greatest books ever read and you say you don't think it's as good as the da vinci code, one of the trashiest novels i've ever read, don't you think maybe you should question your opinions after only having listened to a small part of it if you think it's a load of rubbish. What do you mean you don't care about the characters? What is a good book about if it's not about its characters. W&P has some of the most amazing, deep, intricate descriptions of human thought that i've ever read - it's totally fascinating and thought provoking. War and Peace is a totally amazing book - maybe some of it is lost in audiobook format - why don't you try actually reading it instead, as i'd have thought someone who's such a great scholar of literature would be more used to doing.

Please do not personalise your arguements even if you disagree with each other's views and keep your discussions within common courtesy.

Scher is so calm and cool! I appreciate that.

Unfortunately, I have yet to read Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace; I purchased it not long ago, and intend to read it very soon, especially after reading this thread.
Anna Karenina I can call one of the best novels I have ever read without hesitation; with War and Peace I have heard similar things - that both categorize as masterpieces.
Perhaps I will begin it very soon, then refer back to this thread. :)

I haven't read War and Peace either and can't say that I have the stamina to read such a great work. Would anyone like to write a short resume (ahem if such a thing is possible) of what it is about? I think Pierrre's comments are entirely worthy in stating his opinion, backed up by his reasons for not liking the book. 20 hours of listening to something so apparently boring! Phew you deserve a medal Pierre. I would have fallen asleep in the first half hour.

Literature is as diverse as the world and people's tastes for literature thankfully are equally diverse which is what makes it so interesting. Like food, we all prefer or detest different things - but we are all entitled to express our opinion and this is what this site is about, discussing our differing opinions on literature and learning from one another. Welcome to the Literature Network Pierre. Don't be put off by your initial greeting. Most people here are friendly and fun and love discussing books and different genres of writing.

Miranda

i am reading it and it has taken a while (i go to school full-time and have read many other books since finishing vol. I last summer, but am nearly finished with vol. II. it is like a river - some turbulence, some ease, and not for everyone.
personally, i like it; when it's good it's very good, but if it's not to your taste, row your boat down another stream. :nod:

Perhaps my reply was a bit rude, but here are some points:
If you don't like a book at least write 'in my opinion' etc. Don't just generally state that the book is rubbish. 'The characters are petty' etc. Calling tolstoy's characters 'petty' is like saying War and Peace is a short book. The level of description of each character's personality and deeds is probably unparalleled in any other work of literature in the world. If you do happen to possess the extremely controversial opinion that they are superficial, you could at least back it up with some kind of evidence. Second, replying to Miranda: Why does he deserve a medal for listening to something he's not interested in for 20 hours? Surely that's just wasting time. I don't think you can really sum up war and peace either except by saying that it's an amazingly in depth look into the human spirit, the character of war and human behaviour and really a deep philosophical work. Sorry, but if you think this book is 'superficial' there must be something seriously wrong with you.

I haven't read Tolstoy's works, although I own both Anna Karenina and War and Peace.That's rather foolish to admit! Seriously though, I am a little put out by them. It isn't the size that is the problem, I am just confounded by what state of mind I have to be in to start reading it.... I have heard Tolstoy isn't exactly light reading.

well...you could open the book and start from there. then if you aren't in the right state of mind when you begin, you'll have an idea as to which state might be best to read it in later.

Yes, your reply was rude Guyster. unnecessarily so. It is clear that Pierre was expressing his opinion and the words 'in my opinion' are just like your rudeness - unnecessary. Pierre did not state the book was rubbish and in fact compliments Tolstoy 'Tolstoy is skilled at depicting subtle psychological situations.' And yes, I think that Pierre does deserve a medal for listening to something that he finds so appallingly boring and stilted - but you are entitled to think differently. No, I don't think that he was wasting his time because having listened he is more educated and is able to comment properly on War and Peace whereas I being ignorant of its content can't offer an opinion on it.

Pierre does not say that the book is superficial - he says that he finds the characters superficial - not the same thing at all. Maybe you should read Pierre's post again and see what he really says? But he seems not to be replying so perhaps he has left the board having encountered such rudeness. This is a friendly place Guyster, no need for it. Nor is there need to say that there is something wrong with someone if they happen to think that War and Peace is superficial. Everyone is entitled to express an opinion without being insulted for doing so.

Miranda.

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Originally Posted by guyster

Perhaps my reply was a bit rude, but here are some points:
If you don't like a book at least write 'in my opinion' etc. Don't just generally state that the book is rubbish. 'The characters are petty' etc. Calling tolstoy's characters 'petty' is like saying War and Peace is a short book. The level of description of each character's personality and deeds is probably unparalleled in any other work of literature in the world. If you do happen to possess the extremely controversial opinion that they are superficial, you could at least back it up with some kind of evidence. Second, replying to Miranda: Why does he deserve a medal for listening to something he's not interested in for 20 hours? Surely that's just wasting time. I don't think you can really sum up war and peace either except by saying that it's an amazingly in depth look into the human spirit, the character of war and human behaviour and really a deep philosophical work. Sorry, but if you think this book is 'superficial' there must be something seriously wrong with you.

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he did, however, find it appallingly boring and stilted, eh? i quote. at any rate, there are no doubt persons who find cezanne and dali boring and stilted; art has many admirers and detractors.


also, i have noticed a lot of book-related posts are from 5-24-2005 - it's possible that he wrote his comment some time earlier and it was uploaded from the main site on that day. Pierre Cloutier's name is in a different font from registered members, his number of posts are non-applicable, and it is my guess that he wasn't a regular member on the forums to begin with.

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Originally Posted by amuse

also, i have noticed a lot of book-related posts are from 5-24-2005 - it's possible that he wrote his comment some time earlier and it was uploaded from the main site on that day.

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How glad I feel for not being the only person who noticed. Strange how so many 'guests' appeared that day, but have not appeared since the time, nor have we had any other guests. :confused:

Well I think the guests just get here from the online version of the text so that's why they don't reappear to the forum. That doesnt explain why all on the same day... Maybe the comments where moved here on that day from a different version of the comments part on the online text page...

I'd like to mention that I suppose that Pierre guy who started the thread is probably French and therefore he spelt literature with 2 t as in French... which is actually not a real disturbing mistake since it's hardly noticeable...

To me it's a strange idea to listen to a book instead of reading it, but he must have his reasons to do that... Though I think it gives a different perception to the text. I'd certainly get more distracted while listening...

I have mixed feelings towards W&P. I didn't hate it, I actually enjoyed it in some moments, but at the same time I found it heavy in many moments, and I really didn't like the characters that everybody praises so much. Pierre and Andrey were good characters, quite full and effective, but I detested Natasha. A really irritating one. Also, I think some characters like Maria and Sonia could have been developed much better. I don't question the value of this work, but I still can't decipher it and classify it with certainty... While on the other hand I think Anna Karenina was a perfect novel, especially in the characterization.

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Originally Posted by Koa

I have mixed feelings towards W&P. I didn't hate it, I actually enjoyed it in some moments, but at the same time I found it heavy in many moments, and I really didn't like the characters that everybody praises so much. Pierre and Andrey were good characters, quite full and effective, but I detested Natasha. A really irritating one. Also, I think some characters like Maria and Sonia could have been developed much better. I don't question the value of this work, but I still can't decipher it and classify it with certainty...

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My thoughts exactly.