i'm the wormiest bookworm i know, and this book ranks among my top five favorites. i'm reading it for the third time, i love it that much. the copy i got is translated by anne dunnigan.
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i'm the wormiest bookworm i know, and this book ranks among my top five favorites. i'm reading it for the third time, i love it that much. the copy i got is translated by anne dunnigan.
Thank you for the message about the translation. I'm looking for a hard cover version and would prefer to read a separate translation, for many reasons, but partly just for comparison.
I am reading it for the first time - and very glad I have more times to look forward to, in the future, at the age of almost 54. What an amazing pleasure it is, too, to be reading it for the first time. It's hard to stop reading it, but I need to savor and take stock of what has just happened...
I love the book too!!
I read it in English instead of Russian, and it had better effect on me than most other books in Russian. Which tells me that W P power is before all in it's content than presentation.
It was a long read, but i got through!
the most beautiful story ive ever read. for me it was all about the relationships.. obviously he was making a statement about the classic theme of fate with the backdrop of the war... but for me he communicated it better through the people... oh sonya!!
I it Sonya or Natasha? :D
If you're going to read it many times, I'd recommend trying different translations. You'll read a slightly different version each time. I'd highly recommend the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation as it seems they did they're best to accurately represent Tolstoy's language, modes, and style; such as his use of repetition which many versions gloss over, or his sometimes equivocal language or poetic phrasing. There's an Amazon reviewer (Patrick W. Crabtree) who's read almost every version and wrote excellent reviews on all of them; you might check them out. Here's a short conversation I had with him: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3FR5ZG...wasThisHelpful
Right now I'm recommending to anyone that has not read it to read Anthony Briggs' translation. I started with Pevear/V. and was put off by the French, then read 900 or so pages of Garnett put got waylayed by other things in life, then began Briggs from the beginning and had no trouble finishing the book in about a month, and found it quite gripping and wonderful. I certainly will read it all again, and may do the Maude next time, though I don't like how they anglicised some of the characters names: Andrei = Andrew; Marya = Mary. Everyone should read War and Peace, all of life is found within its covers!
I read this book as part of my self-inflicted "summer reading" regime and was pleasantly shocked to find that it was an excellent soap opera, Napoleanic Wars tutorial, and philosophy lesson. Definitely a work of art whether or not it fits the pigeon-holed novel or philosophy categories.
I can say that this book is my most favorite - just because characters are really bright (I mean just like alive), because the book is full of phylosophy and life experience....I've read it for 2 times) When I read it for the first time I thought that Pierre Bezuchov is just like me - the only difference is that he is a man)
I felt changed after I read this book. It was...many years ago, I lost my copy. I read the Garnett translation. I too loved Pierre Bezuchov!
I must read it again, it seem'd so pure and wonderful. Also, the first Tolstoi I read it was, and I have since loved him so much, reading Anna Karenina, Resurrection, Master and Man, Ivan Ilych, Family Happiness, Kruetzer Sonata (this last was my least favourite). I look forward to Cossacks.