War and Peace (Vintage Classics)

War and Peace (Vintage Classics)
From the award-winning translators of Anna Karenina and The Brothers Karamazov comes this magnificent new translation of Tolstoy's masterwork.

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.

A s Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgroundsâ€"peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiersâ€"as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most movingâ€"and humanâ€"figures in world literature.
Customer Review: An Amazing Book
From the time I was a young boy, I had knowledge of the existence of this sprawling and intimidating work of literature. I finally decided to tackle it a few weeks ago after taking an interest in Dostoevsky and reading some of his greatest works. My understanding is that Nabokov put Tolstoy in a class significantly above Dostoevsky which increased my interest in reading this book. Needless to say, this book did not disappoint in the least. The story revolves around three families, but in particular a single member from each family: Natasha Rostov, Pierre Bezhukov, and Andrei Bolkonsky. The story takes place during the Napoleonic Wars, certainly a time of unease and turmoil for most Russians (and most Europeans as well). It's very difficult to summarize the plot because this book had the aura of being about not individual events, but rather felt like it was about everything. One has to read it to understand this analysis, but I think to anyone who has read the book, this makes sense. I can't tell you how many times tears would come to my eyes while reading this book. Tolstoy has such a great understanding of humanity that he could understand and convey the workings of people of all ages, genders, and social classes, and show the humanity and beauty in their souls, along with the weaknesses that made them imperfect. I can't compare translations because this is the only translation I have ever read, however, I really enjoyed the prose and would recommend this translation to anyone interested in reading this great book.
Customer Review: Do you speak French?
Something to ask yourself before you buy this edition. If not, you may want to read War and Peace translated by someone else, where you do not have to refer to the bottom of each page in order to read a page. Extremely annoying. Who cares what Tolstoy intended? He intended it to be read in Russian too, so why not learn French and Russian and read the original? Good luck.