Thank you for the video. I’m 58 years old and have wanted to read War and Peace since I was 15 years old. It has always intimidated me because of the length and topics. I think I am at the point where I can handle the subject matter now. Thanks for your tips and thoughts. I feel somewhat motivated now!
Thank you for taking the time to leave this lovely comment. So glad to hear I could be of help in some way. I hope you will tackle this book now. It's time! Best of luck and enjoy the journey.
I read it in my twenties when my eyes were good. Now I'm old and I'm so glad I did. Front-load your life, don't wait till retirement. You don't know what's ahead. It's an intense book and it will stay with you forever. It took me a month to read it and I loved every minute of it. And you don't need a TH-cam video to help you read a book ❣️
For those who want an edition where the french is translated in-text there's only one it's the Penguin Classics edition translated by Anthony Briggs it's also available as a clothbound
Apparently Tolstoy made a revised edition a few years after it was first published in which he changed most of the French to Russian with interpolations that they were speaking French.
Thank you for addressing the issue of print size. This is something so often overlooked in reviews. It doesn't matter so much if you have average or good eyesight. Or maybe if it's a smaller book. But when you're talking about a huge book like that, it really is an important aspect of the edition you choose.
I am currently in Part 4 of this book, and I have found it surprisingly incredible. I personally love slow parts and the drama more than the battle scenes (which are well crafted as well.) Wonderful review. I love finding people who love the classics as much as I do.
Also, side note! This video was very helpful before I started reading. It's definitely an investment, but it's very worth it. Some say that you don't need a video to read this book, but I think your video is necessary to prepare readers before they embark on this very long and dense novel. Great iob!
Simple. When it gets tough read a page or two and put it down and begin again the next day. Keep your phone next to you and google the French translation. 👍
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this one! Which edition did you read? I have just wrestled myself through 1800 pages and I loved it all, except for Tolstoy's long rants about historiography. What are your thoughts on that? And, on another note, for a long time I thought that Pierre and Marie (Bolkonskaya) would end up together. You know, in my mind their personalities seemed to match. Don't you think so?
Just finished it. To anyone starting it don't feel intimidated by the length or the amount of characters. You simply need to watch out for their names changing slightly (Maria/Maisha Natalie/Natalia/Natasha etc.) or being referred to by their second instead of first name. If you get to know the core characters names and the main families you’ll be alright. I didnt research into the Napoleonic war and felt it didnt undermine my reading of the book. Although ironically the war elements of the book i often found to be a drier read than the party or family drama parts. Like any book, it has parts that are a bit more slow than the rest, such is the nature of epics like this. But personally i found it worth the time it took to finish it, with the characters being brilliantly written.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! I agree with everything you say, and I must admit I preferred the "family drama parts" haha. Thanks for stopping by. 🤎
@@ProseAndPetticoats Shame. If they were written in the Kings English I might have been able to read them. Keep up the good work. Your videos are a very pleasant watch
I would consider your reading tips (main character list) if I could start. After reading books and coming back to reviews you're honest and right about them. May be it is odd but what do you use as noise canceling headphones ? I have sennheiser hd 280 which has good sound quality but material wise not good all the leathery parts peeled off.
I try to be as objective as possible, but it's not always easy. I'm happy to hear you find the reviews helpful! The headphones are listed as noise cancelling because they really close around the ear. I use a Pioneer but after 3 years I have the same issue - the leather peels. VERY annoying indeed.
Im reading the clothbound edition of the book. 180 pages in and I havent encountered any French. But it does mention when the characters speak in Russian or French. So far Ive been pleasantly surprised by how easily read it generally is. I was worried it would be another criticically acclaimed 'masterpiece' that would physically age me if by trying to finish it.
I gave up around page 100, maybe I didn't have the right mindset. I wonder if this has more characters as Cien Años de Soledad, although it's much more complex, for sure. So... would you say it's one of the next novels of all time? Because many people have said so. If you like novels about romance and war, you could read Farewell to Arms =P.
You gave up because of the length, right? Yes, it is said to be one of the greatest books ever written. I prefer Anna Karenina over War and Peace, but who am I? Haha, I will get to reading Hemingway one day, but probably not this year.
@@ProseAndPetticoats I gave because I thought it was too boring and slow, and now I don’t feel like reading this... You could read 3 Hemingway novels in a week... Dew it! 😝
war and peace actually means a little different its kinda wierd translation word мир или миру more likely means war and society and how the war can have an impact on society
How to read it? Page by page. Did not know you need preparation, but seems these days there is more important to do a big fuss instead of just doing what is necessary.
Hello! Tolstoy has a rather simple writing style so I'd say it's quite easy to read, but I would advice checking it for yourself. If you go to the Gutenberg website and search for War & Peace, you can start reading it for free (legally). If it's not too difficult, you can order your copy. And, actually, why not read it in French? It is translated from Russian anyway! :) Hope this helps & happy reading!
Count Leo Tolstoy's infamously "long" novel was the inspiration for GRRM's ASOIAF especially when it comes to having that many characters. There's a recording of him on his wikipedia article, so if you wanna hear what he sounds like, that's actually been documented. The invasion of Napoleon is speculated to have failed because of Typhus, a lice-born disease caused by the bacteria Rickettsia, and the freezing cold which made his soldiers expire rather horribly in the ditches. The BBC's limited/mini series starring Paul Dano and Lily James is a good adaptation. The length of the novel is mocked in the Penauts movie (lol!). I will be starting this one soon, wish me luck! And that I survive this massive book.
Thank you for the info! I'll check out that recording - interesting. I started watching the BBC series but gave up after 1 episode. Now that i've read the book, I'll give it another try :) everyone's so positive about it so I'll have to give it a second chance.
'Another book by Leo Tolstoy: one of the greatest in all the languages of the world, War and Peace. Not only the greatest but also the most voluminous...thousands of pages. I don’t know that anybody reads such books except myself. They are so big, so vast, they make you afraid .But Tolstoy’s book has to be vast, it is not his fault. War and Peace is the whole history of human consciousness - the whole history; it cannot be written on a few pages. Yes, it is difficult to read thousands of pages, but if one can one will be transported to another world. One will know the taste of something classic. Yes, it is a classic. Nobody is more worthy of a Nobel Prize than Leo Tolstoy. His creativity is immense, he was unsurpassed by anyone. He was nominated, but refused by the committee because of his unorthodox stories on Christianity. The Prize committee opens its records every fifty years. When records were opened in 1950, researchers rushed to see whose names were nominated and cancelled and for what reason. Leo Tolstoy was nominated, but never given the prize as he is not an orthodox Christian. Leo Tolstoy is one of Russia’s wisest men of the 20th century and his ideas on non-violence deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. Mahatma Gandhi declared three persons his master. The first was Leo Tolstoy, the second was Henry Thoreau, and the third was Emerson. Once Leo Tolstoy was asked - How many experiences did you have of divine ecstasy in your life? Tolstoy started crying. He replied - Not more than 7 in my life of 70 years, but I am grateful for those 7 moments and miserable too. In those moments it was evident that is could have been the flavor of my whole life but that didn’t happen. Those moments came and went on their own. But I am still grateful to God that even without any conscious effort on my part, once in a while He has been knocking at my doors. . Anna Karenina is one of my most loved books. How many times I have read it I can’t remember. I mean the number of times - I remember the book perfectly well, I can relate the whole book. .If I was drowning in the ocean and had to choose just one novel out of all the millions of novels in the world, I would choose Anna Karenina. It would be beautiful to be with that beautiful book. It has to be read and read again; only then you can feel it, smell it, and taste the flavor. It is no ordinary book. Leo Tolstoy failed as a saint, just as Mahatma Gandhi failed as a saint, but Leo Tolstoy was a great novelist. Mahatma Gandhi succeeded as - and will remain forever - a pinnacle of sincerity. I don’t know of any other man in this century who was so sincere. When he wrote to people ‘sincerely yours’ he was really sincere. When you write ‘sincerely yours’, you know, and everybody else knows, and the person to whom you are writing also knows, that it is all bullshit. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to really be ‘sincerely yours’. That’s what makes a person religious - sincerity. Leo Tolstoy wanted to be religious but could not be. He tried hard. I feel great sympathy with his effort, but he was not a religious person. He has to wait at least a few more lives. In a way it is good that he was not a religious man otherwise we would have missed Resurrection, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and dozens more beautiful, immensely beautiful books. "
Thank you for your lovely comment. I loved War & Peace, but I loved Anna Karenina even more. Indeed, these are books that should be read again, over and over. My upcoming video is about his short stories. Happy reading!
Thank you for the video. I’m 58 years old and have wanted to read War and Peace since I was 15 years old. It has always intimidated me because of the length and topics. I think I am at the point where I can handle the subject matter now. Thanks for your tips and thoughts. I feel somewhat motivated now!
Thank you for taking the time to leave this lovely comment. So glad to hear I could be of help in some way. I hope you will tackle this book now. It's time! Best of luck and enjoy the journey.
I read it in my twenties when my eyes were good. Now I'm old and I'm so glad I did. Front-load your life, don't wait till retirement. You don't know what's ahead. It's an intense book and it will stay with you forever. It took me a month to read it and I loved every minute of it. And you don't need a TH-cam video to help you read a book ❣️
For those who want an edition where the french is translated in-text there's only one it's the Penguin Classics edition translated by Anthony Briggs it's also available as a clothbound
Amazing. Thank you for letting us know!
Apparently Tolstoy made a revised edition a few years after it was first published in which he changed most of the French to Russian with interpolations that they were speaking French.
@JosephMok-e4i yeah it's sometimes laughable he uses words of a high registre in a normal registre sentence and it feels tryhard-y
Thank you for addressing the issue of print size. This is something so often overlooked in reviews. It doesn't matter so much if you have average or good eyesight. Or maybe if it's a smaller book. But when you're talking about a huge book like that, it really is an important aspect of the edition you choose.
Yes, I find it so important! You're welcome.
I am currently in Part 4 of this book, and I have found it surprisingly incredible. I personally love slow parts and the drama more than the battle scenes (which are well crafted as well.) Wonderful review. I love finding people who love the classics as much as I do.
Also, side note! This video was very helpful before I started reading. It's definitely an investment, but it's very worth it. Some say that you don't need a video to read this book, but I think your video is necessary to prepare readers before they embark on this very long and dense novel. Great iob!
Thank you so much, that's really kind of you. I'm glad it was helpful!
I read it first time when I was 14? I've read many books since then, but War and Peace is still my favourite....
Simple. When it gets tough read a page or two and put it down and begin again the next day. Keep your phone next to you and google the French translation. 👍
Every now and then TH-cam blesses me with a good video recommendation
What a kind comment! :)
just bought the set you showed. excited to get into this thanks
I hope you have fun! Happy reading 😘
I’ve got War and Peace on the way! And it’s videos like yours that helps me get eager for the journey 🎉🤞🏻🤣😏😆🤞🏻 thanks for the great vid!
I'm glad to hear it gets you motivated! I'm excited for you 😱 enjoy!
Thank you for this helpful video. May I ask do the Everyman editions have French in it with footnotes ? I’m thinking of getting those ones.
Hello! I've read the Everyman edition of War & Peace. There are no footnotes, and the French is not translated. :)
Thank you
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this one! Which edition did you read? I have just wrestled myself through 1800 pages and I loved it all, except for Tolstoy's long rants about historiography. What are your thoughts on that? And, on another note, for a long time I thought that Pierre and Marie (Bolkonskaya) would end up together. You know, in my mind their personalities seemed to match. Don't you think so?
I thought so too! I've read the Everyman's Library edition ;)
Just finished it.
To anyone starting it don't feel intimidated by the length or the amount of characters. You simply need to watch out for their names changing slightly (Maria/Maisha Natalie/Natalia/Natasha etc.) or being referred to by their second instead of first name. If you get to know the core characters names and the main families you’ll be alright.
I didnt research into the Napoleonic war and felt it didnt undermine my reading of the book. Although ironically the war elements of the book i often found to be a drier read than the party or family drama parts.
Like any book, it has parts that are a bit more slow than the rest, such is the nature of epics like this.
But personally i found it worth the time it took to finish it, with the characters being brilliantly written.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it! I agree with everything you say, and I must admit I preferred the "family drama parts" haha. Thanks for stopping by. 🤎
@@ProseAndPetticoats Am I right in saying that you're a writer as well?
@@Rascal-of-War Yes. I'm traditionally published in Belgium 🤎 my books are all in Flemish. :)
@@ProseAndPetticoats Shame. If they were written in the Kings English I might have been able to read them.
Keep up the good work. Your videos are a very pleasant watch
@@Rascal-of-War That's so kind of you! The good news is that my new novel will be published in English at the end of the year! 🥳 Thank you so much.
War and Peace is really a 1800 page Novel with a comfortable font size.
I would consider your reading tips (main character list) if I could start. After reading books and coming back to reviews you're honest and right about them.
May be it is odd but what do you use as noise canceling headphones ?
I have sennheiser hd 280 which has good sound quality but material wise not good all the leathery parts peeled off.
I try to be as objective as possible, but it's not always easy. I'm happy to hear you find the reviews helpful!
The headphones are listed as noise cancelling because they really close around the ear. I use a Pioneer but after 3 years I have the same issue - the leather peels. VERY annoying indeed.
Im reading the clothbound edition of the book.
180 pages in and I havent encountered any French. But it does mention when the characters speak in Russian or French.
So far Ive been pleasantly surprised by how easily read it generally is. I was worried it would be another criticically acclaimed 'masterpiece' that would physically age me if by trying to finish it.
I think the French depends on the edition! Haha, it's good to hear you are enjoying it. Love all the characters. Happy reading!
Can someone tell me if the Wordsworth copy of war and peace have French parts or if the French has been translated?😊
The french has been translated in Wordsworth's war & peace
I gave up around page 100, maybe I didn't have the right mindset. I wonder if this has more characters as Cien Años de Soledad, although it's much more complex, for sure. So... would you say it's one of the next novels of all time? Because many people have said so.
If you like novels about romance and war, you could read Farewell to Arms =P.
You gave up because of the length, right?
Yes, it is said to be one of the greatest books ever written. I prefer Anna Karenina over War and Peace, but who am I? Haha, I will get to reading Hemingway one day, but probably not this year.
@@ProseAndPetticoats I gave because I thought it was too boring and slow, and now I don’t feel like reading this...
You could read 3 Hemingway novels in a week... Dew it! 😝
war and peace actually means a little different its kinda wierd translation word мир или миру more likely means war and society and how the war can have an impact on society
I'd sum up the book in these terms: Napoleonic era, Russian-French war, the decline and fall of the aristocracy in the West.
For sure!
Thanks for this exciting review!!
@@AbreTuMente Thank you for watching!
How to read it? Page by page. Did not know you need preparation, but seems these days there is more important to do a big fuss instead of just doing what is necessary.
Discussing the background of a work and author to help readers get into a classic? How dare I!
@@ProseAndPetticoats Yeh, if it is the first time you heard about Tolstoy.
Help? Get into? What are they, handicapped? Lived under a rock?
"... I may not have 100 rubles
But i had 100 friends .."
Leo Tolstoy
Hello i'm French , is war and peace difficult to read in english or it's not so hard ?
Hello! Tolstoy has a rather simple writing style so I'd say it's quite easy to read, but I would advice checking it for yourself. If you go to the Gutenberg website and search for War & Peace, you can start reading it for free (legally). If it's not too difficult, you can order your copy. And, actually, why not read it in French? It is translated from Russian anyway! :) Hope this helps & happy reading!
Count Leo Tolstoy's infamously "long" novel was the inspiration for GRRM's ASOIAF especially when it comes to having that many characters.
There's a recording of him on his wikipedia article, so if you wanna hear what he sounds like, that's actually been documented.
The invasion of Napoleon is speculated to have failed because of Typhus, a lice-born disease caused by the bacteria Rickettsia, and the freezing cold which made his soldiers expire rather horribly in the ditches.
The BBC's limited/mini series starring Paul Dano and Lily James is a good adaptation.
The length of the novel is mocked in the Penauts movie (lol!).
I will be starting this one soon, wish me luck! And that I survive this massive book.
Thank you for the info! I'll check out that recording - interesting. I started watching the BBC series but gave up after 1 episode. Now that i've read the book, I'll give it another try :) everyone's so positive about it so I'll have to give it a second chance.
Also, your cat is beautiful!
He's a king, haha.
'Another book by Leo Tolstoy: one of the greatest in all the languages of the world, War and Peace. Not only the greatest but also the most voluminous...thousands of pages. I don’t know that anybody reads such books except myself. They are so big, so vast, they make you afraid
.But Tolstoy’s book has to be vast, it is not his fault. War and Peace is the whole history of human consciousness - the whole history; it cannot be written on a few pages. Yes, it is difficult to read thousands of pages, but if one can one will be transported to another world. One will know the taste of something classic. Yes, it is a classic.
Nobody is more worthy of a Nobel Prize than Leo Tolstoy. His creativity is immense, he was unsurpassed by anyone. He was nominated, but refused by the committee because of his unorthodox stories on Christianity. The Prize committee opens its records every fifty years. When records were opened in 1950, researchers rushed to see whose names were nominated and cancelled and for what reason. Leo Tolstoy was nominated, but never given the prize as he is not an orthodox Christian. Leo Tolstoy is one of Russia’s wisest men of the 20th century and his ideas on non-violence deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology. Mahatma Gandhi declared three persons his master. The first was Leo Tolstoy, the second was Henry Thoreau, and the third was Emerson.
Once Leo Tolstoy was asked - How many experiences did you have of divine ecstasy in your life? Tolstoy started crying. He replied - Not more than 7 in my life of 70 years, but I am grateful for those 7 moments and miserable too. In those moments it was evident that is could have been the flavor of my whole life but that didn’t happen. Those moments came and went on their own. But I am still grateful to God that even without any conscious effort on my part, once in a while He has been knocking at my doors.
. Anna Karenina is one of my most loved books. How many times I have read it I can’t remember. I mean the number of times - I remember the book perfectly well, I can relate the whole book.
.If I was drowning in the ocean and had to choose just one novel out of all the millions of novels in the world, I would choose Anna Karenina. It would be beautiful to be with that beautiful book. It has to be read and read again; only then you can feel it, smell it, and taste the flavor. It is no ordinary book.
Leo Tolstoy failed as a saint, just as Mahatma Gandhi failed as a saint, but Leo Tolstoy was a great novelist. Mahatma Gandhi succeeded as - and will remain forever - a pinnacle of sincerity. I don’t know of any other man in this century who was so sincere. When he wrote to people ‘sincerely yours’ he was really sincere. When you write ‘sincerely yours’, you know, and everybody else knows, and the person to whom you are writing also knows, that it is all bullshit. It is very difficult, almost impossible, to really be ‘sincerely yours’. That’s what makes a person religious - sincerity.
Leo Tolstoy wanted to be religious but could not be. He tried hard. I feel great sympathy with his effort, but he was not a religious person. He has to wait at least a few more lives. In a way it is good that he was not a religious man otherwise we would have missed Resurrection, War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and dozens more beautiful, immensely beautiful books. "
Thank you for your lovely comment. I loved War & Peace, but I loved Anna Karenina even more. Indeed, these are books that should be read again, over and over. My upcoming video is about his short stories. Happy reading!
You said no spoilers, but you are giving us spoilers, so I stopped the video. You were telling us what happens with the people.!
Can you tell me where in the video? :)