I finally took it upon myself to read Tolstoy's huge novel
that is set in early 19th century Russia. It took some time to get the
central characters in my mind, however, once I did I began to
thoroughly enjoy the stories of the various families Tolstoy introduces
the reader to.
War and Peace is not just about the Napoleonic
Wars between Austria, Russia and England on the one side and France on
the other. It also looks at the war and peace that exist within
families. Not only do countries at war have truces, so do family
members. Tolstoy looks at the human condition and human frailties in
this gigantic novel. Love, loss, anger, treachery, tragedy, death and
pain make up integral parts of this story.
If you are not one who
enjoys historical novels, this is not a book for you. If you don't
have the patience for a long read, this is not the book for you.
Tolstoy has a tendency to ramble off on tangents at times. His
concluding chapters are a series of rambling thoughts about theories
behind history and the causes of historical events. Unfortunately this
detracts from the overall story line. On the other hand, if you enjoy
both reading, history and historical novels you will enjoy this novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment