War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

663 Installments—Entirely free

(Preview)

Members' Rating: from 17 Ratings and 4 Reviews

Tags: Classics, Novel, Russian

ISBN:067003469X

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Description

Perhaps one of the most revered works in all of literature, Tolstoy's War and Peace is an epic story of Russian life in the days of Napoleon. Here are the sagas of five families who must face the ups and downs of history's wheel of fortune. As the French invade Russia, the continuing heat of battle throws human dramas into sharp relief, bringing essential experiences, struggles, and questions of life and death, love and loss, spirituality and despair, to the forefront.

About the Author

Born into an aristocratic Russian family, Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was able to enjoy a life of luxury from the very first. Throughout his life, however, and perhaps inspired by personal losses from which even his financial comfort could not protect him, he remained intrigued by philosophical questions about the nature of human existence. Through military service and well into his career as a writer, Tolstoy sought higher truths and found the materialistic lifestyle of many around him to be quite empty. Best known for his novels Anna Karenina, War and Peace, and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy was an extremely prolific writer, with a full catalog of short stories, plays, and non-fiction to his name.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

"Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Buonapartes. But I warn you, if you don't tell me that this means war, if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist--I really believe he is Antichrist--I will have nothing more to do with you ...

Member reviews

1/5

Reviewed by gssq on Jul 11, 2009

Incredibly boring

Dull, tedious

Good if you want to know what courtly/aristocratic life was like but not much else, it seems

4/5

Reviewed by jiangxinyan on Jan 22, 2009

quite good

5/5

Reviewed by austeneyre on Nov 15, 2008

It took me five times, but it was worth it.

I tried reading War and Peace many times throughout the years, but until I got DailyLit, I never got into it enough to stick with it. After I got well into it, it got very interesting, and the characters were very engaging. It is well worth reading this book.

5/5

Reviewed by haroldp72 on Oct 21, 2008

The best book ever written

I was shocked that I liked war and peace but I do. Its a very amazing book. I have a few favorite charectors such as Pierre and Rostove. Denisov grew on me but at first i didn't like him, thought he was arrogant and hostile and I didn't like the way he treated pierre. The duel with Pierre and Denisov was cool and i'm really glad Denisov didn't kill Pierre infact he shouted at him to turn to the side to avoide being and when Pierre did't Denisov shot and I think missed pierre on purpose. Yes he is a good chap at moments. Denisov was also honorable when he took the horses for his regiment although he should handled Telyanin differantly instead of punching him in the nose although I do understand why he did.

Ratings for 'War and Peace' by Tolstoy, Leo

austeneyre	Read review	2008-11-15
blondierocket		2008-07-28
dddd		2008-12-04
enderchen		2008-12-30
gssq	Read review	2009-07-11
haroldp72	Read review	2008-10-21
interimstate		2008-10-04
jiangxinyan	Read review	2009-01-22
Kwade		2008-08-19
Ribeiro		2008-09-16
roentgen		2008-09-23
rydellpink		2009-07-16
Susie18		2009-03-03
trisapeace		2008-08-23
wickesgirl		2009-04-26
wistaria		2008-09-20
ynaandrea		2009-06-28