War and Peace – International Edition Author: Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy | Language: English | ISBN:
0099512238 | Format: EPUB
War and Peace – International Edition Description
Review
"My favourite book of 2007 is this new translation of War and Peace... I'm relishing the incomparable mix of vivid description, penetrating social comment and philosophy. Translators give their wits and craft selflessly in the service of others' work; this is a triumph of fidelity and unpretentiousness" -- Sally Vickers Independent "I'm absolutely blown away by this translation. The main thing about reading Volokhonsky and Pevear is that I feel I'm reading a book for the first time...it's a joy to read...There were moments in the book that hadn't quite established themselves until this [translation]...The sense of actually being in the skin of these people is phenomenally, brilliantly rendered by this new translation" -- Simon Schama "There remains the greatest of all novelists-for what else can we call the author of War and Peace" -- Virginia Woolf "To read him ... is to find one's way home ... to everything within us that is fundamental and sane" -- Thomas Mann "Tolstoy is a magnificent writer. he is never dull, never stupid, never tired, never pedantic, never theatrical!" -- James Joyce
About the Author
Leo Tolstoy was born in central Russia on 9 September 1828. In 1852 he published his first work, the autobiographical Childhood. He served in the army during the Crimean War and his Sevastopol Sketches (1855-6) are based on his experiences. His two most popular masterpieces are War and Peace (1864-69) and Anna Karenina (1875-8). He died in 20 November 1910. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have been nominated for the PEN-Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize three times and have won it twice. They live in Paris
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- Hardcover: 1296 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Books USA; Gift ed edition (April 1, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0099512238
- ISBN-13: 978-0099512233
- Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 9.6 inches
- Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
"War and Peace," by Leo Tolstoy, ? 2007,
translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Alfred A. Knopf, publisher
This review is broken down into two segments, a Descriptive Summary and an Evaluative Summary. If you're already very familiar with the story of "War and Peace," you may wish to skip directly to the latter facet of my review which is essentially the critique of this particular volume.
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY:
In 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Austria to expand his European empire. Russia, being an ally of Austria, stood with their brethren against the infamous Emperor. Napoleon prevailed and a treaty was ultimately signed at Tilsit. In 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia, again in an effort to expand his empire. The end result of this tragic war was that Napoleon's army of about 600,000 soldiers was reduced to roughly 60,000 men as the defamed Emperor raced from Moscow (which he had taken), back across the frozen Russian tundra in his carriage (leaving his troops behind to fend for themselves) for Paris. That encapsulizes the military aspect of this work.
But the more intricate story involves both the activities and the peccadillos of, primarily, three Russian families of nobility: The Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Bezukovs. The continual thorn of "The Antichrist," Napoleon, really just provides the wallpaper for this story of romance, riches, desolation, love, jealousy, hatred, retribution, joy, naiivety, stupidity and so much more. Tolstoy has woven an incredibly intricate web that interconnects these noble families, the wars, and the common Russian people to a degree that would seem incomprehensible to achieve - but Tolstoy perseveres with superb clarity and great insight to the human psyche.
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