50 Books Challenge | April
24. War and Peace
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Historical
Pages: 1107
Rating: 5/5
I'll be honest: I went into this book cynically. "Come on, Greatest Novel of All Time," I thought to myself. "Show me what you've got." To showcase my arrogance, the book delivered. There is no way I can possibly do justice to War and Peace in one paragraph; I couldn't properly give it praise in an entire book, if required. Put simply: I love this book. This is one of those works that truly change one's perceptions of reality. Calling it historical fiction does not full describe it. This is a book about life. We follow the lives of five Russian families throughout the Napoleonic Wars - though the book eventually focuses primarily on Andrey Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezuhov, and Natasha Rostov - and we experience everything they do, from what appear to be meaningless events of every day to the battlefields of the war. It is a work about learning that there is nothing to seek in life, no greater answers to riddles, because everything one seeks is nothing. Andrey and Pierre both eventually learn this in different ways, though only Andrey retains this wisdom for the single reason that it can only be retained in his circumstance (I won't spoil this for you); the only people who regularly live this wisdom, without having to search for it, are Andrey's sister Marya and Natasha's brother Nikolay. This is only beginning to touch the scope of the work than can only be appreciated by reading it. This is the best book I've ever read, and probably could ever hope to read.
My only real criticism lies within my book's translation by Constance Garnett. She's a fine translator, but she translated too much of the French. I understand translating the Russian into English (otherwise I wouldn't be able to read it), but by translating the French - which is a major part of the characters who speak it - something major is lost. I hear more recent translations retain the French with accompanying footnotes, so I'll look into those the next time I read this.
25. Hidden in Plain View: Narrative and Creative Potentials in 'War and Peace'
Author: Gary Saul Morson
Genre: Nonfiction//Literary Criticism
Pages: 271
Rating: 4/5
I obtained this after reading Tolstoy's classic to give me a better understanding of what I've read; surprisingly, there are very few books written about War and Peace, but this one was applauded in the further-reading section of my copy of the book. Morson examines some of the major themes of the book: the unexpected influence of real life, adaptation as the key to survival, the rejection of the "great man" theory of history, and many more. He also examines the history of War and Peace, from its initial criticisms to those today. He explains Tolstoy's use of absolute language, his rejection of the contemporary novel, and his strive to make War and Peace into something undefinable. This book is useful to someone who has immediately read War and Peace, to help piece together some questions the reader may have after completing the classic. However, I do believe Morson brings up Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky too much; comparisons are fine and to be expected, but sometimes one must wonder if he remembers what book he is reviewing. But that's a minor fault of an otherwise informative piece.
Author: Leo Tolstoy
Genre: Fiction//Classic-Historical
Pages: 1107
Rating: 5/5
I'll be honest: I went into this book cynically. "Come on, Greatest Novel of All Time," I thought to myself. "Show me what you've got." To showcase my arrogance, the book delivered. There is no way I can possibly do justice to War and Peace in one paragraph; I couldn't properly give it praise in an entire book, if required. Put simply: I love this book. This is one of those works that truly change one's perceptions of reality. Calling it historical fiction does not full describe it. This is a book about life. We follow the lives of five Russian families throughout the Napoleonic Wars - though the book eventually focuses primarily on Andrey Bolkonsky, Pierre Bezuhov, and Natasha Rostov - and we experience everything they do, from what appear to be meaningless events of every day to the battlefields of the war. It is a work about learning that there is nothing to seek in life, no greater answers to riddles, because everything one seeks is nothing. Andrey and Pierre both eventually learn this in different ways, though only Andrey retains this wisdom for the single reason that it can only be retained in his circumstance (I won't spoil this for you); the only people who regularly live this wisdom, without having to search for it, are Andrey's sister Marya and Natasha's brother Nikolay. This is only beginning to touch the scope of the work than can only be appreciated by reading it. This is the best book I've ever read, and probably could ever hope to read.
My only real criticism lies within my book's translation by Constance Garnett. She's a fine translator, but she translated too much of the French. I understand translating the Russian into English (otherwise I wouldn't be able to read it), but by translating the French - which is a major part of the characters who speak it - something major is lost. I hear more recent translations retain the French with accompanying footnotes, so I'll look into those the next time I read this.
25. Hidden in Plain View: Narrative and Creative Potentials in 'War and Peace'
Author: Gary Saul Morson
Genre: Nonfiction//Literary Criticism
Pages: 271
Rating: 4/5
I obtained this after reading Tolstoy's classic to give me a better understanding of what I've read; surprisingly, there are very few books written about War and Peace, but this one was applauded in the further-reading section of my copy of the book. Morson examines some of the major themes of the book: the unexpected influence of real life, adaptation as the key to survival, the rejection of the "great man" theory of history, and many more. He also examines the history of War and Peace, from its initial criticisms to those today. He explains Tolstoy's use of absolute language, his rejection of the contemporary novel, and his strive to make War and Peace into something undefinable. This book is useful to someone who has immediately read War and Peace, to help piece together some questions the reader may have after completing the classic. However, I do believe Morson brings up Anna Karenina and Dostoevsky too much; comparisons are fine and to be expected, but sometimes one must wonder if he remembers what book he is reviewing. But that's a minor fault of an otherwise informative piece.