MouthShut.com Would Like to Send You Push Notifications. Notification may includes alerts, activities & updates.

OTP Verification

Enter 4-digit code
For Business
MouthShut Logo
Upload Photo

MouthShut Score

86%
4.29 

Readability:

Story:

×

Upload your product photo

Supported file formats : jpg, png, and jpeg

Address



Contact Number

Cancel

I feel this review is:

Fake
Genuine

To justify genuineness of your review kindly attach purchase proof
No File Selected

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu India
Journey to (wo)manhood- Boy to Man- War and Peace
Mar 07, 2013 03:33 PM 5048 Views

Readability:

Story:

I grew up on War and Peace (WAP)A book by a Russian, on Russians, by a man who loved Russia. In short that is how I would describe it. But the appeal transcends boundaries. Nobody can read WAP and not be moved, not find one among the hundreds of characters to identify with. I have read the book many times, cover to cover not less than five times. Yet there is so much to remember, so much to learn, that each time I take up the book to read, I begin with the same pleasure as I did last.


The book covers Russia during the reign of Tsar Alexander the Ist and focuses on the events leading up to Napolean Buonaparte’s ill-fated invasion of Russia. Starting with the Battle of Austerlitz, the changing tide of Russian nationalism and briefly flirts with ideas such as liberation of serfs. Many of the characters are so multidimensional that with the exception of Nicolas Rostov, they are difficult to identify with. Pierre Bezukhov is one of the most tortured souls in the book and the pattern his life takes kept me perpetually guessing what he would do next. In many ways his weaknesses are more human than the boyish innocence and enthusiasm of young Rostov. Andrew Bolkonsky is another enigma, even more so that Bezukhov. Of the female characters, those of Natasha Rostov and Mary Bolkonsky are the most appealing. It is a difficult toss-up, who is more adorable. The book is littered with unforgettable characters, the dark Dolokhov, the lovable Denisov, the tragic Sonya, Uncle-Count Rostov’s hunting companion and many others.


The book revels in descriptive scenes of which there are several. Starting with the first page, Anna Schérer’s souirée, the battle scene descriptions which can make you smell the powder, the hunting scenes with the old Count Rostov, but my favourite are when Nicolas and Natasha join the old uncle after the hunt and Natasha dances the Mazurka. Another unforgettable scene is when Nicolas returns home on furlough and the welcome he receives is enough to warm the heart of any son living away from home. The evacuation of Moscow where the Rostov’s lose their fortune while saving wounded soldiers is one of the most heart rending I have read anywhere. There was something so Indian about the spirit of sacrifice, I could imagine Balraj Sahani sahib or Sohrab Modi sahib as the old count ruining himself and family in order to do the right thing and save the wounded soldiers. This scene is difficult to read with a dry eye.


Two axioms I have taken with me from WAP, the first is Tolstoy’s ideal of fatalism. History makes the man, not vice versa. Even the most powerful man in the world is but a tool in the hands of history, that Tolstoy describes as an inexorable process set in motion by a combination of events that take place apparently independent of each other but are clearly linked and once the motion begins is irreversible.


The second axiom relates to the unwritten code of the army which a young and impressionable Boris stumbles upon while waiting to meet Prince Andrew. These are the two most powerful lessons from the book.


The battle descriptions are epic. I would specifically draw your attention to the scene, page 152 of the Wordsworth classics edition, describing Captain Tushin, artillery officer’s heroic stand which was witnessed by Prince Andrew. This ranks as one of the finest battle scenes I have ever read.


Setting out to write a review of War and Peace is akin to the proverbial blind men attempting to describe the elephant depending on which part they touch. No doubt people better read than me with deeper understanding of human nature and wider intellect will be able to discern much more than I did and do better justice to this vast epic. I have no literary pretensions, No scholar am I. When I picked up the book I was aged 18, and have read it half a dozen times in the last 18 years. My main motivation for writing this review is to do homage to this great man. If this review serves as an introduction and encourages someone to take it up for the first time, I will have achieved my objective.


Upload Photo

Upload Photos


Upload photo files with .jpg, .png and .gif extensions. Image size per photo cannot exceed 10 MB


Comment on this review

Read All Reviews

YOUR RATING ON

War And Peace - Leo Tolstoy
1
2
3
4
5
X