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ggcd1981's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Ler War and Peace foi um desafio para mim, não só porque é um clássico bastante longo, mas também pela forma como foi escrito. A obra mostra o panorama da vida da alta sociedade russa durante os avanços e consequente guerras napoleônicas. O livro lança luz sobre a vida de alguns personagens chave, para a narrativa senão para a História mundial, ao longo dos anos de duração da campanha de Napoleão na Rússia. Os principais desses personagens são:
Pierre Bezukhov - O filho ilegítimo corpulento, desajeitado de um velho nobre russo. Pierre, educado no exterior, retorna à Rússia desajustado. Sua herança inesperada da grande fortuna de seu pai o torna socialmente desejável. Pierre é enredado pela caçadora de fortunas Helene Kuragina, cuja eventual traição o deixa deprimido e confuso, estimulando uma busca espiritual que abrange todo o romance. Pierre eventualmente se casa com Natasha Rostova.
Andrew Bolkonski - O filho inteligente, disciplinado e ambicioso do comandante militar aposentado Príncipe Bolkonski. Andrew é friamente analítico e resistente a questões emocionais. Solitário após a morte de sua esposa, Lise, com quem teve um filho, ele se apaixona por Natasha, mas não consegue perdoar a paixão momentânea dela por outro homem, Anatole. No leito de morte ele a perdoa. Sua morte deixa para trás seu filho com sua irmã Maria e gera uma forte amizade entre esta e Natasha.
Maria Bolkonskaya - A filha solitária, simples e sofredora do príncipe Bolkonski e irmã de Andrew. A princesa Maria cuida do pai, suportando o tratamento cruel com o perdão cristão. No final, Nicholas Rostov casa-se com Maria e salva-a de uma solidão infeliz.
Natasha Rostova - A filha viva, irreprimível e consequentemente mimada da família Rostov, que encanta a todos que conhece. Eu diria que a principal das personagens femininas. Natasha se apaixona por uma série de homens e então se compromete seriamente com Andrew, embora ela arruíne o relacionamento ao se envolver em um breve encontro com Anatole Kuragin. Eventualmente, Natasha se casa com Pierre e se torna uma matrona corpulenta e desleixada.
Nicholas Rostov - O impetuoso filho mais velho de Rostov, que se junta às forças russas em 1805 e passa grande parte do romance no front. Nicholas acumula dívidas de jogo que se tornam onerosas para sua família. No entanto, vemos seu compromisso com a família após a morte do pai, quando ele sustenta a mãe e a prima Sonya com seu parco salário, enquanto continua a pagar as dívidas da família. Nicholas eventualmente se casa com a herdeira Maria, salvando sua família da ruína financeira.
Como pontos negativos do livro destaco poucos: O primeiro é a forma como Tolstoi introduziu muitos personagens relevantes, mas apesar de quão longo o livro é, sua escrita não me fez me apegar a nenhum. Mesmo os personagens principais não são realmente aprofundados emocionalmente. Outros inúmeros personagens secundários para história são apresentados, passamos um tempo razoável com eles nos levando a crer que estes serão importantes para a narrativa, porém eles são deixados para trás e são pouco ou nada mencionados na segunda metade do livro; O segundo ponto fraco é um gosto pessoal meu e contradiz um pouco minha primeira reclamação. Eu acredito que o texto foca demais Natasha Rostova. Ela é por muito do livro voluntariosa e mimada e sua narrativa parece supérflua diante da realidade da guerra. Suas paixonites, sua angustia diante de ter de esperar para casar com Andrew no lugar de casar imediatamente como gostaria, sua traição do mesmo por uma paixão temporária. Diante do contexto maior da obra sua narrativa parece tola e enervante; Meu terceiro ponto fraco também é uma questão de gatilhos pessoais meus, o livro figura crueldade contra animais e morte de animais. Não gosto disso apesar de compreender que essa era a realidade daquele tempo e contexto histórico.
Como ponto positivo principal do livro cito as reflexões que Tolstoy faz em alguns capítulos ao longo do livro e em especial no segundo epilogo. O autor fala do enigma da história no abstrato e filosófico Segundo Epílogo, refletindo sobre o poder humano. O poder, que ele define como a vontade coletiva do povo transferida para um governante, é o único motor identificável que impulsiona a história. Mas esse poder é impossível de definir, por isso o mistério da história é insolúvel. É impossível explicar completamente porque as coisas aconteceram como aconteceram, pois, segundo o autor, líderes não tomam outra decisão senão aquela imposta a eles pelas circunstâncias, e essas circunstâncias são estabelecidas por uma infinidade de outras circunstâncias advindas do movimento do povo. O enigma da mudança histórica implica a questão teológica sobre o livre arbítrio e até que ponto qualquer indivíduo é verdadeiramente livre nas suas ações, quaisquer que sejam as suas ilusões de liberdade. Segundo o narrador, é tão impossível imaginar a liberdade total quanto imaginar o determinismo total. Ao final, o autor expõe a ideia de que devemos necessariamente depender de um poder do qual não temos consciência. Esta ideia equivale ao reconhecimento de que, embora o nosso sentido de liberdade seja indispensável, também o é a nossa compreensão reprimida de que fazemos parte de algo maior do que nós mesmos, uma força que move as nossas vidas para a frente. A narrativa das vidas dos personagens de War and Peace não foram particularmente interessantes para mim, mas os capítulos com as reflexões de Tolstoy sobre guerra, poder, História, livre arbítrio entre outros temas abstratos e filosóficos elevaram a nota do livro para mim, dou 3.75 estrelas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Classism
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Dementia
maneatingbadger's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
"I read a Russian novel once," Anderson cut in bleakly. "People with unpronounceable names did nothing for seven hundred and eighty-three pages, after which somebody's aunt died."
- Crusade by David Weber and Steve White
I cannot say this was worth reading. War and Peace alternates between aristocrats' social lives and scenes from the Napoleonic Wars. The former passages are so tedious I gave up a hundred pages into my first attempt and waited more than a year to start over. The latter are relatively more intriguing but not enough so to carry a book, let alone almost a thousand pages, and Tolstoy's philosophical musings on history might've made for an okay, entirely separate short essay (as indeed the Second Epilogue proved to be) but otherwise clog everything up. Occasional moments of brilliance shine through, as when Tolstoy assesses human behavior under duress or the shortfalls of eyewitness accounts amid battlefield chaos. One day I'll figure out how to upload Kindle highlights from Project Gutenberg to Goodreads.
So why did I read this? Well, my partner saw Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway (which adapts only a 70-page section of War and Peace, though I do appreciate that the first song bemoans how difficult it is to remember all the characters' names) a few years ago and was so smitten by the storytelling she asked for the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation for Christmas, which she seems to still be enjoying. Shortly after, I came across the Maude translation at a used bookstore and decided to read it alongside her. 'Twas a simpler (pre-COVID) time... Then we named our cat after a Tolstoy portrayal in a YouTube comedy series. The rest, as Tolstoy would explain at length, is the interplay between free will and inevitability defining the intangible and infinitesimally reducible force of power that drives history.
I cannot say this was worth reading. War and Peace alternates between aristocrats' social lives and scenes from the Napoleonic Wars. The former passages are so tedious I gave up a hundred pages into my first attempt and waited more than a year to start over. The latter are relatively more intriguing but not enough so to carry a book, let alone almost a thousand pages, and Tolstoy's philosophical musings on history might've made for an okay, entirely separate short essay (as indeed the Second Epilogue proved to be) but otherwise clog everything up. Occasional moments of brilliance shine through, as when Tolstoy assesses human behavior under duress or the shortfalls of eyewitness accounts amid battlefield chaos. One day I'll figure out how to upload Kindle highlights from Project Gutenberg to Goodreads.
So why did I read this? Well, my partner saw Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 on Broadway (which adapts only a 70-page section of War and Peace, though I do appreciate that the first song bemoans how difficult it is to remember all the characters' names) a few years ago and was so smitten by the storytelling she asked for the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation for Christmas, which she seems to still be enjoying. Shortly after, I came across the Maude translation at a used bookstore and decided to read it alongside her. 'Twas a simpler (pre-COVID) time... Then we named our cat after a Tolstoy portrayal in a YouTube comedy series. The rest, as Tolstoy would explain at length, is the interplay between free will and inevitability defining the intangible and infinitesimally reducible force of power that drives history.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Misogyny
audreybelle's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Undeniably worse than the actual published text. At first it seemed like Tolstoy was writing in a more grounded, character focused voice (for example: wherein actual War and Peace, Tolstoy says something to the effect of "ippolit told a nonsensical story in his terrible Russian with his French accent" in this we are actually given the dialogue of that story and can tell how nonsensical it sounds) but eventually Tolstoy shifts into his normal philosophical bullshit prose. The Andrew Bromfield translation is terrible, and often awkwardly modern, including such poorly chosen phrases as "Anatole is trash" and "Ippolit's stupid face". I suppose it's worth a read if you're obsessed with the same mid-tier villains I am and want the two chapters in which they are slightly more fleshed out. Overall it is still War and Peace (but shorter!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse, Incest, and Miscarriage
helene_kuragina's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, and Suicide
dani007k's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest, Sexism, and Terminal illness
erryesmith's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
But for the epilogue, it would have been 3.5 stars.
The novel and Tolstoy's writing is at its best here when focussing on the cast of characters and the human drama. It was this, against the backdrop of real events, that kept me coming back. The characters were all flawed, to the point of dislikeable at times, but many developed well.
Unfortunately, Tolstoy's repetitive and dry rambling musings on the nature of history, philosophy and God and lengthy description of military manoeuvring, when not done through the lens of a well established character, were a challenge to read and, for me, detracted more than they added.
Can we also talk about Tolstoy's view and interpretation of women? The word problematic may be overused but the only other that comes to mind is "ooft". Uncomfortable depictions of nearly every woman in the text who are all written as controlling, selfish, greedy, conniving, unfaithful and a host of other attributes less than favourable. The character development of Natasha was completely undone and actively subverted in the deeply unpleasant epilogue.
Who hurt you, Leo?
The novel and Tolstoy's writing is at its best here when focussing on the cast of characters and the human drama. It was this, against the backdrop of real events, that kept me coming back. The characters were all flawed, to the point of dislikeable at times, but many developed well.
Unfortunately, Tolstoy's repetitive and dry rambling musings on the nature of history, philosophy and God and lengthy description of military manoeuvring, when not done through the lens of a well established character, were a challenge to read and, for me, detracted more than they added.
Can we also talk about Tolstoy's view and interpretation of women? The word problematic may be overused but the only other that comes to mind is "ooft". Uncomfortable depictions of nearly every woman in the text who are all written as controlling, selfish, greedy, conniving, unfaithful and a host of other attributes less than favourable. The character development of Natasha was completely undone and actively subverted in the deeply unpleasant epilogue.
Who hurt you, Leo?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Violence, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent