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Loading... War and Peace (Vintage Classics) (original 1868; edition 2008)by Leo Tolstoy (Author)
Work InformationWar and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1868)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. If the philosophic concepts were not the conclusion to Tolstoy’s narrative, I would have given the book three stars as opposed to four; some being extremely outdated, while others extraordinarily beguiling! Beautifully written. ( ) THE novel. In it you will find the whole human experience, in its political and social outcomes, in the reflection on life and philosophical quests, in the small worries and joys of everyday life, in the inner feelings and thoughts of human beings. More than anything else I appreciated Tolstoj 's supernatural insight in the intimate works of characters' minds, their instinctive reactions and the motivation unknown even to themselves. Here the omniscient narrator reaches its best achievement. Another main feature is Tolstoj's view of History as complex nteraction of huge forces unconsciously represented by the masses of humble human beings, compared to which "great men" are nothing more than puppets, delusional fools pushed by bigger forces to prow of the ship of History, and so erroneously convinced that they are dividing the waters in front of them while the ship drags them with her (metaphor by Tolstoj himself, as I mis-remember it after some weeks). Tolstoj invokes Providence as the Great Puppeteer, but his attention is caught by the powerful force of the masses of apparently insignificant human beings who suffer and die in the name of menaingless ideals and strategies, and who, in the end, are the ones who make History happen. Dialectical materialism is down this road, but here we are reading a novel, something which is more than the sum of the theorical positions of its writer. It reminded me of the most poetic pages on spirituality and justice in Marx's and Engels' writings except that here someone is telling us a story, and from the perspective of a conservative Russian nobleman of the 19th century, of course. IL romanzo. Dentro c'è tutta l'esperienza umana, nei suoi aspetti collettivi, nella riflessione esistenziale e filosofica, nelle minuzie della vita quotidiana, nell'interiorità. Sopra ogni cosa ho amato la mostruosa capacità introspettiva nel descrivere onestamente e spassionatamente i processi mentali dei personaggi più diversi, nelle situazioni più disparate, senza preconcetti e moralismi, e la visione della Storia come complessa interazione di forze, masse, necessità schiaccianti di fronte alle quali i "grandi uomini" risultano ridimensionati alle loro attuali proporzioni: fantocci trascinati dallo svolgersi degli eventi alla prua della nave della Storia, che credono di determinare per questo il separarsi delle onde di fronte alla chiglia (metafora dell'autore, come me la ricordo dopo un mese). Tolstoj invoca la Provvidenza come burattinaio ultimo, ma il suo interesse è catturato dalla forza trascinante della grande massa indistinta di esseri umani senza potere individuale che soffrono, muoiono, subiscono in nome di ideali e strategie senza senso, ma che alla fine sono i soli in grado di far accadere la Storia. Il materialismo dialettico è dietro l'angolo, ma la forma è il romanzo, e questo fa di Guerra e Pace qualcosa di più della somma dei ragionamenti che ho appena parzialmente e goffamente riassunto. Ricorda le pagine migliori di Marx e Hegel quando parlano di spiritualità e di giustizia, con invenzione narrativa integrata nell'analisi e la prospettiva storica di un nobile russo conservatore. Un'esperienza che consiglio a tutti. I took on the challenge of reading War and Peace in a positive frame of mind. I consider myself reasonably well read and willing to tackle books that aren't immediately easy, and I'd read many enthusiastic reviews and I was looking forward to finally tackling this classic. I've failed. I had difficulty getting to grips with the vast cast of characters, though I did eventually master these, and indeed became interested in the various family sagas which form such an important part of the narrative. I tried to interest myself in the War aspects of the book, and failed dismally. And as for the philosophical digressions, which increased towards the end of the book, and most particularly in the epilogue: I ended up skim-reading these. I kept on thinking that an editor with a very big red pencil should have been let loose on the book. I'm sure the loss is mine, but it's a book about which I'm now pleased to be able to say 'I've finished it!'
The title Tolstoy finally settled on was taken from the political theorist Pierre-Joseph Proudhorn's book La Guerre et L Paix (1861) a title which means what it says and no more. But when Tolstoy completed and published the final version of his novel Voyna i mir in 1869, the word mir carried a number of connotations and meanings, including a slightly obsolete one referring to society, mankind. In this case the word could mean, roughly speaking, humanity. Tolstoy's novel is concerned not merely with war and the cessation of war, it is about human beings, for whom war is a vast muddle, which is the curse of society. It is about the triumph of the human spirit in time of war; and the side that wins the war is the side that displays the stronger spirit. Natasha's dance and Andrey's sudden understanding of what matters are triumphant leaps of the human spirit; each results in an inner joy, a peace. The novel is not just a masterclass in fiction, Ms Li believes, but a remedy for distress. At the most difficult times in her life, she says, she has turned to it again and again, reassured by its “solidity” in the face of uncertainty. I had it on my desk for about a year, and now I've given up and put it back on the shelf. Tolstoy’s singular genius is to be able to take the torrent of conscious experience and master it. There are countless moments in the book where this happens ... Belongs to Publisher Series — 20 more Great Books of the Western World (Volume 51) Modern Library Giant (G1) La nostra biblioteca Edipem (65-66-67) Os Grandes Romances Históricos (21-24) Penguin Clothbound Classics (2016) Is contained inGreat Books Of The Western World - 54 Volume Set, Incl. 10 Vols of Great Ideas Program & 10 Volumes Gateway To Great Books by Robert Maynard Hutchins (indirect) GREAT BOOKS OF THE WESTERN WORLD--54 Volumes 27 volumes 1961-1987 GREAT IDEAS TODAY (Yearbooks) 10 volumes GATEWAY TO THE GREAT BOOKS 10 volumes GREAT IDEAS PROGRAM. Total 101 Volumes. by Robert Maynard Hutchins (indirect) I capolavori (Anna Karenina - Guerra e pace - La morte di Ivan Il'ič- Resurrezione - La sonata a Kreutzer e altri racconti) (Italian Edition) by Lev Tolstoj International Collector's Library Classics 19 volumes: Crime & Punishment; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Mysterious Island; Magic Mountain; Around the World in 80 Days; Count of Monte Cristo; Camille; Quo Vadis; Hunchback of Notre Dame; Nana; Scaramouche; Pinocchio; Fernande; War and Peace; The Egyptian; From the Earth to the Moon; Candide; Treasure of Sierra Madre; Siddhartha/Steppenwolf by Jules Verne ContainsIs retold inHas the adaptationIs abridged inHas as a supplementHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Classic Literature.
Fiction.
HTML: Napoleon's turbulent history with Russia including his doomed 1812 invasion provides the setting for Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace. Often referred to as the greatest novel of all time, Tolstoy's classic follows the tumultuous personal lives of two aristocratic families touching on all of the great human epochs; youth, matrimony, age and death. .No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)891.733Literature Literature of other languages Literature of east Indo-European and Celtic languages Russian and East Slavic languages Russian fiction 1800–1917LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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