Which translation of War and Peace are you reading?

I'll be reading the new Pevear-Volokhonsky translation. It came highly recommended.

This is the translation I have. I read their translation of Anna Karenina and loved it. I thought I'd stick with them.

That's what I'm reading right now -- which is why I'll be a little late to the War and Peace party.

In a few days, I'll start the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation.

I'll also be starting the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation in a few days (she says!). So far I have only read their translation of Dead Souls, but that was excellent and when I heard they were doing W&P I knew it was time to finally read it. I was also very glad to hear they kept the French as in the original. I read Anna Karenina back in high school and liked it a lot, though a different translation of course (I don't believe they were working yet at that point).

I got the Pevear & Volokhonsky translation for Christmas so I'm keen to join in :-) Might have to try and finish the Green Dragon group read I got sucked into first, but hopefully shouldn't be too long! Then I will be tripping along to join you all in the Napoleonic Wars!

I'm hoping to start the Pevear-Volokhonsky as well - I ordered through the local bookstore - they could tell me a new edition was coming but not who the translaters were - here's hoping. It should arrive in another week or so.

I also have the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation. I'll be on vacation the first week of February so I'll probably start reading it the second week. Usually I take paperbacks when I travel (not doorstops).

I'm waiting for my copy of the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation, and once it arrives, I'll join you!

Are we starting now? I thought someone said mid-Feb. Oh, well, guess I better get out there & buy the novel. Yes, the P-V translation.

I don't think we're all starting at the same time Storeetllr. Just chime in when you do!

Looks like I might be the only one reading a different translation, so I'll try and chip in where I can see any differences!

I'll be reading the Pevear-Volokhonsky version soon. I've already read their The Idiot, Demons, The Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, and Crime and Punishment, but honestly I'm no wiser on whether they're good translators or not, since I don't know Russian. There were a few points in the some of those books where I thought I saw what the author was attempting, but the translators muffed it. The Anthony Briggs translation of War and Peace seemed quite good to me, in case anyone is reading that one.

After reading the introduction and some 60 pages of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation, I decided to check out the negative reviews of this translation on Amazon. (I always find the negative reviews more interesting than the positive.) There were only two, but both seemed to have the same complaints: "ungrammatical," "clumsy," "needs a good editor," that kind of thing. I am completely puzzled by this. One reviewer even said he had trouble understanding most of the sentences. This is totally at odds with my experience. The translation doesn't seem awkward or stilted to me, the writing seems to flow just fine and I am definitely not having an comprehension problems. Am I crazy?

(The "needs a good editor" part especially made me wonder--I am a copyeditor and I'm constantly taking a mental red pen to things I read, but I haven't felt that way here.)

nperrin, You are not crazy! I'm an editor too and I'm at a loss to understand what these people were talking about. I eagerly awaited the P&V translation and I was not the least bit disappointed; I appreciated their dedication to replicating Tolstoy's style and word choice as much as possible, and found it all very readable.

nperrin, Seconded - you are not crazy and I am NOT an editor. Very near to the end now - I have loved every momentof my month long read of this book. It flows, the french passages have been left and what a bonus that is as well!!
The Vintage Classics edition has been a real all round joy and pleasure.

I own a cheap Wordsworth classic version. The translators are listed as Louise and Aylmer Maude. Should I try and get a copy of the Pevear-Volokhonsky? #12 Killeymoon - you are not alone.

Socialpages - the version you have is in fact the translation that Tolstoy gave his personal approval to! I assume that it's out of copyright now, which is why it can be reprinted cheaply. I think it would provide an interesting contrast to the other versions we're working from (I'm using the Anthony Briggs translation), especially since Tolstoy had some personal imput.

When I was researching which translation to get, for me it came down to either the Pevear-Volokhnsky or the Maude. From what I read, the Maude translation seems somewhat "Victorian" to some readers, but has been the standard translation - mainly because it was approved by Tolstoy, but also because many readers have found it to be eminently readable. I ended up ordering the P-V translation because it keeps the French passages, and I've decided to put my old college French to the test. :)

Talbin -- it also has translations for the French in footnotes, which I appreciate. It makes me crazy when an author has long French passages and I don't have a clue what they're saying ! They just assume everyone knows French, à mon avis!

There is just no hope for me. I go online to buy the Pevear-Volokhnsky and end up buying nine other books!

Will probably arrive in two weeks or so.

#19 - I like being able to test out my high school (!) French and seeing how much I've retained.. I'm doing okay, but I'm thankful for the translations below. I also like in the P & V translation that they have it set up this way, which is apparently how Tolstoy did it in the original.

>20 teelgee:, 22 I took French all the way through college, including a course that had some stories in Middle French. Now, whenever I read French, I'm first amazed at how much I can translate, then I remember back to all those college courses and despair at how little I really know. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I'll be starting the Pevear and Volonkhonsky in early February (have an arc to read first). I have an old translation which I read about four decades ago but decided to go for the gusto, based on the positive reviews I was reading. It is such a lovely book, physically - good old Knopf.

I just got the translation that was available at the library. Which, it turned out, was a translation from 1916 (sic!). It also is strictly monolingual, i.e. fully translated into German, including the French dialogue. Sigh... - I might go and shell out the money for an other edition --I did a bit of research on translations today. The "newest" I found is from 1956. What is going on here?? Looking at the English translations, they are way ahead here: A new translation every 10-20 years...

just got my copy in on order - AAARGH - not the P & V despite me specifically requesting it (otherwise I could've bought W & P already and been reading it) another 4 - 6 weeks wait before they could get it in for me - I'll be going with the Briggs as I can't be bothered waiting again - oh well, good for the budget anyway (as long as I restrain myself from ordering P & V as well - for comparison I swear)

>26 Damiella:
I like the Briggs translation: I once read a few complaints that he had rendered Russian slang with British slang. But what's wrong with that? You could object that the reader is distracted and thinks for a moment that he's in Britain, but the obejction is overblown in my opinion.

I keep on seeing the Rosemary Edmonds translation everywhere I go. Does anyone know anything about that? Is it close to the P-V one? I can't find the P-V anywhere. :(

The Edmonds translation was used by Penguin for more than 40 years, and was apparently was "the standard English text of Tolstoy". Penguin now use the Briggs translation (published in 2005, I think) instead in their Penguin classics range. Not sure if the two are very similar though. I found the P-V version at Dymocks online if that helps? :) Tis pricey though...

I have the Rosemary Edmonds translation...bought it several years ago on the cheap ($2!) at this cute little bookstore that sold older, unread editions of books for next to nothing. I don't think I saw anything in the store over $10. Sadly they went out of business not too long ago. Used to love that store.

I've heard a lot of chatter on LT about the P-V version and thought of getting it, but then remembered that I had the Edmonds edition and thought that I would give that a go first and see how it went.

I started on the Anthony Briggs translation but everyone on LT has convinced me that the P&V translation is better quality. In comparing the two, Briggs is a smoother read with fewer interjections and deviations, but P&V is more in depth and truer to the original. (Even if reading the small print for the German and French translations do strain the eyes.)

ChocolateMuse - the P-V translation should be widely available everywhere now, I'd think. It just came out in October and there was quite a fuss about it. Amazon has it (don't know about Amazon in Oz, though).

>28 ChocolateMuse:/32 - The P-V must be popular, though, because I had to wait about 5 days until a new shipment came into my local Borders.

Many thanks, everyone. I might enquire at my local bookshop and get them to order it, because they only have the Edmonds and the Briggs translations. Oh, and one other one, I forget the name but it's not P&V.

I noticed that the Edmonds one doesn't have footnotes, only endnotes, which would be just too annoying for all that French. And the lack of French in the Briggs version feels too unauthentic for me. I think I'll settle for nothing less than P&V!

Thanks for the advice, all. :)

Oh, and one other one, I forget the name but it's not P&V.

Do you mean the translators' names? See message #1. Good luck with the quest!

ChocolateMuse - You might want to order it online. Amazon.com has the P&V version for $24.42 and when I was in my local Borders today they wanted $37.00 for it.

I'm also reading the Edmonds translation and am having no issues with it. When I flipped through the P&V version at Borders it seemed fairly comparable. The P&V version just contained more French.

OK, I have nearly finished part 1, and I am already fed up with that translation (1916 edition...). It is like I wrote elsewhere: You have to cut through two layers of obscurity: The original meaning as conveyed by the author in the original Russian, and THEN on top of that a quaint german version...
I definitely need to get the newest translation (which means 1956, but still considered to be the best of the lot).

I've read the Edmonds version, but this time through I'm listening to the Blackstone Audio version (translation by Constance Garnett). It's quite a treat to be read to!

Have had this book on my shelf for a number of years and was thrilled to find this group. It's the push I needed to begin.

Must admit that I am jealous that so many of you share the same translation as mine has not yet been mentioned. It is translated by Ann Dunnigan and is a cheap paperback from Signet Classics.

I've just started reading the first couple chapters (skipped the intro), but feel the need to re-read and to straighten out who's who. But as soon as I get further, I'll join you in the Book 1 Topic.

argharghargh... I finally gave in last week and decided to just go with the Edmonds version... so I ordered it in at the work library (I work at a university)... and when it arrived today I found it's only volume 2!!

I could bite somebody!!!

>I could bite somebody!!!

This made me laugh out loud.

Nans, the first time I read War and Peace I broke down and bought a Cliffs Notes simply to help me keep the characters straight. And I still sometimes confuse Dolohov and Denisov.

I finally went out yesterday and bought the P&V. I have to finish my current book, but I will be starting shortly. I am actually feeling a bit daunted by the length, which is odd because I have read several long books recently, although not quite as long as this. I think a large part of it is that I am not looking forward to carrying that huge thing around! I do a lot of my reading on the train, so I need to be carrying it. I think I may have to get a backpack, so I don't strain my shoulder or something, ;-).

sussabmax -- maybe a wagon?

Or maybe one of those battery operated scooters that has a basket on it?

This ought to do it:

I was thinking of something like this:



Plus if you prop the book up the right way you can read while driving....

Remind me not to drive when you're on the road! LOL!

Oh no worries about that. I get suffer from horrible motion sickness so no reading & driving for me. Though I did work with a girl once who said that she'd read at stop lights. And I've seen many a person reading while walking. I can't do that either. I'd probably get so absorbed in the book that I'd miss that bus that was heading straight for me as I stepped off the curb.

I read while walking quite a bit. I can't concentrate as well as I do when I am sitting down, but I very rarely walk into anything. I really only do it when walking into and out of work, because I think of commuting time as reading time. Many people have introduced themselves to me because they recognize me as the person who walks around reading, lol.

I've been seen reading while waiting for the elevator and on the ride up or down....but that's about as far as I can go. I've been known to miss my stop on the subway because I got too engrossed in a book (going all the way to the end of the line more times then I care to admit) so I don't have great confidence of keeping focused on street traffic just so that I can read while walking to the T. ;-)

But I give serious props to those who can! =)

Back when I went to the gym I used to read while walking on the treadmill. I work better when I know that I won't run into anything. hehe

I can read on a stairmaster, but not a treadmill. I envy anyone who can read in a car; like Irish, I get motion sick. Even just looking at a map. But I'm a big fan of audible books in the car.

Same here Meg. I make a horrible co-pilot. Praise be to the person who invented GPS. =)

I love audiobooks in cars. They've gotten me through many a long trip. Much better than having to search for a good radio station.

I admit to reading with a book propped up on the steering wheel in very slow peak-hour traffic, when you're either stopped or crawling at 5km/h.

And I did read quite a lot of The Glass Castle while driving from Canberra to Sydney a few months ago. It passed the time beautifully, but don't tell my parents I did it!

Red traffic lights stay red for aaages... except when you're trying to read, and then they go green as soon as you've found your place on the page.

*sigh* if I didn't drive a beat-up old bomb, I could have a working CD (or even cassette) player in my car, and listen to audiobooks. But I don't, so I can't. And driving alone is such a waste of good reading time!

edited out the most embarrassing bits

CM - Remind me to stay off the roads if ever I make it to the land of OZ!

Hmm, re-reading my post, I'm starting to think I should stay off the roads too... But it feels perfectly safe when I'm doing it!

Wow, the more I read my post the more I think 'you get all types on the internet'... and I feel like editing some of that out now.

Just finished the Pevear-Volokhonsky translation. Excellent book. Excellent translation. I gave it a short review. My thoughts on the book are still too fresh to give any review of it justice. It's a book that will need to stew in my mind a while.

As I am a Norwegian member of LibraryThing I'm reading War and peace in Norwegian, translated from Russian by Geir Kjetsaa. The Norwegian title is "Krig og Fred". I've just started reading this novel, and I look forward to discuss it with other members of this group.

Welcome to the W&P read kjellika. I'm still in the first quarter of it but I am finding it to be a facinating read. I just wish that I had more time to devote to Tolstoy.

kjellika -- so is 'Fred' the Norwegian word for peace?

>59 teelgee:: It must be... The German title is "Krieg und Frieden". I would look up the translator, but my sister is currently reading the book and so I couldn't take part in the group read. I am planning on reading it this year though.

Yes, it is. And as you may guess: "krig" means 'war', and "og" means 'and'. By the way: I'm trying to learn a little about the Russian language, but it is rather difficult (so far I know the letters and some very common words).I bought my version of "Krig og fred" from The Norwegian Book Club, and it contains an introductory essay by the Estonian author Viivi Luik.

The Maude translation and it was Wonderful.

I ran across this NPR story comparing the P-V translation with the Bromfield. Quite interesting!

Different ending with the Bromfield version....I might have to look into that at some point. Must get through my copy first. =)

Thanks for the link teelgee! I think the two excerpts are fascinating - so different!

The Bromfield version would be useful to a Ph.D. candidate writing a thesis on the evolution of War and Peace, but if you want to read the finished product, I would expect the P-V version to be closer to the published work.

It's of course covenient to use my native language (Norwegian) when writing messages here, but I'll use English to get more people understand me. I hope someone will tell me if my English is wrong and/or improper.
My books are mostly in Norwegian, so you will find most of their titles in this language on my bookshelves (sometimes I use a cover in a different language, but perhaps I'll scan the Norwegian covers to my computer later on. Time will show). I try to comment them sometimes in English though.
And now I have to go on reading War and peace ('Krig og fred').

I am falling massively behind in reading, because I gave up on the "old" translation (1913), and waited until the "new" one came back (1954). Which took almost a month (some people must have tons of money set aside for paying library dues, *lol*). Now getting back into the habit...

#67 kjellika Welcome and keep posting with your English! I visted Norway once - what a beautiful country you have!

I visited Norway once too, many years ago. Had some delightful time in Bergen and Oslo. So glad you're here, kjellika!

kjellika,#67, Your English is excellent -- don't worry about it!

#63 Teelgee, thanks for pointing me to the NPR story. Quite interesting. I just about spewed my coffee on my computer screen when I read "it is the original version — the first version that Tolstoy wrote and signed "The End" to." I write "the end" at the end of my first drafts, and my seconds, and my eighteenths. But I would be mortified to have anyone read those drafts. Not even my mother. Maybe even especially my mother!

Re my search for P&V in messages 28, 34 & 40, I would just like to mention that I suggested to my local (not work) library that they get the P&V translation in, since they had no complete copy of W&P in any translation (horrors!)... So, to my surprise, they got one in! And reserved it for me automatically, and it has just arrived... Just NOW, when I'm all ready to get stuck into Middlemarch!

Oh the irony. I'm going to have to borrow and return it immediately, which makes me feel about so high after they went to all that effort at my suggestion. :(

you should still try to read it. after all middlemarch will still be there/here when you are done. =)

But I'm all in a middlemarch mood now!! I'll go for it first along with the group, then maybe re-borrow W&P after. It's all about being psyched for it, don't you agree?

Agree, chocolate! It's like quitting smoking, not gonna happen till you're ready!

Exactly! :)