i guess i am too late to stop you reading this book ... it has to be up there with one of the most irritating books i have ever read.
I think the book can be broken down into 3 parts (intervoven into each other)
- depictions of russian "high society"
- depiction of battle
- philosophical rambling
i would say the first part is well written. as always tolstoy can tell us so much about each character while saying so little. and i love the way the characters's lives come together, in such a way that it gives us a sense that everyone is tied to their "Destiny" (for a lack of a better word).
second part i found boring - while others may enjoy this sort of thing. good depiction of chaos of battle and the same theme of the inability of the any individual to plan and shape events in history. the mysty confusion and the chaos of the battle seens were great.
the third part was incredibily frustrating. I do not need an amature philospher telling me there self-evident reductionist philosophy in 500 pages when i can sum it all up in 2 lines and cover all the angles in a paragraph.
this third part really took away from the experience of the book, so much that i read all the way up to the end of the 1st epilogue, looked at the second epilogue and decided not to read it (i just didnt need to hear it all again). so technically i havent yet finished the book
I think the book can be broken down into 3 parts (intervoven into each other)
- depictions of russian "high society"
- depiction of battle
- philosophical rambling
i would say the first part is well written. as always tolstoy can tell us so much about each character while saying so little. and i love the way the characters's lives come together, in such a way that it gives us a sense that everyone is tied to their "Destiny" (for a lack of a better word).
second part i found boring - while others may enjoy this sort of thing. good depiction of chaos of battle and the same theme of the inability of the any individual to plan and shape events in history. the mysty confusion and the chaos of the battle seens were great.
the third part was incredibily frustrating. I do not need an amature philospher telling me there self-evident reductionist philosophy in 500 pages when i can sum it all up in 2 lines and cover all the angles in a paragraph.
this third part really took away from the experience of the book, so much that i read all the way up to the end of the 1st epilogue, looked at the second epilogue and decided not to read it (i just didnt need to hear it all again). so technically i havent yet finished the book