If not the greatest novel ever written (as many critics assert), this is certainly the greatest literary undertaking. At 1200+ pages, it is less a case of just reading this work, but also ‘living’ or ‘experiencing’ it too. Tolstoy himself was quite explicit in suggesting War and Peace was not novel, poem or historical chronicle; rather “what the author wanted to express.” Regardless, it is meticulously researched and blends fiction, fact and philosophy. The last of these is perhaps the hardest to reconcile and it is not unfair to wonder exactly what purpose it serves in the work. Tolstoy, I think, is simply trying to reconcile the mechanism of historical events with the microcosm of the individual’s lives depicted. In some ways, it is simply a convoluted counter-factual; had history not happened quite the way it did, then some of the relationships — births, deaths and marriages — would have occurred. In spite of this point particularly, part of the joy of War and Peace is that much of it does read as if it were a soap opera (Game of Thrones too might likely have been influenced by this novel). The genius of Tolstoy is in switching seamlessly from the personal to the more general. Throughout, the perennial questions of what purpose lives serve, what is it to be happy are posed and are answered to a certain degree by all the characters. The question of transformation (seen as ‘truth’ to Tolstoy’s Russian) undoubtedly helped in terms of enjoyment. The novel is not without its faults — no classic per se, too many philosophical digressions — but the best testament to its greatness is that I could happily begin it all over again. 10/10.
By Leo Tolstoy