War and Peace

I began reading War and Peace as a challenge to myself. I wanted to see if I could do it. Tolstoy's classic novel is famous for many things and brevity is not one of them.

But what began as a personal challenge transformed into something that was both rewarding and refreshing--far beyond what I had anticipated.

We live in the age of instant entertainment. If a story does not capture us within the opening pages, we toss it out. If a television show does not pay out sufficient enjoyment by the first episode, we change the channel. So our entertainment has catered to our appetites. Stories exchange character development for action sequences. Detailed and nuanced dialogue is traded for the flamboyant and the crude. Like fast food we sacrifice quality (depth, insight, meaning) for time.

And also like fast food, we miss out.

Because there is something special about a really long, well told story. There is something to be said for tangible characters the reader can truly know and befriend. Characters that will stay with you long after the story is finished. Just like in War and Peace.

There is no question the complex and realistic characters make War and Peace the classic that it is. As I read, Natasha became my pure and innocent sister I would do anything to protect. Pierre became that old, childhood friend whose defeats I mourned and whose victories I rejoiced. And in Prince Andrew I saw a piece of myself. The same restless heart. The same search for purpose.

These are characters who (just like in reality) never stand still. They are ever being molded by their circumstances, successes, failures, and choices that they make. They are conflicted with a slew of desires, ever competing between their contradicting natures. They have questions. They make mistakes. Some change for the better and others for the worse. Tolstoy gives us a front row seat into their internal wrestlings. There were even times when Tolstoy would describe a character's inner feelings that I felt he had put words to my own.

Additionally, Tolstoy never shies away from taking an honest look into big life questions we prefer to avoid: Questions about life and death. Of greatness and meaning. Of the horrors of war and the emptiness of earthly pursuits. It is his insight into these questions that make War and Peace more than simply entertainment.

War and Peace is a journey. Like a journey it has ups and downs—there are slow parts and there are parts you will stay up to late to read. But be warned: once you finish you may not see everything the same. And that is what makes a story a good story.

What can I say that hasn't been said already about this classic? I guess the only thing that would be to say it's the Game of Thrones of the 19th Century. It's the Breaking Bad or Downton Abbey or Walking Dead or whatever you think is this month's MUST WATCH TV DRAMA, that's what this was for 19th Century Russian audiences. War and Peace is a huge, epic historical soap opera, with intense battles and royal intrigues and historical insight and if you can read it and not be blown away then you're not paying attention. It doesn't have it's reputation simply for being one of the longest novels ever published; it's actually that good.

I find it amusing that, in America, we're taught that the War of 1812 was this huge, massive deal and the Napoleonic Wars are glossed over as just some thing that happened in Europe at the same time while in Europe it's the complete opposite, and for good reason. What was happening in Russia and Germany during the early 19th Century shaped the next 200+ years of world history, the War of 1812, while not insignificant, really didn't mean that much to anyone outside North America. Even the English look at it as a minor skirmish compared to what was happening on the continent. Hearing this story from the Russian perspective makes it's historical import that much more obvious. Add in Tolstoy's incredible characters and impeccable descriptions and you really do have one of the greatest novels of all time, one that sucks you into the period and place and makes you want to know what happens to these people. You feel their pain and rejoice in their victories, even if you have to sit through three chapters of historical background to get back to the story. Somehow it all fits together and if you try to take away any piece, it's just not as enjoyable.

It's not an easy read, especially if you're not a Russian speaker or used to their naming conventions. It can be a bit confusing at first who is who and how they relate. But get the cliff's notes (seriously, it helps) and slog through, it's totally worth the work. I have to say that I have a new perspective on the world after reading this; it sounds pretentious but it opened up a new insight into past events and the mindset of other parts of the world, as well as how that affects our current politics and where things could possibly go. Tolstoy's insight into Napoleon and his musings on world events is scarily prescient, or maybe we're just repeating history. Again.

Three times over the last few months, I heard or read someone saying that War and Peace had been transformative to them. I had made a few fitful starts over the years, but inspired by such testimony, this time I took the plunge. I wanted to be transformed.

Hm, maybe. I do feel that I have just emerged from something big. That the knowledge I’ve gained about Russia, this period in history, the phenomenon of Napoleon, human nature in war time, even the intricacies of family dynamics—is deeper, fuller, and wiser than before. Except for the proud, cruel, and villainous, Tolstoy treats his characters with great tenderness and understanding and insight; he recognizes and reveres the hand of God in the affairs of men, which I appreciate very much. I think I’ll probably be thinking about this book for a long time.

Time spent early on getting all the (very unfamiliar) names straight will pay off in the vast majority of the book. I think my starting this more than once helped, because I ended up reading the first two chapters two or three times. Most of the key players in the novel appear in the opening chapters.