War and Peace - A Concise Review and Summary

By Luke Bodell
An infamously thick book, War and Peace is described by Tolstoy himself as being too big to be considered a novel. It describes, with great accuracy and detail both historically and descriptively, Napoleon's charge towards Moscow, and the effect it has upon a number of families back in Russia. There are a vast amount of characters in this novel, ranging from the historical figures Napoleon and Tsar Alexander to a fictional character that Tolstoy modeled on himself. This is one of the most famous books ever written; you will not meet an adult book enthusiast who hasn't read it.

"Every action of theirs, that seems to them an act of their own freewill, is in the historical sense not free at all but is bound up with the whole course of history and preordained from all eternity."

The actual Napoleonic invasion serves as a metaphor for the more intangible cultural invasion experienced by Russia during Tolstoy's time: Russia was becoming increasingly Westernized, making gradual cultural concessions which Tolstoy felt was destroying the special uniqueness of Russian culture. The book also criticizes the superficial upper class of Russia by exhibiting the virtues of the common, lowly foot soldiers of the brave Russian infantry contrasting with the opulent aristocratic families, indulging in worldly pleasures despite their countrymen dying in battle; this also embodies the title of the novel, showing that both War and Peace can exist at the same time. Coupled with this is the illustration of people being significant as a whole, not as individuals; the primary forces of the novel are not the individuals Napoleon and Kutuzov, but rather the aggregated effect of human beings as a whole.

"If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war."

It is extremely difficult to describe why this book is so brilliant. Ask all of your friends and family about this book, and they too will probably lack the necessary superlatives. All I can say is that it combines great storytelling with great philosophical depth; this novel is not to be read casually, as it contains the philosophy of one of the greatest minds of the 19th century. Tolstoy here expounds his thoughts on everything from love, morality and leadership, to death, faith and reason. If you are willing to take on the task of reading 1400 pages or so, then you will be deeply rewarded.

"Man cannot possess anything as long as he fears death. But to him who does not fear it, everything belongs. If there was no suffering, man would not know his limits, would not know himself."

Luke Bodell is a university student and freelance author living in Bath, England. He runs a book review website that provides brief, concise reviews on books in Top 10 Lists, to help people decide new books to read.