The title War and Peace has become synonymous with "long and boring" but after delving into the book many years after abandoning it in junior high school, I beg to differ. War and Peace is an epic. It is historical fiction surrounding an era in military history, laced with elements of the romance novel. The book is long (the version I read was over 1300 pages, 15 books and 2 epilogues containing more than 300 individual chapters!) and took me quite a while to read. But, with the exception of the second epilogue, (where Tolstoy spends much time explaining that history is irrational and not just an interpretation of events but an investigation into what causes them: God), it was never boring. And it was fairly easy to read despite the multitude of characters speaking multiple languages and calling a single person by a wide variety of different names.The Napoleonic invasions of Europe and Napoleon's attempt to expand his empire over Russia are the backdrop of the novel. The story primarily follows the lives of five families of Russian aristocracy and gives us a glimpse into the lives of princes and generals, servants and tsars, peasants and emperors, even real life leaders like Napoleon and Alexander. The story is not told from the perspective of any single character, rather we are like a fly on the wall; present on the battlefield, in Russian society at parties and balls, and behind closed doors with emperors and military commanders. We are privy to the characters' most intimate thoughts as love is come and gone, fortunes are made or lost and lives are in spiritual despair or renewal. The characters come to life under Tolstoy's very descriptive prose. What's not to like about the large, socially awkward, generous, spiritually seeking Pierre Bezukhov? Which of the Kuragin family do we love to hate more? The sly father Vasili, his lying, sneaky son Anatole or his beautiful, cheating daughter Helene? Which of the noble Rostov family do we identify with the most? Ilya, the friendly, carefree father, his charming and vivacious daughter Natasha, the impulsive, soldier son Nicholas? And what can we make of the Bolkonsky family; Prince Nicholas, a demanding recluse, his intelligent, analytical son Andrew and his plain, lonely and religious daughter Mary? I came to really know and understand the characters and found myself cheering for their victories and questioning them as they blundered through life. It is a long novel, the book is quite heavy and it is not a quick read. But I challenge anyone to stick with it and discover the depth and richness of the characters as well as the reinactment of this time in Russian history. It was a very enjoyable read!

BLURB

Follows the adventures of Paul Atreides, the son of a betrayed duke given up for dead on a treacherous desert planet and adopted by its fierce, nomadic people, who help him unravel his most unexpected destiny.

REVIEW

I can't tell you how much I love this book. It has a great plot, you almost instantly fall into the story and become involved with every character you come across. The imagery and overall concept of the story is amazing, and I highly suggest this book. You'll realize we take a lot of things for granted.