THE novel.
In it you will find the whole human experience, in its political and social outcomes, in the reflection on life and philosophical quests, in the small worries and joys of everyday life, in the inner feelings and thoughts of human beings.
More than anything else I appreciated Tolstoj 's supernatural insight in the intimate works of characters' minds, their instinctive reactions and the motivation unknown even to themselves. Here the omniscient narrator reaches its best achievement.
Another main feature is Tolstoj's view of History as complex nteraction of huge forces unconsciously represented by the masses of humble human beings, compared to which "great men" are nothing more than puppets, delusional fools pushed by bigger forces to prow of the ship of History, and so erroneously convinced that they are dividing the waters in front of them while the ship drags them with her (metaphor by Tolstoj himself, as I mis-remember it after some weeks). Tolstoj invokes Providence as the Great Puppeteer, but his attention is caught by the powerful force of the masses of apparently insignificant human beings who suffer and die in the name of menaingless ideals and strategies, and who, in the end, are the ones who make History happen.
Dialectical materialism is down this road, but here we are reading a novel, something which is more than the sum of the theorical positions of its writer. It reminded me of the most poetic pages on spirituality and justice in Marx's and Engels' writings except that here someone is telling us a story, and from the perspective of a conservative Russian nobleman of the 19th century, of course.
IL romanzo.
Dentro c'è tutta l'esperienza umana, nei suoi aspetti collettivi, nella riflessione esistenziale e filosofica, nelle minuzie della vita quotidiana, nell'interiorità. Sopra ogni cosa ho amato la mostruosa capacità introspettiva nel descrivere onestamente e spassionatamente i processi mentali dei personaggi più diversi, nelle situazioni più disparate, senza preconcetti e moralismi, e la visione della Storia come complessa interazione di forze, masse, necessità schiaccianti di fronte alle quali i "grandi uomini" risultano ridimensionati alle loro attuali proporzioni: fantocci trascinati dallo svolgersi degli eventi alla prua della nave della Storia, che credono di determinare per questo il separarsi delle onde di fronte alla chiglia (metafora dell'autore, come me la ricordo dopo un mese). Tolstoj invoca la Provvidenza come burattinaio ultimo, ma il suo interesse è catturato dalla forza trascinante della grande massa indistinta di esseri umani senza potere individuale che soffrono, muoiono, subiscono in nome di ideali e strategie senza senso, ma che alla fine sono i soli in grado di far accadere la Storia.
Il materialismo dialettico è dietro l'angolo, ma la forma è il romanzo, e questo fa di Guerra e Pace qualcosa di più della somma dei ragionamenti che ho appena parzialmente e goffamente riassunto. Ricorda le pagine migliori di Marx e Hegel quando parlano di spiritualità e di giustizia, con invenzione narrativa integrata nell'analisi e la prospettiva storica di un nobile russo conservatore.
Un'esperienza che consiglio a tutti. ( )

Marvellous ( )

I took on the challenge of reading War and Peace in a positive frame of mind. I consider myself reasonably well read and willing to tackle books that aren't immediately easy, and I'd read many enthusiastic reviews and I was looking forward to finally tackling this classic. I've failed. I had difficulty getting to grips with the vast cast of characters, though I did eventually master these, and indeed became interested in the various family sagas which form such an important part of the narrative. I tried to interest myself in the War aspects of the book, and failed dismally. And as for the philosophical digressions, which increased towards the end of the book, and most particularly in the epilogue: I ended up skim-reading these. I kept on thinking that an editor with a very big red pencil should have been let loose on the book. I'm sure the loss is mine, but it's a book about which I'm now pleased to be able to say 'I've finished it!' ( )

A marvelous Book that repays whatever time one devoteds to it. I have read this translation, and lived in it for several weeks, and felt bad when it ended. The attempt to portray an entire culture, and, be fully aware of it has never been bettered. ( )

Obviously, I'll look like an idiot if I give this book a rating of less than five stars, but I read it after I had read many of Tolstoy's later religious works in which he had grown out of the pantheism I found inherent in this greatest of novels. It's awesome, of course, just not my favorite work of his. ( )