Horrible Pronounciation

This edition of the audiobook has the most horrendous pronunciation of the characters' names and other Russian words. Adding and mixing up letters. Do not recommend. Also, the narrator is pretty dry in his reading of the text.

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If a book could be under rated...

I feel like this is it. This book made me laugh and cry, from sadness and joy, as I am still periodically listening to certain excerpts that are speaking to my current emotional state in just a way that that leaves my mouth hanging open when they are finished. I see much of myself in Dolokhov, both the good and the bad and the rest of the characters are made to come to life. The way Countess Natalya's brother meets his end is described is mindblowing, down to the way the narrator makes the sound of the Kossack sharpening the sabre of Pyotr. Tolstoy places you right in the middle of the action. He is a genious.

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Brilliant, Much more then History and Romance

Shows an underlying understanding of psychology, theology, sociology and politics.
While the narration was otherwise very good it takes a bit of time to adjust to the women characters sounding like drag queens.

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Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant!!!

Truly, my headline says it all....a masterpiece! I had attempted to read this book on several occasions but life got in the way...having audible made it so much easier and I am soooo thankful because I would have missed the true piece of art...I sincerely believe everyone should read this book. Tolstoy has quickly become one of my favorite authors and this book, War and Peace, is a treasure.

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worth it

I just have three words to describe my experience: stick with it. You will be satisfied.

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an abridged version would have been lovely

I really enjoyed the drama and love stories taking place during the Napolitano war, however, an abridged version might have been easier to get through. I really enjoy the narrator, great voice.

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Fantastic book and performer

6/5 story and the speaker is very skilled at using accents and other techniques to enliven and differentiate the extremely large and varied cast. However, he seems to constantly be shifting back and forth in his seat. Five or six times a chapter he gets so quiet, for no known textual benefit I can think of, that it makes me think a phone call is preempting my listening. In a book with dozens of chapters for each of eight parts, it gives the lasting impression of inconsistent and distracting sound leveling by the producers. This doesn’t diminish the speaker in any way. This issue could have been caught in post production.

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4 people found this helpful

Excellent story telling

The reader’s voice is so easy to listen to. I love that he changes his voice for certain characters! Excellent audiobook rendition.

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1 person found this helpful

Snore and Peace

Like Anne Karenina, the peace parts of this book feature interesting characters navigating what now looks like a silly aristocratic society. You get access to both Tolstoy's great penchant for deep insight into human nature, and a fun time with 1800's Russian high society. I loved this half of the book.

However, obsessed with making a few rather insignificant points about war ad nauseam, namely that the events of history can only be understood as an integrated some of the actions of a great many people opposed to the commands and plans of a few, that half of the book drags horrendously. When describing the conditions and actions of soldiers in the war, he's once again at his best. His diatribe about Napoleon and the other generals of their time being more a product of history than the other way around unfortunately occupies far more space than the interesting aspects of Tolstoy's writing. It's not even that I disagree with him, I'm just tired of hearing it.

The narrator did a good job, though perhaps could have lent a greater depth of emotion to his voice in the more emotional moments.

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Good

to be honest, I really struggled with such a horrible main character and kept wishing her demise

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