Terrifying, right? Most people would do anything to avoid reading a book like "War and Peace." It's long, tedious, and was written a long time ago (1869). However, most people have an entirely false impression of Leo Tolstoy's most renowned book. Originally written as a serial, there's a huge cast of characters and several subplots, but the central story follows the Rostovs, a prominent Russian family that has come into pretty bad financial problems, and Russia's war against Napolean and France. After reading the book myself, it is clear that this book is famous for good reason.
Who would've thought that Tolstoy had such a good sense of humor? There's a scene in the book where Nickolai Rostov has joined the Russian army and finally has to come face-to-face in battle with French soldiers. He panics, pulls his gun out, and throws it at them instead of shooting at them, then runs and hides in the bushes. The way Tolstoy writes it is hilarious, and this is not the only funny moment in the book. While the funny moments are extremely funny, the tragic moments are some of the saddest you'll ever read. The war scenes are so intense that my heart would literally be pounding, and Tolstoy has no sensor for blood and gore. The characters have such depth, especially Pierre-- the illigitmate son of an extremely rich Russian prince-- that at the end of the book I felt a loss for not getting to read about them any more. This book is truly astounding.
His following book, and also one of his best known works, is "Anna Karenina." This book has all the good qualities and rich, beautiful writing that "War and Peace" has, but without the epic war. Therefore, I found it to be a little dull, but maybe that's just because I had such high expectations. The characters are just as 3-dimensional, the tragedies are just as hurtful, and this is still Tolstoy (and Russia) at his very best. It is worth noting that Tolstoy was praised and admired by both Anton Chekhov, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. And that says something.
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