War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Part 1; 117 pages)

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is a historical epic of the Napoleonic Wars. Tolstoy's development of character is remarkable, as the individual's place within a historically epic event is fully explored.

Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy succinctly: "To read him is to find one's way home to everything within us that is fundamental and sane."

War and Peace (1867) is an undertaking; 15 parts and an Epilogue (which we will read), running about 1,400 pages. I'm posting the first meeting now so we can plan holiday reading by the fire. We'll break the discussion into 12 meetings, every other Wednesday, over 4-5 months. To run the marathon will require committing to 100-150 pages every two weeks.

I'm reading the Constance Garnett version as a baseline translation. But many may wish to read Peaver & Volokhonsky. There is no right or wrong so read some pages of each translator before you decide.

Dover Thrift Edition:
https://a.co/d/4ayYk4x

The Gutenberg translation is by Aylmer & Louise Maude:
https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/2600/pg2600.txt