H o o k e d o n b o o k s REVISITING a CLASSIC WAR AND PEACE

Lose yourself between the pages, then answer our quiz and win a prize!

Leo To olstoy’s monster title has a reput tation that precedes it, and it wass my New Year’s resolution to get throug gh it last year. Arguably his most famou us work, it is, however, better know wn for being one of the longest no vels in the world. The original vers sion is about 1,225 pages long. I read the e- book so it was more like 2,300 p ages for me: ‘ intimidating’ did not begi in to describe the tome.

Only, Wa ar and Peace wasn’t quite the uphill ba attle I’d presumed it would be. The book k follows several characters in Russian ar ristocratic circles — against the broader r backdrop of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 — and the narrative segues just as easily from Prince Andrei Bolkonsky’s heroics on the battlefield to high society tea parties at Anna Pavlovna’s home.

The writing is nothing short of brilliant. Rich in vocabulary, colourful in imagery and utterly profound in its observations of everyday life, it’s easy to see why scholars say you cannot just read this book once. And while it drags a bit at times ( the epilogue in particular, which has Tolstoy philosophising a a bit tediously; personal opinion opinion only) only), for the most part, the cast keeps you spellbound by being some of the greatest literary characters ever.

I finished it a few hours before midnight on December 31 last year ( you can finish it in three months if your pace isn’t half as leisurely as mine was), but I’m already toying with the idea of re- reading it. 2,300 pages again? I can make my peace with that.

— Karen Ann Monsy