War and Peace

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers and placed War and Peace in the same category as The Iliad.

War and Peace was translated by Constance Garnett.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio

Annoying

The narrator’s voice is thoroughly annoying. I downloaded another edition of the book and this time had the sense to listen to a sample before the purchase.

Meh...

Narrator is annoying (you get use to it), the book itself is exactly what you'd expect. I'll agree to the genius of the writting, but the story itself isn't my cup of tea. Feels like a long 19th century soap opera, designed for fans of the aristocratic ilk. The increased injection of biased historical events also feels as if he was running out of original material and simply started appeasing the political mind set of post Napoleon days. Interesting from a time capsule sense I suppose.

narration is painful listening

The posh nasally narration is very difficult to listen to. I gave it a very good attempt, but gave up. It irritated me too much.

EXCELLENT!

I enjoyed this reading very much and highly recommend it to anyone who loves Tolstoy!

Frederick Davidson 100

Frederick Davidson was the perfect man for the narration of this novel. There is no way that I would have read through this mammoth work without getting frustrated with the Russian And French names and dialogues; furthermore, I would have never made it through a recording of the book if it were to have been spoken by a boring drab voice.

unreal good story

this book requires a significant investment of your time, but it's juicier than any Soap Opera on TV today

A Classic Of The First Order

Where does War and Peace rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks as a classic among classics. This was the finest book to come out of the Russian classic literature era.

What other book might you compare War and Peace to and why?

I believe this book stands on its own and I would be hard pressed to compare another one to it.

What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Just the pure pronunciation of all the French words that I have always had problems with in any novel that contains that language.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

War in a time of peace.

Any additional comments?

This is a book that is so big, I just would not deign to tackle it as a sit down and read book. That is the main reason I bought this version. Very interesting classic. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic literature.

Performance

Incredible performance. The reading is phenomenal! The character depth and ability to play multiple roles is fantastic!

Long but worth the time

Some of the war details were too long and involved.
I’d recommend it to a reader who enjoys history and a masterful story. Tolstoy crafted a detailed picture of the lives, events, and psyche of his people. The reading was great

Excellent Read!!

The subtle humor was refreshing. Mr.Davidson was PERFECT.
We, as a society, are still dealing with the same issues today ( 2022 ) as they were in 19th century.