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

classic book terrible voice acting

I had such a hard time listening to the actor. His voice inflection was very hard to follow he would raise and lower his volume to the point I was constantly adjusting the volume to understand what he was saying or to tone him down before my speakers get blown. I got through book 1 but had to buy another version and start over because I really haven't been able to follow it as closely as I want.

An incredible experince

The book is amazingly good, Frederick Davidson is an excelente narrator too. The only flaw in this audio book is the recording. A few times it looks like your're listening to a jumping vinyl record, but nothing that prevents you from having a wonderful experience.
Higly recomended.

A huge but good listen

This is indeed a classic both the book itself and the narration. The author does an excelent job with character development. His analysis of History was very thought provoking. The Narrator does a comendable job with voice variations and expression I found I could almost see the characters as he brought them to life. Very worth the investment, if you have the huge amount of time it takes to get through it.

Masterfully Rendered

Indeed the Narrator is an acquired taste especially for Americans not familiar with the "proper" English accent or the Russian Language. What some have called out as an annoyance (the raising of the inflection of the voice at the end of sentences) is actually part of its genius for that is how Russians speak. Not only did the narrator tell the story, but he captured the very essence of the book. Very well done!

Outstanding

This book should be obligatory reading for all leaders that are thinking of starting a war. Tolstoy dissects, with vivid detail, the consequences of arrogance and lack of understanding that so often cause the deaths of thousands of men.
The characters are very real, and, because the book is so long, become almost acquaintances.
I strongly recommend this audiobook. The reader is great, and really keeps you wanting to come back for more.

Too much War, Peace and History/Philosophy

Tolstoy's huge tome constantly moves in three spheres, a plethora of characters and their families during the Napoleanic Wars both on the 1) battlefield and the 2) home front. The third sphere is a detailed look at the history of the era and his thoughts on freedom that are interspersed through out the book.

I learned more about the Napoleanic Wars than I had known - but I have to say that the discussion at the end about philosophy and freedom of choice made me weary. Overall, there are some glorious parts as Tolstoy covers the themes of War, Peace, Love, Betrayal, Revenge and God.

I was excited about this book because I loved "Anna Karenina", but this was just too much. By the end of the 60+ hours, I was ready to move on.

I was very disappointed in the performance. It's funny how some narrators do different voices and you don't even think about it. Davidson's older women sounded like Jonathan Winters in drag - that took me a bit to get over. In addition, the sound quality was atrocious - you could hear airplanes/machinery, pages turning, etc.

I might try it again in the future, but definitely either reading it, or with a different narrator.

This is a great audiobook performance

I read a review that said something like that the narrator "butchered" this book. I have no idea what that reviewer was talking about. I just finished this audiobook, which was included in my membership, so I did not use a credit to buy it. The narration is truly spectacular, although I wasn't sure about it at first. War and Peace has dozens of male and female characters - Russians, mostly, but also French characters and a few Germans, Poles, etc. And the Russians often speak in French, so this is a very challenging book to read out loud. The narrator manages to make the principal characters have their own "voice," which I find remarkable. As the book went on, I could tell just from the "voice" which character was speaking, and the main characters became like old friends.

I loved the book, too, with the exception of the epilogues. I would have enjoyed the book more if I wouldn't have read the epilogues at all. I thought that Tolstoy's rather long commentaries on "history" that were interspersed throughout the actual story did not detract from the story itself. I thought they gave some insight on how a Russian living 50-70 years after the events described viewed those events. The French Revolution and the events that followed including the Napoleonic Wars are fascinating, and I appreciated having yet another perspective on them, as well as on Russian history. Realizing what would happen in Russian in another 50-70 years made Tolstoy's commentaries even more interesting.

The narrator made it impossible to listen

What did you like best about War and Peace? What did you like least?

I have to answer this based on having read the book years ago, for I could not listen for more than 30 minutes to this narrator. I loved the story. The scope. The characters. The drama.

How could the performance have been better?

This narrator speaks in an unbearable, unbroken monotone. Any variation in pitch and emphasis would have improved the performance.

Any additional comments?

I'm returning this book and one other by the same narrator. He may work for some, but not for me.

Outstanding

Very long but well worth the time

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

since there is no way to mark books as read in the library I thought this might be a way to mark them