War and Peace, Volume 2

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Neville Jason

Length: 31 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.

In addition it is, famously, one of the longest books in Western literature and therefore a remarkable challenge for any reader. Neville Jason read the abridged version of War and Peace and proved his marathon powers with his outstanding performance of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. These make him the ideal narrator to essay Tolstoy's epic.

War and Peace was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

© and (P) Naxos Rights International

Critic reviews

"War and Peace presents us with a complete picture of human life; a complete picture of the Russia of those days; a complete historic picture of the struggle of nations; and a complete picture of the things in which men set their happiness and greatness, their sorrow and their shame." (A.V. Knowles, Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage)
"There remains the greatest of all novelists - for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?" (Virginia Woolf)

Finally read it.

First, it’s important to listen to the first power to at least get a sense of the characters. The characters will become clearer as the duration continues.
The book itself is great as everyone acknowledges. It is full of philosophy human relationships and war
The narrator could not be better. He was literally phenomenal.He played the part of young and old women, aristocrats and peasants, and all of the individual characters without flaw. Highly recommend.

Watched the miniseries, then had to get the book.

I watched a miniseries of War and Peace and that introduced me to the characters. I identified so strongly with the character of Pierre that I had to get the book to know his journey in a deeper way. Having seen the miniseries, it was easy to visualize the characters in my mind as I listened to the story. It was one of life's pleasures to get in my car and commute to work and home and listen to the story over a period of a few months.

It is a powerful story and an interesting commentary on the history of the time. I highly recommend this version of the story.

WOW... Just wow.

Very long, often dry, and mundane story. Voices for characters initially excellent but after 60+ hours get tiring. But that's the absolute beauty of this work, how it represents life so well. And the final Epilogues, were FANTASTICALLY written by Tolstoy. Excellent job!

Great narration!

War and Peace is a tome and an uneven masterpiece. But this narration is masterful and keeps one's attention even through the very dull lectures

Neville Jason is superb!

There are other performances of this great story, but I don't think anyone could top Neville Jason as a reader. Absolutely terrific!

Well performed, beautifully written

I am pleased to find a resolution to this beautiful story. Part 2 lagged for me in comparison to part 1 simply because I found many of the political philosophies uninteresting. Though I am so happy I read this book, it is a gem, I wish there could have been a more thorough resolution to some of the other characters.

A must read!

The story, although long will amaze most of times with its unique views on the events at the beginning of the 19th century.
An added bonus; Tolstoy has a great sense of humor that will have you laughing out loud at times.

Worth the listen

The performance was spot on, great recording. The writting style was timeless. Not so flowery that you wonder what are they talking about, but not plain either. A good disection on why people war and the fall out from such. A interesting view on human behavior as well. This is a classic that really has value.

Neville Jason: Supreme narrator

I read the book at least three times before. This is the first time I listened to it. In m opinion, this is one of the best books ever written but I feel inadequate to introduce Tolstoy to others: maybe when I am 70 I will be able to do it. Only upon listening to this rendition, I realized that there are two endings to the book: I am especially grateful for the second one, which is actually a series of lectures on history, humanism, free will, and God.
BUT: I decided to write a review because of the narrator. I am lacking words to describe the onomatopoeic abilities of Neville Jason. Whether singing of the Orthodox monks, howling of a wolf, crying of a girl, knelling of a bell, or imitating foreign accents, he got that completely covered. This is my 30 books on Audible and he is the best lector by far. Actually, I broke my rules (searching by authors) and looked up other books Jason recorded. "War and Peace" is difficult to read: sentences, phrases, names, places in French, German, Russian and Polish dot the entire book. Jason's French is superb, German very good, Russian, and Polish good enough to understand the meaning of the words (I am Polish and sensitive to Slavic dialects).
Listening to this book I was completely submerged into the story simply because the narrator reads the story from within, with an immense emotional engagement (which many lectors lack). In consequence, you feel like you are inside the story, on the battlefield of Borodino, or in count's Bezuhov palace. I can hardly imagine a better rendition of the book by one person. It feel like it is more than an audiobook... almost a theater production.

A great story

This work is a classic for a reason. The appendices are not necessary and detract from the story.