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)

Kutuzov, Alexander and Napoleon

Tolstoy shows how Kutuzov tries to mitigate the death caused by the struggle between Napoleon and Alexander by judiciously avoiding unnecessary death through avoiding pointless battles. This mistrust of the outcomes of battles is the grand structure of the greater theme of the unpredictability of all human plans. The wars provide a tide of human action and all the characters are swept along despite their intentions.

A long and winding road

It's great to finish the second volume but it was tough going at times.The ridiculous imbalance between the haves and the have nots explains how Communism came about it it should be a lesson to all dictators in the World that their time is not endless.A great performance by narrator Neville Jason

If you want to see what his point was

go to the last few chapters of part 8, when he starts explaining history. it gets pretty philisophical. if you want to find out what happens to the families, listen to the whole book, up to that point in part 8. they end up fine.

A masterpiece both in performance and content

One of the world's greatest pieces of literature brilliantly performed. A 70+ hour tour de force that never fails to amaze. Unconditionally recommended.

Masterful Performance

Knowledge of this classic is a must. Tolstoy's ability to weave together story with philosophical reflection engages one on several levels. I am very grateful that I followed the advice others to apply two credits for the two volume version. On a practical consideration my iPhone would not have had enough memory for a single volume download. More importantly however is the skillful and engaging performance. My hat is off to Neville Jason both for creating unique voices for each character and "class", and also for being very consistent throughout the work. Masterfully done!

A Moving Epic

Overall, this is an excellent book. The characters are great, as are their stories. The setting and historical backdrop are powerful and captivate the imagination. The first half of the book is rather slow building the characters out, I give it three stars. The second half of the book is five stars all the way and it pushes the first half up two stars for being an integral part of the totality of the experience. I will definitely immerse myself more in this historical period as a result of this work which is part novel, part history book, and part philosophy thesis. I loved the combination and was very moved by this epic tale.

Could not be done better!

Narrator is a MAJOR talent! He made this classic even more enjoyable to listen too.

The story is great, the philosophy gets tiresome

I have read W&P several times, and decided to give the audiobook a try.
The narrator is excellent. He did a fine job of distinguishing the characters. My only complaint was his annoying way of reading when someone was crying.
Tolstoy has a reputation for being difficult because of his huge number of characters. But think of W&P not as Great Literature but as a soap opera. If you can follow 'Days of Our Lives' or 'Grey's Anatomy,' you can follow W&P.
I was less thrilled with Tolstoy's long, long, l-o-n-g expositions on history. philosophy, and free will. His commentary on the causes of the Napoleonic wars are interesting, but I thought he was beating a dead horse after awhile. If you find his philosophical musings tiresome after awhile, I recommend skipping the second epilogue.

Epic historical novel PLUS.....

Impossible to categorize this huge work. A beautifully written historical novel of the Russian aristocracy, woven together with a carefully detailed examination of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, battle by battle, and lastly Tolstoy's theories on how and why these events occurred.

The scope of this book is stunning, the characters unforgettable. Although more approachable than I anticipated, the exhaustive historical detail and Tolstoy's emphatic philosophical discourses make this more than a little challenging.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, absolutely recommend it, and will probably revisit it sometime in the future. Right now, however, I'm ready for some mindless escapism!!

History And Humanity

This book is, of course, challenging. Readers are richly rewarded for their persistence with, among other treasures, character development so deep and relatable it transforms the sincere into better people. For me, reading the historical parts takes effort and reading the last chapter, a meta-analysis of history itself, took great effort but it's worth it! This book has kept it's appeal all these years because Tolstoy understood the principles of History and humanity. How I wish more people would understand these and attempt (all any of us can do) to follow our best natures! We truly would have a much better world!