War and Peace, Volume 1
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War and Peace, Volume 1
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Narrated by:
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Neville Jason
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By:
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Leo Tolstoy
About this listen
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 InternationalCritic 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)
What listeners say about War and Peace, Volume 1
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 13-03-2018
take your time and enjoy the many story lines
Great narrator brings this classic to life. This was the only way i was ever going to get through a whole Tolstoy book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- ksnsimha
- 09-08-2017
Voluminous, enthralling, exiting and exhausting
If there was one book that you must read(or rather listen to in this case) before you die then this is it. I am still gasping for breath
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Robert Stockton
- 01-10-2017
A classic for a reason …
A fascinating voyage into "civilised" past and in so many ways still perfectly relevant today!
The narrator was incredible!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Christopher Dibb
- 03-08-2018
Bravo, Mr Jason
The book is a bit of a soap opera and despite its fame, could not be compared to the literary quality of much modern writing (unless, perhaps, an awful lot has been lost in translation).
However, it has a good deal of historical interest, both as a kind of first-person view of historical events and as a chronicle of social attitudes. And, above all, it has the benefit of a performance by the narrator that inspires awe and wonder and delight. I plunge on expectantly into Part 2 chiefly for the pleasure of listening to Mr Jason a bit (say, 30 hours!) longer.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 06-03-2020
A worthy classic worthily performed
Though I’m sure everyone will find certain sections of this whopper of a novel dull (for me it was the Freemasonry stuff) Tolstoy packs in so much drama, emotion, and humour to keep you pretty gripped the whole way through. I think Tolstoy’s strength is his characterisation and one of the great joys of the novel is getting to know the dramatis personae intimately throughout the story.
I’m looking forward to listening to Volume 2.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ruben
- 05-07-2019
Brilliant Reading
Reviews about the reading being slow are wrong. This is how books should be read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Webstani
- 02-08-2023
Not long enough for my liking
It is a masterpiece and I was relieved there is another volume as was traumatised when it finished. There is no writer like Tolstoy for the human condition. The narration was really good and it needed to be when listening to so many hours. Delivered the powerful emotion subtly and resisted too much drama. Only tiny gripe is that he couldn’t nail Natalia’s girlish voice the way a female narrator would have and it got a bit annoying. Will continue with the same narrator for volume two though as all the other voices were superb.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- rhys
- 17-09-2015
Endurance
I must say I wasn't expecting much. However, it gives a very interesting insight into Russian psyche and gets better as you become familiar with the characters. Good classic.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luke
- 18-01-2015
Unmissable and unmistakable perfection.
It's an epic but so exquisite in its finely crafted protagonists. Covers so many facets of the human condition, it may surprise you.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Graeme H
- 18-09-2018
Great reading of the masterpiece
It was with trepidation that I approached an unabridged reading of War and Peace. I’ve read it twice before, in 2 different translations and was uncertain how I’d react to having it read to me. Loved it. Jason’s reading is wonderful and brings something unique to each character.
The book itself gets richer with each reading.
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1 person found this helpful