There's something about the big Russian writers that makes them larger than life itself. And that's especially true about Tolstoy. In this book, as well as Anna Karenina, we get this sense of something bigger than life. If I'm not being clear, I'll say it outright: I LOVED THIS BOOK. I mean it. If I hadn't loved it as I did, I probably wouldn't have read it in a week. It's a lengthy and dense piece of work, but I was so engrossed in reading that I just couldn't stop. And I was depressed after finishing it. It happens when I read something that is just perfect, and spend weeks telling myself that I'll never write anything so amazing, so I'm losing my time.

In a few words, this huge novel (over a thousand pages!) is about a group of Moscovite families in the times of the Napoleonic Wars, and how the war influences everyone. There's an insane amount of characters, so I'd recommend that you read it with a list of characters(though I say the same with every 19th Century Russian novelist). It helps to see who is who and to keep track of them, because Russians have like at least three or four different names for everyone. So a character may be referred to by their name, their last name, their patronimic or their nickname.

But it goes to Mr. Tolstoy credit that all of his characters have strong personalities, and all of them were interesting and amazing. Generally, when I read choral stories, I'm always looking forward to go back to one of the many characters. It didn't happen with this one. I wanted to have them all together and read about everyone at the same time!

Of course I have a few favorite characters. I particularly adored Prince Andrey Bolkonsky(when he died, I couldn't believe it and cried a lot), Pierre Bezukhov, Princess Marya Bolkonsky, and Natasha Rostova. Andrey was so incredible! I loved him with his first wife, and with his son and when he invited Natasha to dance with him at the ball. The death of his wife was one of the most moving parts of the book, as well as him falling for Natasha. I had mixed feelings about her throughout the book. She was kind of foolish at some points, but her relationship with Andrey was so sweet I forgave her. And then she fell for Anatole. Girl, you have han amazing man at home and you fall for this other guy? Seriously? I hated Andrey a little bit for leaving her, and her for being so stupid. I reconciled with her when she took care of Andrey when he was sick.

By the way, as soon as Pierre mentioned he liked Natasha, that ship sailed. I hated his first wife and I'll admit I wasn't sorry at all when she died. I'm usually not okay with slut-shaming, but she had it coming. Pierre was a good guy and he didn't deserve what she did to him. So him and Natasha seemed perfect. Although I have to say that I disliked the epilogue, with Pierre and Natasha becoming so distant (and she getting fat). I get that Tolstoy wanted to show reality, but these two deserved a better fate, I guess.

Andrey's sister, Marya, also won a big place in my heart. I loved how she took care of her family, how strong she was in the face of danger, how she always helped everyone. She deserved a good man, like Nikolai. I also loved Sonya for her generosity. She was engaged to Nikolai for most of the book, but when she realized he was in love with Marya, she just let him go. It was a nice point for her.

Oh, I almost forgot about Petya, the youngest Rostov. I was beginning to like him and he died! It was so unfair! Seriously, Mr. Tolstoy, was it necessary? I guess it was, but poor Petya was another of my favorites.

It's hard talking about War and Peace. It's an enormous book, filled with life and power, and it's a celebration of life (because all good books are that). There's so much one can say about it, about the characters, the descriptions, the events. I believe it would take a lifetime to talk about everything in this novel. But I've tried. I'll probably edit this review a hundred times more. Everything is so perfectly described that you can almost feel as if you're there, fleeing from Moscow, or going to an elegant ball. And I believe I'll probably read it more than once. It's one of those books, you know?