I finished War and Peace!! 🥳

Starting on the 3rd of January, it’s taken me over a month to finish. I find it interesting to compare my reading journey to The Count of Monte Cristo, the only other book I’ve read that is similar in length. While I made short work of The Count of Monte Cristo and finished it in under 2 weeks, I feel War and Peace is a book that deserves to be meditated upon, and indeed is best appreciated when read in this manner. 20-50 pages a day were usually my limit, and with a book so chock full of philosophy about war, history, storytelling and free will, this gave me time to absorb and ponder the meanings of Tolstoy’s philosophy and whether or not I agreed with him.

I can’t agree with those who say that this is the best book ever written, because in my eyes it is not perfect. But it certainly deserves its spot up there amongst the great classics, and it’s definitely a phenomenal work both in terms of the vibrant and heartbreaking lives of its characters, and in what it has to say about war and life in general. I’ve lived in the company of its many, many characters during the past month and enjoyed (almost) every second spent with them. Natasha was my first favourite, and then Pierre began to grow on me… but now that it’s over, I think the character I feel the most sadness and pity for is

Sonya. It surprises me that she seems rarely mentioned by those who’ve read War and Peace, because at the end of it all I really think, out of everyone, she was given the most unfair and depressing lot in life.

I’m very glad that I read this, and I can see myself re-reading this again in the future. Ultimately I think this is only a 4.5 for me right now, as I think some of Tolstoy’s ramblings detracted from how excellent the story itself is. I do have a lot of love for it, though, and I feel that love will only grow over time as I muse upon it more.