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War and Peace

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War and Peace

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
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About this listen

Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual's place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Homeric powers and placed War and Peace in the same category as The Iliad.

War and Peace was translated by Constance Garnett.

Public Domain (P)2009 Blackstone Audio Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military War Russia Military Imperialism Middle ages

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All stars
Most relevant  
I had read War and Peace about 40 years ago and my main memory is of lengthy ramblings by Bezukhov. Of course I have seen a number of films, the most recent being the Bondarchuk.
However the narrator of this is wonderful - never sounding too preachy. Also his various accents are very good (as far as I can judge...) Having just listened to a Dostoyevsky whose narrator seems to speak no language except Yankee, this is most appreciated!.
I h already have Frederick Davidson reading the Diary of a Nobody - this makes a perfect match. I look forward to listening to this again (I have listened to the Diary about 3 times)

Wonderful!

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I never could have read this due to being busy, so glad I've been able to consume this excellent peice of history 👍

Truly excellent

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This is the narration to listen to if you want to be entertained. This is interesting to listen to, lively and engaging. Neville Jason has a better rating but I dont think that I could have listened to him for 60 hours because he sounds so bored. Frederick is humerous not monotonous. This was definately the reading for me. Please dont just go for the highest rating.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book and recommend to everyone that always wanted to but never had the time or the strorage space.

Frederick Davidson Deserves A Higher Rating

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Fascinating history and narrative. The battle scenes are incredible, particularly Austerlitz.

The narrator is brilliant. Voices stay consistent throughout. Some reviews here criticise his plummy style but I think it fits the intrigues of Russian aristocracy very well.

Outstanding

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Any additional comments?

I had to abandon this book because the narrator had the most irritating and distracting voice I've ever come across. Instead I had to buy the other version narrated by Neville Jason. That one has two parts, which of course means using two credits, but it is 10x better. They shouldn't even sell this version, it is truly appalling.

NARRATOR RUINS IT!

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I really enjoyed this book especially the gentle humour and irony which is shown throughout. I liked listening to this book and have not had a problem with any of the other books read by Frederick Davidson. I personally think that the reader chosen is ideal for period books. The characters are some of the most interesting in any book I've read and since many of them are contrasted with each other the plot of the book is easier to follow than its size suggests.

I really enjoyed this book

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I'm sure like many people,I had tried to read this book numerous times before. I had loved Anna Karenina but could just not get into this at all. That is until I got the audio book. I was hooked after the first 10 mins and couldn't wait for the next installment. But what a shame about the narrator!! That's an understatement. Usually the narrator enhances the book for me - not this time - his voice really detracted from the experience. The book by Leo Tolstoy is fabulous and deserves it's reputation - but I would highly recommend listening to this with someone else narrating.

What a shame about the narrator!!!

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War and Peace audiobook described very well. Anybody can able to listen and enjoy this book

Great Book

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I enjoyed reading Anna Karenina in print a while back, and I'd intended reading War and Peace at some time, which never actually arrived. So when I got the offer of a free book from Audible, I thought this would be the opportunity to painlessly get through the novel.



I imagine most actors doing recordings of books start off by reading the book through a few times, becoming familiar with the flow of the narrative and developing the right voices for the characters. But with War and Peace? This is an epic book, and it must also have been an epic task for the reader, the late David Case, working here under the pseudonym Frederick Davidson, one of the most prolific audio book narrators. In this case, the characterisations aren't always clear. There are a lot of characters, and it would be helpful to have very different voices for each, but many are similar. Being set in Russia does limit the scope for use of interesting regional accents, and working from a translated text does mean that the dialogue doesn't flow as smoothly as it would if it came from an anglophone writer.



However, despite these limitations, the recording is good and, once you get into it, does keep you listening.

How do you read in an interesting voice for hours?

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