IAP Political Forum

NPR had a story on it today, and I was wondering how many have you have actually read it and was it worth the time?

I read it and enjoyed it, but you must be warned it's for serious readers. There are hundreds of characters and events, and it keeps several threads open at once, shifting threads at almost each chapter and re-taking them later. It may be confusing if you're not used to complex narration.

On the other hand it's very amusing in its variety, and characters are so living it's amost supernatural how Tolstoi brings them to life.

I really liked it and could had kept reading it for 500 pages more.

ME: "I've started reading War and Peace by Leon Trotsky for english class"
FRIEND: "I think your teacher is making you stupider."
ME: "Nah... Wait, did I just say War and Peace was written by Trotsky?"
FRIEND: "Yeah"
ME: "My God..."

I'm moving along with it steadily, but sometimes I need to re-read sections because I read too quickly to process what's going on. I'm working on Altas Shrugged as well, so my reading-muscle is getting a good workout.

It can get to be heavy going at times - Pierre's dabble with numerology is funny-ridiculous, but the surrounding mystic masonry and suchlike is sleep inducing.  Having said that, its well worth the go.  I couldn't put it down (until the aforementioned!).

There's a new translation out in Uk - with much of Tolstoy's original french dialogue left intact.  The translators reasoning was that the French was a feature of the upper classes that marked them off, and that it would serve the same purpose in an english version of the book.  That probably damns its US sales... :)