War and Peace ( Unabridged Classics) Paperback

Tolstoy follows a handful of Russian families through the Napoleonic invasion, moving between Petersburg drawing rooms and the mud of the battlefield without changing his tone. The unabridged text keeps everything later editions tend to trim: Pierre Bezukhov's search for something to believe, Andrei Bolkonsky's disillusion, Natasha Rostova's growing up, and the long passages in which Tolstoy argues with historians about whether any general ever really decides anything. Battle chapters at Austerlitz and Borodino sit beside hunts, name-day dinners and the burning of Moscow. This Om Books International paperback runs to 1090 pages and is best approached a hundred pages at a time. Worth a closer look: • The unabridged text in a 1090-page Om Books International paperback • Pierre Bezukhov, Andrei Bolkonsky and Natasha Rostova at the centre • Campaign chapters set at Austerlitz, Borodino and the retreat from Moscow • Tolstoy's essays on history run alongside the narrative For committed readers of Russian literature, university students and collectors of long classics, available from Boipoka.