War and Peace

by: Leo Tolstoy

Published by: Vintage Classics

Reviewed by Kathy Johnson

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy was published in two versions during the latter half of the 1800s. A new English translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, based on the text in volumes 4-7 of the Collected Works in Twenty Volumes by Leo Tolstoy, published by Goslitizdat, Moscow in 1962, came out December 2008.

War and Peace is an immense tome of Tolstoy’s vision of the Napoleonic wars sweeping across Europe and into Russia. Tolstoy weaves historical data within a fictional account of the lives of the aristocrats. Critiques of the master and his work have appeared since the first publication and include Tolstoy’s own comments in regard to his work.

This critique will look at the goals set forth for the present translation:

1. Keep the original formula used by Tolstoy of French in the text, which is translated in footnotes on the same page. This makes for easy reading and understanding of the French text. The first paragraph of the book begins in French, with translation in the footnotes.

2. To translate to another language while faithfully maintaining the nuances of the original, including “power, balance, rhythm, and above all the repetitiveness of the original,” p. xv. Previous translations have refrained from Tolstoy’s repeated word usage, whereas this translation encompasses what Tolstoy knowingly used.

3. Another Tolstoy writing technique is short, clipped sentences that convey a sound by usage. Rather than extending the translation to make longer sentences, phrases have been kept as close to the original as possible.

Numerous translations of War and Peace abound with each one drawing its own detractors and supporters. This particular translation followed closely the goals it set for itself, paying attention to Tolstoy’s style, including the language usage and structure.

There is a list of principal characters at the beginning of the book with an explanation of Russian name usage and address. This helps the novice War and Peace reader quickly identify main characters.

If you can’t read War and Peace in the original, this translation is the next best read. Curl up for your first read or seventh read of War and Peace.

Armchair Interviews says: The extended appendix is a bonus. It includes a letter by Tolstoy, notes, historical index, and summary.