Giusto una curiosità, in che città abiti?

I'm almost 25 and I feel like your comment is a sign I should finally start...

I finished this book when i was 14 year old yeah i am a complete weirdo

Agreed. I read it at 30 for the first time, and re-read it every 2 or 3 years. It's always hovering in the back of my mind ... It's not the kind of book you read once, and put away, never to touch again. It's a book that really lives in you, grows in you, and rewards multiple readings.

amen

If one doesn't care much for Philosophy and War Strategy then War and Peace will be boring to read

I agree, Deal Souls is surprisingly modern and enjoyable to read. Great intro and one my favourites of any era. However I wouldn’t recommend Part Two of Dead Souls as it takes steps away from the original and is unfinished, only served to diminish my love of the 1st part somewhat.Crime and Punishment is also very compelling reads to start with, got me hooked…Gogol’s plays and short stories are stellar as well. One of the most unique voices in world literature.

Thank you for the recommendations!

:D thank you!

Against the day goes hard

@@Matt-nj4tt Absolutely! Just as good as Gravity's Rainbow.

Good luck with catching up with those before turning 40 - I hope you have fun with them!!

:D

Climb the Stacks is my favorite reviewer on KZfaq!

Hi, which translation do you find best? I've only read garnett translation and i'm curious about other ones. Thanks in advance.

@@charlesbukowski9752 I think I prefer the Ann Dunnigan (available as a very fat Signet Classic mass market paperback), but that may be because it's the one I read first. It's very smooth and unfussy. The Pevear/Volokhonsky retains the original French, and I was annoyed every time I had to refer to a footnote for a translation. I'm looking forward to the Briggs -- maybe this December. Cheers!

@@troytradup (Hilariously/annoyingly, I have an Italian edition of War & Peace that does the same - it retains the French passages in French - and I don't think mine even offers any kind of footnote translation!!)

EC Segar Popeye is superior

Pardon me, but I beg to differ. It's a known fact that the Adventures of Tintin is even more magnificent than Popeye and Snoopy together.

Best of luck with your writing!

I can't say that I've heard of him - but thank you for the recommendation!

I really liked Middlemarch when I read it (about six years ago), but I must confess that I haven't retained much of it - even the basic plot has mostly gone! I possibly read it too fast at the time, and I often wonder whether I should re-read it one day, and give it a second chance!

Slowly making my way through the series :) I believe I read all (definitely most) of the strips in Italian when I was a kid, and it's amazing to revist them in the original!

@@TheBookchemist Nice! Don’t give up in the 80’s, the 90’s are a monster comeback!

I would read a few pages (either in a bookshop or from a library copy) or see if you find it interesting, or if it doesn't really pull you in!

Crime and Punishment is more accessible.

Not a lot! Just a handful (with the main one actually coming very close to the end, so that by then you won't mind wading through it ;) )

@@TheBookchemist Im going to read shorter works of Tolstoy first to see if I like him.

That's good to hear cause it's much shorter than W&P.

@@CRM-114 I said shallow by modern standards. Tolstoy's assertion that everyone, not just a few select "greats" contributes to the motions of history was, I'm sure, stunning and revolutionary for its time, but it's laughably obvious now. War and Peace is an important book, don't get me wrong, but I really do think it hasn't aged that well. Its observations are just common knowledge nowadays; it doesn't offer that much insight to the modern reader, at least I don't think it does. And the characters are all insufferable to boot. Again, I think the acclaim it garners is a result of what it did, but not what it does, because it doesn't really do that much now. That is to say, it's not as timeless as other classic works of literature. But again, that's just how it impacted me.

@@CRM-114 Yes, I've read the book. And it's really more concerned about the movements of history and the directions it takes, and the causes behind those movements, rather than just the militaristic aspects of the story. Yes, soldiers determine the outcomes of battles just as much if not more so than commanders. That's so obvious it's painful; even back then. The "Great Man" theory of history that Tolstoy wanted to debunk is so irrelevant now that the book's central commentary is rendered obsolete. And no, my contempt for Tolstoy as a thinker is not unjustified in the slightest, considering that virtually every ideological viewpoint he championed in both his personal life and his writings have been almost completely abandoned and/or are viewed now as either deranged or absurd. He really wasn't the greatest philosopher. He ardently extolled the virtues of living a life of poverty and abstinence, yet practiced neither of those things himself. He was also ridiculously misogynistic, and War and Peace drips with such sentiments. Again, I'm not saying that War and Peace isn't an important book; it totally was. All I'm saying is that in comparison with other classic novels, it's value has diminished greatly. I hold, at least.

@@TH3F4LC0Nx Are you talking also compared to Dostoevskij for example?

@@dariostevens250 Dostoyevsky is far superior to Tolstoy. Much better philosophical insight, and still relevant and valuable to today's audience. Not nearly as judgmental and preachy as Tolstoy too. Dostoyevsky is the real greatest Russian author; not Tolstoy.

@@TH3F4LC0Nx Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky are both more valuable for their influence in literature than their actual output in my opinion.