spirotechnics's reviews
22 reviews

Wow. This book. Honestly, there isn't much that I have to say that hasn't already been said. It's an incredibly well-written piece of literature that I had the joy of reading for class. But holy fuck was this book long. With the time constraints I had, I needed to read the book a lot faster than I would have originally liked to when reading for leisure, and thus, I feel I may have missed some important moments. Nevertheless, what I was able to remember was quite an enjoyable read.

Andrey was by far one of the most interesting and nuanced characters I've read as of late and seeing how he grappled with various circumstances

and his own mortality

was incredibly entertaining.

It literally broke me when he died, especially since it was such a long, drawn out process. I was right along with Natasha and Marya.

Tolstoy ragging on Napoleon was also incredibly funny. The main reason I'm removing points is because I am a bit annoyed with the way Natasha was "manic pixie dream girl-ed" by a good chunk of the male cast. Don't get me wrong, I adored her, but there were times where hearing how all these guys were obsessed with her was a bit much. Helene also deserved so much better than what she got, in spite of her flaws. Also, while the prose was incredibly wonderful, it very much did drag at some moments, which was kinda irritating. Incredible book!