War and Peace, Volume 1

By: Leo Tolstoy

Narrated by: Neville Jason

War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.

In addition it is, famously, one of the longest books in Western literature and therefore a remarkable challenge for any reader. Neville Jason read the abridged version of War and Peace and proved his marathon powers with his outstanding performance of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. These make him the ideal narrator to essay Tolstoy's epic.

War and Peace was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

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Critic reviews

"War and Peace presents us with a complete picture of human life; a complete picture of the Russia of those days; a complete historic picture of the struggle of nations; and a complete picture of the things in which men set their happiness and greatness, their sorrow and their shame." (A.V. Knowles, Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage)
"There remains the greatest of all novelists - for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?" (Virginia Woolf)

Brilliant

Yes it is a long story, rather like reading Proust (the atmosphere created by the words and the story is the main thing), but this one has quite some action in it. And being told about an exciting time and a pivotal period in European history it is a "must read" for Americans and Europeans alike. Brilliantly read - never boring.

Sipping Fine Wine

The story of War and Peace is an amazingly colorful and exciting story. It's almost a thrill a minute. But some thrills are quieter than others. The way the drawing room and the battle field start to become parallel in the reader's mind is brilliant. The narrator makes the story a pleasure to listen to. This book isn't meant to be gulped down or swallowed all at once. It's meant to be sipped and enjoyed, like a fine wine.

A joy to listen to!

I read War and Peace a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. I recently felt the desire to read it again and decided to seek out an audiobook version this time, for a little variety. I am quite pleased I did!

This is an excellent recording and the narrator is fantastic. He does an marvelous job with all the characters and truly brings this magnificent work to life.

An amazing and sweeping work

Listening to a book written more than 100 years ago about a country that I was told by the media/government was an 'enemy' gives me comfort that what I'm going through - at work, at home, in governmental gyrations - has all been experienced before. Mankind survived that period of time, and will survive this. This is everything you could want in a classic - romance, comedy, action, history, philosophy, sadness - plus it gave me a view of wars that were not covered well in American history because our participation was limited to funding Napoleon through the Louisiana Purchase.
The reader is excellent, and gives life to the characters.
It's broken into short 'books' - 2 to 4 hour segments, so you don't have to listen to 30 continuous hours.
I think his philosophy is still relevant, and his opinion on historians and their perspective was interesting.

A splendid rendition

I had already read War and Peace twice in the course of my life and had modest expectations of listening to it read for me. Neville Jason well surpassed those expectations. He reads the book splendidly and had me listening with great pleasure. I am grateful to him.

Epic historical novel PLUS....

Impossible to categorize this huge work. A beautifully written historical novel of the Russian aristocracy, woven together with a carefully detailed examination of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, battle by battle, and lastly Tolstoy's theories on how and why these events occurred.

The scope of this book is stunning, the characters unforgettable. Although more approachable than I anticipated, the exhaustive historical detail and Tolstoy's emphatic philosophical discourses make this more than a little challenging.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, absolutely recommend it, and will probably revisit it sometime in the future. Right now, however, I'm ready for some mindless escapism!!

Great performance of the Maude translation

What made the experience of listening to War and Peace, Volume 1 the most enjoyable?

Neville Jason superbly performs War and Peace in the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation. I’m not sure I could have made it through this monumental novel without the assistance of Jason’s performance.

His intonation and pitch are always perfect. The different voices and accents make it easier for the reader to distinguish the multitude of characters. Only with young female voices, most notably Natasha’s, I found the performance a little strained.

Most of the frequent French sentences in the book are first read in French, then translated into English, thus assisting the reader who’s not fluent in French, while being faithful to the original at the same time .

Having more of a visual memory, I always still find it helpful to have the printed version of the book for reference. My version of the printed book (from the Franklin Library collection of 100 Greatest Books Of All Time) is in the same Maude translation. It also provides a few maps, a list of characters, and a few notes, all useful to keep up with the intricate narrative.

Superb reading - choice to make

Any additional comments?

I just wanted to reiterate to those listeners wondering which narrator to listen to that Nevile Jason is the choice to make. I bought the other version originally, trying to save money, thinking 'I don't mind a pompous tone' and it was just unbearable.
Neville Jason is fantastic, and rightly so for this literary triumph.

Great story well read

I love War and Peace, having read it three times and each time it gets better. The reader doors a fine job, but how could anyone do ask of the characters justice? a little allowance and imagination are required, but given that, wonderful!

Amazing book and narrator

What made the experience of listening to War and Peace, Volume 1 the most enjoyable?

I really like the narrator, he's very easy to listen to and has a very agreeable voice.