Here’s why you should keep Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

* On the surface, the novel is about the French invasion of Russia and the dread that Napolean’s war had created. Tolstoy, however, captures this through five Russian aristocratic families. Their struggle, personal crisis, love and loss make it an extremely humane story, one that continues to resonate with everybody dealing with any exigency, and their effort to land on their feet without falling.

*By placing a bunch of characters at the heart of a war novel, Tolstoy not just provides a commentary on war but also presents a compelling picture of society. Unlike his Anna Karenina, there is no particular protagonist in the story. Although a large part of the narrative hinges on Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky, he is not the protagonist of the story.

* A novel that deals with war and peace ought to have love, and there is plenty. However, what makes Tolstoy’s novel resonate still is his refusal to present only one kind of love. Entangled with relationships, the emotion takes different forms.

*Even though it deals with Napolean’s failed attempt to capture Russia in 1812, War and Peace is not a historical novel. It refuses to be constrained by the time period it chooses to talk about. It eventually becomes a novel about history, capturing its vagaries and ultimately reminding that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

* With all the description about war, War and Peace is also a seminal work that reminds you of the frailty of life, the unpredictability of it, and ultimately, the privilege of it. The novel tells you life can be fraught with trouble, but yet it is great to be alive.

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