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A copy of War and Peace
War and Peace (Russian:Война и мир) is a famousnovel written byLeo Tolstoy, a Russian writer. It is about four families of noblemen inRussia during the wars withNapoleon, and how they deal with thewar and with one another.
Tolstoy describedWar and Peace as "not a novel, even less is it apoem, and still less anhistorical chronicle."[1]
The book describes Russian life in the19th century, and also tells about Tolstoy's own idea aboutfree will,history, and how events unfold.
There are 580 characters inWar and Peace, but these are the main characters:
Pierre Bezukhov: a thoughtful man. Even though he isquite clever, he does not think cleverness is the most important thing, like his friend Andrei. He can be veryemotional, and this can get him into trouble. Hisfinal marriage with Natasha makes him happy in the end. Some people think he is like Tolstoy.
Natasha Rostova: she is a very happy,energetic, lively girl. She is the opposite of Helene (Elena) Kuragina, her husband's first wife. Almost everybody she meets likes her. Even though she is verycharming, she is not proud or silly. She is very emotional. By the end of the book she has married Pierre. Throughout the book her character goes through many changes.
Andrei Bolkonski: he is a good man, like Pierre, but in a very different way. He is much less emotional than his friend, even though he loves his country and ishonest.
Maria (Marya) Bolkonskaya: Andrei's sister. She is a very gentle,patient girl, who never complains even when her father is unkind to her. She is lonely and plain, but the book says she has beautiful eyes, and her heart is loving and Christian. She marries Nikolai and is happy.
Nikolai Rostov: like his sister Natasha, Nikolai is veryimpetuous. He gets angry easily, but loves his family. Although his gambling habits cause his family to go into debt.
Napoleon: the small, plump, and very proudemperor of France. He is also the leader in battle. He is selfish and loves power: Tolstoy wrote about him mostly in anegative way.
General Kutuzov: An old, fat general with only one eye who leads Russia in battle. He is very different from proud Napoleon, because he is humble and fears God. He is also more careful and thoughtful.
Elena Kuragina (Helene Kuragina): Pierre's first wife. She is cold, selfish, stupid, and proud, but very beautiful. She marries Pierre, but cheats on him and has arelationship with Dolokhov.
Dolokhov: A handsome Russian army soldier. He is a friend of Nikolai. He likes Helene and has a love affair with her at first, but after he fights with Pierre because of it, he starts liking Sonya. He even asks her to marry him. However, Sonya says no, and he angrily goes away. He makes Nikolaigamble and lose a lot of money. Later, he tries to help Anatoly Kuragin run away with Natasha.
Sonya Rostova: The pretty, shy, and humble cousin of Nikolai and Natasha. She lives with them and used to love Nikolai, butgenerously lets him marry rich Princess Marya to help the family and make him happy.
Anatoly Kuragin: Helene's brother. He spends too much money and does wrong. At first he was going to marry rich Princess Marya just for her money, but she said no. He fell in love with Natasha at an opera and tried to run away with her. Because of this, Natasha and Prince Andrei fought, and could not marry.
