Wonderful!

I had read War and Peace about 40 years ago and my main memory is of lengthy ramblings by Bezukhov. Of course I have seen a number of films, the most recent being the Bondarchuk.
However the narrator of this is wonderful - never sounding too preachy. Also his various accents are very good (as far as I can judge...) Having just listened to a Dostoyevsky whose narrator seems to speak no language except Yankee, this is most appreciated!.
I h already have Frederick Davidson reading the Diary of a Nobody - this makes a perfect match. I look forward to listening to this again (I have listened to the Diary about 3 times)

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6 people found this helpful

Truly excellent

I never could have read this due to being busy, so glad I've been able to consume this excellent peice of history 👍

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Frederick Davidson Deserves A Higher Rating

This is the narration to listen to if you want to be entertained. This is interesting to listen to, lively and engaging. Neville Jason has a better rating but I dont think that I could have listened to him for 60 hours because he sounds so bored. Frederick is humerous not monotonous. This was definately the reading for me. Please dont just go for the highest rating.

I am thoroughly enjoying this book and recommend to everyone that always wanted to but never had the time or the strorage space.

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13 people found this helpful

Outstanding

Fascinating history and narrative. The battle scenes are incredible, particularly Austerlitz.

The narrator is brilliant. Voices stay consistent throughout. Some reviews here criticise his plummy style but I think it fits the intrigues of Russian aristocracy very well.

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1 person found this helpful

NARRATOR RUINS IT!

Any additional comments?

I had to abandon this book because the narrator had the most irritating and distracting voice I've ever come across. Instead I had to buy the other version narrated by Neville Jason. That one has two parts, which of course means using two credits, but it is 10x better. They shouldn't even sell this version, it is truly appalling.

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2 people found this helpful

I really enjoyed this book

I really enjoyed this book especially the gentle humour and irony which is shown throughout. I liked listening to this book and have not had a problem with any of the other books read by Frederick Davidson. I personally think that the reader chosen is ideal for period books. The characters are some of the most interesting in any book I've read and since many of them are contrasted with each other the plot of the book is easier to follow than its size suggests.

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I knew I'd never read it

As I'm nearly 70, I realised I'll never have time to read War and Peace. I'm now in the middle of listening to part 3, and enchanted. I didn't know it was full of irony and humour. the reading is perfect, for me, wonderfully camp. So I go on the bus with my Freedom pass, and when people ask me what music I have on my iPod I'm delighted to tell them that it's War and Peace!

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76 people found this helpful

An epic listen !

This is an epic to listen to - never mind read.

It took me ages to get through this one - but I am so glad I did get to the end. It takes a while to get used to the narrator, but after book 3 or 4 you do get used to him, and not having read the book, rely on his portrayal of the characters. There are so many characters that come in and go out of the story (some never to return) that you do appreciate this and whether the accents match the characters at least the narrator is consistent in his portrayal which must be hard to do over a book this long.

The chapters are in nice short listenable units (10-15 minutes), which suits me personally as I listen on the way to and from work, and I would say I only found 2 or 3 which were missing a bookmark which is quite remarkable given the amount of chapters contained in the 15 books.

If you are going to listen, its worth it, but I would put aside plenty of time.

I would certainly consider replaying it one day.

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7 people found this helpful

Excellent narration

Unhesitatingly recommended, this book is narrated engagingly throughout, superbly acted where relevant and thoroughly enjoyable. As to the book itself, Tolstoy needs no recommendation from me.. a very great book.

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Power or circumstance?

Couldn't have got through the book without this to help. Found it particularly helpful for the philosophising, which I enjoyed the most but took a great deal of concentration.

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