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War and Peace

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War and Peace

By: Leo Tolstoy, Louise Maude - translator, Aylmer Maude - translator
Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
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About this listen

Tolstoy’s epic novel of love and war, in an unabridged performance by Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning actress Thandiwe Newton.

Some call it the greatest novel ever written. Whether it’s your first time, or you’re ready to dive back in, what better way to experience this epic novel than in this exquisite unabridged reading by Thandiwe Newton?

War and Peace is at once an epic war chronicle and an exploration of everything that make us all human: love and hate, ambition and despair, life and death. Allow yourself to get lost in the lives of three Russian aristocratic families, whose triumphs and challenges are every bit as resonant to today’s listener as they were to original readers. Thandiwe Newton inhabits each character with such flair that it is easy to forget that you are listening to one voice.

So cancel all plans, sit back, and let Thandiwe transport you to 19th-century Saint Petersburg....

Public Domain (P)2021 Audible, Ltd Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military War Military Inspiring Russia
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The narration is overly dramatic and makes it very difficult to listen to and enjoy the audiobook

Poor narration

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The book is a classic for a reason, both enlightening and compelling. However this particular narration is I think the best performance of an audiobook I’ve ever heard. It feels closer to a theatrical event rather than a mere reading. Thandiwe clearly understands the characters and the message deeply and does a wonderful job at bringing the story to life. Honestly cannot recommend highly enough.

Stunning!

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Finally, a performance which lives up to the story. See how war affects the individual characters.

Fantastic classic

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If you tried but struggled to get through War and Peace in your younger years, this is the version to listen to. A stunningly modern translation that is really easy to digest, and a superb performance by Thandie Newton, who knocks everything out of the park (except, perhaps, for her German accents 😅)

A stunningly modern translation. Brilliantly read.

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Thandiwe’s narration is absolutely sublime. She brings these wonderful characters to life like no other. Bravo! PS And just the right touches of music between books and very spare use of sfx.

Sublime narration

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She did all the voices so well! And her intonations were excellent all through. Wonderful!

Wonderful

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It took a few chapters to get used to the various voices employed by the narrator. Though slightly cringe inducing at the start, they were consistent and proved invaluable to keeping track of the many characters. As always with Tolstoy, much time is taken in creating depth and complexity of characters and the context in which they dwell. This makes it so much the more difficult to say goodbye at the end- even after 70+ hours!

Fantastic!

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The reader was AMAZING! The variety of voices and accents was incredible and added much to my enjoyment of the book. Thanks

Fantastic performance

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A great way to revisit War and Peace , easy way to follow the characters.

Fantastic

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The energy, the accents were fabulous from start to finish in this grand sweeping classic. Fantastic!

Incredible narration

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