How Does The Pevear And Volokhonsky War And Peace Read?
2026-07-23 08:27:58
243
關注19
分享
KyleHines
Topic Starter
Engineer
ABO人格測試
快速測測看!你的真實屬性是 Alpha、Beta 還是 Omega?
費洛蒙
屬性
理想的戀愛
潛藏慾望
隱藏黑化屬性
馬上測測看
5 答案
Fenn
Plot Detective
Mechanic
As a non-native English speaker who reads Russian, I find P&V incredibly helpful as a crib. When I want to check my understanding of a complex Tolstoy sentence, I look at their version because it hews so closely to the Russian structure. That said, for pure reading pleasure in English, it often fails. The English feels second-hand, like a detailed report on the novel rather than the novel itself. It's a brilliant tool for students and enthusiasts who want to peer behind the curtain of translation, but I would never recommend it as someone's first and only experience with 'War and Peace.' It's a companion to the original, not a replacement for a fluid, recreated English text.
2026-07-25 00:59:33
19
KatePayne
Bibliophile
Chef
That's a loaded question, because P&V's translation is famously divisive. I fell into the camp that found it jarring at first—the syntax feels intentionally un-English, preserving the cadence of Tolstoy's Russian. It can read as stiff or even awkward in places where other translations flow smoothly. For readers who want a 'transparent' English version that doesn't feel translated, this might not be it. Their goal seems to be authenticity to the source text's structure, even at the cost of natural English phrasing. Some passages have a strange power because of that choice; others just feel clunky. It's a translation that demands you meet Tolstoy on his own linguistic terms, which is both its strength and its biggest potential weakness.
2026-07-25 03:43:37
17
DaxMoreno
Honest Reviewer
Driver
Their translation reads like a deliberate rebuttal to Constance Garnett's. Where Garnett smoothed, P&V roughen. Where Garnett made Tolstoy sound like a Victorian English novelist, P&V make him sound like... a Russian novelist writing in a deliberately awkward English translation. It's a reactive, polemical approach. Knowing that context helps. You're not just reading Tolstoy; you're reading an argument about how Tolstoy should be read in English. That argument is intellectually stimulating, but it can also feel like you're consuming a manifesto alongside the novel. For a clean, less ideologically charged read, the more recent translations by Anthony Briggs or Marian Schwartz might be better starting points.
2026-07-26 16:49:20
7
AveryWest
Honest Reviewer
Librarian
It reads like what it is: a hybrid. You have Volokhonsky's ultra-literal Russian-to-English crib, and then Pevear's literary reshaping. Sometimes that partnership produces magic, finding an English rhythm that somehow still smells of Russian soil. Other times, you feel the seams. The dialogue is where it most often falls apart for me. Characters, especially women and lower-class figures, sometimes speak in a stilted, almost caricatured manner that doesn't match the psychological depth Tolstoy gives them. The narration is usually stronger. So you're constantly oscillating between profound insight into Tolstoy's mind and slight cringes at how his people talk. A bumpy, fascinating, and ultimately worthwhile ride, but only if you have patience for the bumps.
2026-07-29 11:50:36
5
MaxKid
Frequent Answerer
Accountant
LOL, I bought the fancy hardcover set because it looks impressive on my shelf. Opened it, read fifty pages, and noped right back to my old paperback. That's my review.
2026-07-29 23:38:31
17
查看全部答案
掃碼下載 APP
相關作品
The Pakhan's Bride
AH AMORA
9.6
41.1K
She was trapped in the darkness.
He ruled over it.
Zarya Rogov, born to be a sacrifice. Always kept in the dark, she learned to live along with it. To the world, she was just another spoiled princess but only the walls of the Rogov's mansion knew the true tale of her unending sorrows.
She thought escape would mean freedom. She thought the world outside would save her, only to realize she loved the mansion walls that trapped her more than to be caught by the actual beast out there.
But it was too late, she was trapped again and his cage was cruler, colder and reeked of wrath.
Sergei Morozov, the Pakhan feared by all. The man who walked over those he crushed mercilessly. His next target was her father, and to crush that old man, he captured his daughter, made her his wife, and decided to keep her as just a mere accessory in his mansion, just a mere caretaker for his son.
That was his plan, until he found himself unable to look away from her, he found himself craving her, loosening his tie in her vicinity just because she was just too hard to resist.
He hated the feeling because he promised himself that he would be the one to take her life and no one else, not even god.
But one thing he knew for sure, he craved her more than he craved to sin, and she was worse than a sin, she was addiction, and he was hooked.
WARNINGS:
FORCED MARRIAGE.
NON-CONSENSUAL RELATIONSHIP.
POWER IMBALANCE.
PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION.
OBSESSIVE/POSSESSIVE MALE LEAD.
GORE.
“I now pronounce you as a husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!” The priest announced and I froze.
I knew I was cursed the moment this blood oath was taken which bound me to hell, the hell of this Sinner.
My eyelids raised to see the ugly creation of god. My husband! Vladimir Sokolov!
His rugged face carved with uncountable ugly marks stung my slow beating heart.
His hazel green eyes held a satisfied dark shadow as He pulled me close, raised my chin and whispered coldly, “From this very moment, you share the crown of Bratva’s pakhan. Prepare yourself to bear its weight, Babochka. Because I own your existence now!”
He slammed his cold lips on my trembling ones, punishing me with a brutal kiss. Tears pricked my eyes with disgust but I tolerated his touch for the sake of my family. My eyes followed the part of the audience, Russians, who burst into cheers while the other party, Italians, looked at me with remorse and pitiful gazes.
Oh yes, how could I forget I was the sacrificed lamb thrusted into hell to get scorched for a lifetime.
But No. I still had the last hope to save myself from this cursed fate, this cursed marriage.
…………..
Born in a sin will definitely be called the Sinner. Without morality and mercy, Vladimir Sokolov the Bratva’s Pakhan ruled the city with an iron fist. Due to the influence of some political parties He had to marry the Daughter from La Camorra. Rose Barbieri!
Marry her, have his heir and wear the title of family man, that's what He planned to do but what He didn’t imagine was that his innocent, submissive wife was someone who would burn the flames of his hell into ashes one day.
Anastasia Romanov, one of the Last Grand Duchesses of the Russian Empire, finds herself lost in memories and heartbreak. Unable to forget her former love, she wanders around the world, looking for distractions. But then a surprise attack from the Hunters spins her life around. Anastasia meets a beautiful Huntress, whose code name is 'Princess of the Wild', but the girl just wants to the Duchess at every chance she gets. Will they be potential lovers or forever sworn enemies?
|A sequel to the Romanov Princess Book|
“In a world of ruthless mafia rivalries, the Italian mafia, La Famiglia De Luca, has been embroiled in a brutal five-year war with the Mexican mafia, La Mano Roja (The Red Hand). Desperate for an advantage, Capo Ivan De Luca forges an unlikely alliance with the feared Russian Bratva, led by the powerful Pakhan Sergei Morozov. But at a steep price: his daughter's hand in marriage to the Pakhan's ruthless grandson, the future Pakhan.
Meet Mikhail Morozov, a half-Russian, half-Cuban mafia heir with ice in his veins and blood on his hands. He rules with silence and steel, trusting no one and loving none. Raised in brutality, Mikhail believes emotions are liabilities and mercy is weakness.
And Donatella De Luca, the sharp-tongued and fiercely independent second daughter of Capo Ivan De Luca. With a quick wit and sharp mind, she navigates the complex world of the De Luca famiglia with confidence and poise. When the Pakhan chooses Donatella as the bride, a complex web of loyalty, power, and forbidden love is set in motion. Will Donatella’s strength be enough to tame the devil, or will Mikhail cold heart consume her?”
A deep bone-melting groan vibrates from his chest. “I want to see you malyshka.Every inch of you.”
I shiver in anticipation as his fingers trail down my back, lowering the zipper of my dress, the fabric pooling at my waist. My tits come into view as cool air kisses my bare skin.
His sharp intake of breath makes my stomach flip.
“Damn,” the word is rough, almost reverent as his large hand cups my left tit, squeezing softly. “They look even better than I had imagined.” His grip tightens slightly. “A perfect fit for my hands.”
☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎☦︎
Serafina had only one dream: to take center stage at the New York Opera.
But if wishes were horses, even beggars would have a ride.
Thrown into an arranged marriage, She is determined to hate him but soon discovers that there’s a thin line between love and hate.
Adriko has no use for love. His focus is power, his goal is revenge.But what do you do when your greatest threat is your most sinful desire?
A pawn in the game…
A Bride for a truce…
Zoya is a girl who comes from a high class home, but is more interested in writing and reading rather than her world that involves attending various business meetings or planned hangouts with Sami, who has been obsessed with her for years and would rather die than not have her.
Then she meets Ivandor and she started to feel all she has never felt before. But there is a societal problem here, Ivandor is from the poorest of families and Sami would kill anyone who tries to come in between he and Zoya.
And he succeeded, he got her, against her will, one that was disguised as betrayal from her part to Ivandor who didn't know her predicament.
And when Ivandor is back, bigger and better, he's not just back for fun, he's back for revenge, to make all the people who spat and looked down on him bite their tongues.
But when Sami finds out about all of these, war breaks out, as he would rather die than let any other man have Zoya whether she likes it or not.
So sleeves gets rolled up and guns get cocked. Clashes, tears and deaths ensues, secret affairs arises, the eternal love rekindles and it starts to cause chaos and war that seems to never end.
Can we talk about the physical book itself? The Everyman's Library edition of their translation is a beautiful object, and having the French translated in the footnotes (instead of left in-text as in some older versions) is a godsend for non-bilingual readers.
It makes the reading process smoother, even if the translation's style is deliberate. The quality of the paper, the sewn binding—it feels like an heirloom. In a weird way, the weighty, formal prose suits this beautiful, weighty volume. It feels like you're undertaking a serious, monumental task, which reading 'War and Peace' should feel like.
It turns the act of reading into a bit of a ritual, which I found added to the experience rather than detracted from it.
It's not just a difference in wording; it's a difference in rhythm. Pevear and Volokhonsky preserve the repetitive, incantatory quality of Tolstoy's prose. When a phrase repeats in the Russian, it repeats in their English, which older translations often smoothed over. This creates a hypnotic, philosophical drive that's central to the book's power. You feel the weight of history and the cyclical nature of human conflict in the very structure of the sentences. The Maude translation, while elegant, sometimes loses that rhythmic pounding in favor of more varied English. So if the metaphysical heft of the novel is what draws you, P&V might offer something unique.
Ultimately, you can't go wrong with Maude (Oxford), Briggs (Penguin), or Pevear (Vintage). They're all stellar achievements. Pick the one whose sample pages pull you in. The one that makes you forget you're reading a translation after a few chapters. That invisible quality, where the author seems to be speaking directly to you in your own language, is the true hallmark of readability. Trust your gut after reading a few pages of each.