Try free for 30 days

  • War and Peace, Volume 1

  • By: Leo Tolstoy
  • Narrated by: Neville Jason
  • Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (105 ratings)

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
War and Peace, Volume 1 cover art

War and Peace, Volume 1

By: Leo Tolstoy
Narrated by: Neville Jason
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $43.99

Buy Now for $43.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

War and Peace is one of the greatest monuments in world literature. Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, it examines the relationship between the individual and the relentless march of history. Here are the universal themes of love and hate, ambition and despair, youth and age, expressed with a swirling vitality which makes the book as accessible today as it was when it was first published in 1869.

In addition it is, famously, one of the longest books in Western literature and therefore a remarkable challenge for any reader. Neville Jason read the abridged version of War and Peace and proved his marathon powers with his outstanding performance of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. These make him the ideal narrator to essay Tolstoy's epic.

War and Peace was translated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

© and (P) Naxos Rights International

Critic Reviews

"War and Peace presents us with a complete picture of human life; a complete picture of the Russia of those days; a complete historic picture of the struggle of nations; and a complete picture of the things in which men set their happiness and greatness, their sorrow and their shame." (A.V. Knowles, Tolstoy: The Critical Heritage)
"There remains the greatest of all novelists - for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?" (Virginia Woolf)

What listeners say about War and Peace, Volume 1

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    83
  • 4 Stars
    17
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    75
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    74
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Ed
  • 03-08-2016

So slow, though a good performance by the narrator

Would you try another book written by Leo Tolstoy or narrated by Neville Jason?

The narrator was very good.

What could Leo Tolstoy have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I am 13hrs in and we are still in the third drawing room introducing characters. It might be a classic for its stylistic prose, but god it's slow.

Which character – as performed by Neville Jason – was your favourite?

None

Was War and Peace, Volume 1 worth the listening time?

As a story, not for me, but those interested in the academic aspects would enjoy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Endurance

I must say I wasn't expecting much. However, it gives a very interesting insight into Russian psyche and gets better as you become familiar with the characters. Good classic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unmissable and unmistakable perfection.

It's an epic but so exquisite in its finely crafted protagonists. Covers so many facets of the human condition, it may surprise you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great reading of the masterpiece

It was with trepidation that I approached an unabridged reading of War and Peace. I’ve read it twice before, in 2 different translations and was uncertain how I’d react to having it read to me. Loved it. Jason’s reading is wonderful and brings something unique to each character.

The book itself gets richer with each reading.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Bravo, Mr Jason

The book is a bit of a soap opera and despite its fame, could not be compared to the literary quality of much modern writing (unless, perhaps, an awful lot has been lost in translation).
However, it has a good deal of historical interest, both as a kind of first-person view of historical events and as a chronicle of social attitudes. And, above all, it has the benefit of a performance by the narrator that inspires awe and wonder and delight. I plunge on expectantly into Part 2 chiefly for the pleasure of listening to Mr Jason a bit (say, 30 hours!) longer.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

take your time and enjoy the many story lines

Great narrator brings this classic to life. This was the only way i was ever going to get through a whole Tolstoy book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A classic for a reason …

A fascinating voyage into "civilised" past and in so many ways still perfectly relevant today!

The narrator was incredible!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not long enough for my liking

It is a masterpiece and I was relieved there is another volume as was traumatised when it finished. There is no writer like Tolstoy for the human condition. The narration was really good and it needed to be when listening to so many hours. Delivered the powerful emotion subtly and resisted too much drama. Only tiny gripe is that he couldn’t nail Natalia’s girlish voice the way a female narrator would have and it got a bit annoying. Will continue with the same narrator for volume two though as all the other voices were superb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A worthy classic worthily performed

Though I’m sure everyone will find certain sections of this whopper of a novel dull (for me it was the Freemasonry stuff) Tolstoy packs in so much drama, emotion, and humour to keep you pretty gripped the whole way through. I think Tolstoy’s strength is his characterisation and one of the great joys of the novel is getting to know the dramatis personae intimately throughout the story.
I’m looking forward to listening to Volume 2.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

captures humanity incredibly

solid narrator, good story. very long, but you know that. really amazing how real some of the behaviour is and how it still applies to people today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.