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How to Read War and Peace

By Dawn Raffel

At 1,400-plus pages, War and Peace can seem daunting. Here's how to read it.


What's in a Name

Before encountering Anna Pavlovna Scherer—the first of literally hundreds of characters—it's helpful to understand that traditional three-part Russian names can have masculine or feminine endings; this explains siblings with different last names. If the system makes you dizzy, take a shortcut—read just first names. Bear in mind that Russians are fond of nicknames. Thus Piotr = Petya; ditto Natalia, Natasha. Rule of thumb: When you're wondering, "Is this the same person?" the answer is yes.

Read More Hard Books

From the July 2006 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine