War and Peace Short Summary

The author of this novelist called Leo Tolstoy. It follows the lives of the members of the noble families during the Napoleon War. The families in question include the Kuragins, Bolkonskys, Drubetskoys, Rostovs, and Bezukhovs. The book assesses how this war affects these families. The settings of the story begin in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is in the year 1805. It later moves to Moscow, a year later, 1806.

It begins with the celebration of Pierre Bezukhov, a child who is said to be illegitimate. When his father dies, he has to fight hard for inheritance. However, he finally wins and gets the inheritance. The rest of that section gives an account of the battles that took place in Austria when Russia if fighting with France. There are more characters like Natasha, Boris, Nikolai, and Sonya are introduced at this point.

In volume 2, no war is going on. This is because of the temporary truce that was there. The war heroes have fallen in love with each other. The focus of the story is on how the families intend to rebuild from the period of war.

After the truce is over, the two countries (Russia and France) are involved in war again. The families are frustrated and have to move away because Moscow is under attack from the France soldier. This is a period of great tension. Pierre wants to participate in the war but is unable to due to lack of experience.

In volume 4, the war is continuing, and Pierre is imprisoned. More deaths are resulting from the war. People continue to die. This is the chapter where most deaths are recorded. Even by the time the story ends, nothing has been resolved yet.