War and Peace
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoyby Leo Tolstoy
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 16 of 122 novels by recommenders
Recommended as a sweeping classic with vivid, chaotic war scenes and prose that many readers find hard to put down. Critics say its slow pace and large cast make it a difficult read.
Recommended as a sweeping classic with vivid, chaotic war scenes and prose that many readers find hard to put down. Critics say its slow pace and large cast make it a difficult read.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 69%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Vivid, chaotic depiction of war
“I've just read that section of War and Peace and was blown away by the descriptions of guerrilla tactics”
Comment from 9 Jul 2026 in “US seeks cheaper hunter-killer drones after Iran destroys $1B worth of Reapers” “the prose capturing the chaos and randomness of brutality”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” Gripping and hard to put down
“I'm really enjoying War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy”
Comment from 6 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What fiction books would you recommend for programmers?” “I fell into War and Peace and couldn't stop.”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” Regarded as an excellent classic
“when you pick up Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, or Dead Souls”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” “which obviously was excellent”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Slow and hard to follow
“300 characters with names that I'll never remember, some woman and her son, a general or something”
Comment from 25 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult” “1200 pages of bad writing where he can't get to the fucking point”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “No Spanish Reading Crisis?” “could not get through the first 5% of the book”
Comment from 26 Jun 2026 in “Dostoyevsky Isn't Difficult”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| War and Peaceby Leo TolstoyThis page | 11 | 5 | 69% | 4 | — | Approved |
What people said
16 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The story ends and then the author has a whole afterward dedicated to”
“a case study of how to fail to understand how human society actually works”
“1200 pages of bad writing where he can't get to the fucking point”
“I've just read that section of War and Peace and was blown away by the descriptions of guerrilla tactics”
“I use "War and Peace" for this.”
“could not get through the first 5% of the book”
“when you pick up Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, The Brothers Karamazov, or Dead Souls”
“I fell into War and Peace and couldn't stop.”
“The audio format helped keep the pace going and also it helped with the names.”
“pretty good IMHO and captures many of the essentials of the book”
“the prose capturing the chaos and randomness of brutality”
“300 characters with names that I'll never remember, some woman and her son, a general or something”
“how darkly funny and modern it feels”
“This was how I felt about reading War and Peace”
“which obviously was excellent”
“I'm really enjoying War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.