Post a photo of War and Peace on X and watch what happens.
The comments are split every time. One-half treats it like a survivor support group. “Oh my God, that thing is torture.” “So long and boring, holy God.” The other half loves it and wants you to know you're a philistine for finding the first 150 pages slow.
I’ve posted the War & Peace photo several times now. Controversy every time. Which tells you something: This book has a reputation that arrives long before anyone opens it.
The Book Everyone Lies About Reading
Most people haven’t read it. War & Peace lands in the top four on every most-lied-about book list ever compiled. People start it somewhere in the salon scenes, lose the thread among fifty Russian characters with long names, put it down, and tell everyone they finished it.
I’m 600 pages in, and I don’t want to stop.
I Tried to Read War & Peace Four Times. Three Things Changed.
The first is the t…
