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Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace has rightfully been called by many the greatest novel ever written, and not without good reason.  War and Peace has the grandest scope of any novel I have ever read, containing close to fifty characters who Tolstoy insists you identify with at some point in the course of your reading, while the book itself covers roughly a twenty year period, incidentally one of the most tumultuous in European history, during the Napoleonic wars and specifically the invasion of Russia.

Tolstoy begins simply enough, drawing the readers into the parlor life of the early nineteenth century in the grand city of St. Petersburg, writing amusing anecdotes that transcend time and would most like provide intense amusement were they even to occur today.  Ask anyone whose read War and Peace and they'll most likely be able to recount to you the story of the drunken bear and the policeman off the top of their head.

War and Peace, however, is not a beach read.  It is not a bedtime story.  It is not for the faint of heart.  This is a masterful novel that will engross you and practically take over your life for well over a month if you decide to dig in, but it will be one of the most imaginative educational months you've ever lived.  I truly felt on the verge of tears when I realized that after a month of reading this novel, day in and day out, it was practically over, as I came to terms with the fact that it would no longer be a dominating part of my life.