Books like

Books like War and Peace

12 books with a reading profile close to War and Peace by Лев Толстой. Deep, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

War and Peace

by Leo Tolstoy

Also deep and contemplative · history, philosophy

Set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, this novel tracks the interconnected lives of three aristocratic families: the Rostovs, the Bolkonskys, and the Kuragins.
2

Memoirs of Hadrian

by Marguerite Yourcenar

Also deep and contemplative · history, philosophy

Presented as a final letter from the aged Emperor Hadrian to his successor, Marcus Aurelius, the narrative reconstructs the life of a leader managing the Roman Empire at its peak.
3

The Epic of Gilgamesh

by Anonymous

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

Gilgamesh, the ruler of Uruk, dominates his subjects until the gods create Enkidu, a feral man, to challenge him.
4

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Volume 2: Purgatorio

by Dante Alighieri

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

Following their departure from the pit of Hell, Dante and his guide Virgil ascend the island-mountain of Purgatory.
5

The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone

by Sophocles

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

These three plays by Sophocles follow Thebes' royal family through its curse.
6

The Holy Bible: King James Version

by Anonymous

Also deep and contemplative · history, philosophy

The King James Version presents the foundational narrative of the Christian faith, beginning with the creation of the world and the fall of humanity in Genesis.
7

Don Quixote

by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

Alonso Quijano, an elderly man from La Mancha, loses his grip on reality after consuming a constant diet of chivalric tales.
8

Man and Superman

by George Bernard Shaw

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

In this four-act drama, George Bernard Shaw uses the character of John Tanner, an intellectual revolutionary, to argue that women are the primary pursuers in human courtship.
9

The novels and other works of Lyof N. Tolstoï

by Лев Толстой

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

This 1899 multivolume collection compiles the major literary output of Count Lev Tolstoy, encompassing his psychological epics, shorter fiction, and philosophical treatises.
10

Sobranie sochinenii v dvadtsati dvukh tomakh

by Лев Толстой

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, dense

This 1882 collection consolidates the literary output of Lev Tolstoy, organizing his major novels, short fiction, and emerging pedagogical essays.
11

Dead Souls

by Nikolai Gogol

Also deep and thought-provoking · philosophy, dense

Chichikov, a mysterious gentleman of middling rank and no obvious fortune, drives a britzka into a provincial Russian town and charms the local officials.
12

Darkness at Noon

by Arthur Koestler

Also deep and thought-provoking · history, philosophy

Set during the Great Purge in the Soviet Union, the story follows Nikolai Rubashov, an aging Bolshevik revolutionary arrested by the government he helped establish.

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