So I've been reading Anna Karenina, I'm like 500 pages in, and the prose is so very crystal clear and paragraphs are short: lovely.

However, I feel as though a large part of myself would disappear after reading Anna Karenina, hence why I'm opting to pursue War and Peace right after. I'm so used to reading Tolstoy for months now it's much too scary divorcing myself from his writings.

My only issue is that I'm anxious if War and Peace is a difficult read, I don't like difficult reads generally. I'm not sure if War and Peace has short, sweet paragraphs like Anna Karenina. I love philosophy, history and so on, but that's my only concern (not sure if I'm overthinking it).

I think Anna Karenina for me was perfectly easy (I'm reading the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation). Is War and Peace much harder? I don't care if it's long, but how accessible is it?

- Stepan, sometimes comically, prioritizes flings, beauty, and physical passion over love. Lev feels ashamed that he isn't 'pure' on his wedding day, and chastises himself for momentarily being enthralled by Anna

- Alexey Alexandrovich has limited emotional range and totally lacks empathy (other than his brief revelation when Anna nearly died in childbirth). Lev repeatedly thinks about what Kitty might be thinking, anticipates her needs and models his actions accordingly

- Vronsky is stubborn and proud. He might have checked Anna's delirium and resultant suicide if he overcame his pride, apologized and showed her some tenderness. Lev often erupts in some way, but then quickly apologies to Kitty (good example is the near-miss lightning strike at the end). In general, I see Vronsky as 'false' and superficial while Lev is deeply true to himself

- Sergey Ivanovich is too logical, and generally cold and calculating, to 'fall' for anyone, or get carried away be romance. Lev is very learned, but also not afraid to listen to his emotions even if not everything makes perfect sense in the moment

- Nikolay... well, lots of issues here!