Finished: And Quiet Flows the Don (Sholokhov) The epic tale by Sholokhov that most say was instrumental in him winning the Noble Prize in Literature, And Quiet Flows the Don is the story of several Cossack families who live near the Don River in Russia, and how they face the trials of World War I, and then the revolution and civil uprising in their own country. Often compared to Tolstoy's War and Peace, I don't think it was nearly on that level, but it was still a good book. It was difficult to get attached to the main characters, and I think that is mostly due to this particular translation, which seemed jerky at times, and much of the time presented the characters more robotically than passionately. We follow a few Cossack families, and a couple of upper class families, through four main sections in the book: Peace, War, Revolution, and Civil War. In Peace, we get to know the families and their relationships, their thoughts, their hardships of making their living on the land, etc. When War starts, many of the Cossack sons are sent off to the front lines to fight against the Germans. Being Cossacks, they take pride in their military ability and their bravery. However, as the war drags on and on, and they are constantly sent to the front lines to fight for mother Russia, some begin to wonder if they are being used to fight a battle they don't even believe in. Eventually, the Bolsheviks, the party backed by Lenin who wanted to overthrow the czarist rule in Russia, began the Russian Revolution and turned many of the Cossacks into believers of their cause. So, once the war with Germany came to an end, the Cossacks were thrown into the Russian revolution, which then led to Civil War within their own country. Much of the book was so political, that I had to consult my handy Russian history expert son for explanations, and I'm still not sure I understand it all! Anyway, the story followed the main characters throughout each of the four defined periods of their history. Some survived, many did not; some questioned their beliefs; some fell in love; some lost their loves; and some just wanted to not be a part of any of the major changes in their way of life. The book ended rather abruptly without wrapping up the story for each one of the major characters, but with enough of an ending to leave me wishing the translation had been just a bit more coherent.