Ten of the best literary explosions

At the Guardian, John Mullan named a list of ten of the best explosions in literature.

One book on the list:

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Prince Andrei is fighting at the Battle of Borodino when a grenade descends, "like a bird whirring in rapid flight and alighting on the ground". His adjutant shouts to get down, but Andrei is frozen, musing, "Can this be death?". "The same moment came the sound of an explosion, a whistle of splinters as from a breaking window frame, a suffocating smell of powder".

Read about another entry on the list.

War and Peace also appears among Ann Shevchenko's top ten novels set in Moscow, Karl Marlantes' top ten war stories, Niall Ferguson's five most important books, Norman Mailer's top ten works of literature, and John Mullan's list of ten of the best floggings in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue