I thought it was a great way to get through a major piece of literature. I had to read W&P back in high school and hated much of it. So I did not reread it, just read what Brian wrote every day. I was able to recall the basics of the tale. I am glad I did it because there is much to be gained, except from the epilogues which do nothing to benefit the book as far as I can tell.
Before you abandon Russian lit altogether you might want to consider this:
Amor Towles' A Gentleman In Moscow, an epic writ small, a story of Tolstoyan scope on a minute scale. Here we see a country in repeated upheaval over the course of decades—from the end of Imperial Russia in the Bolshevik Revolution past the rise of the USSR, a period that includes the defeat of one of history’s greatest evils by a country that becomes another—and we see it all from one man’s limited viewpoint. ...
It's quite enjoyable and a heck of a lot easier to read than W&P but having done so makes it more interesting, I think. YMMV, of course. 
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read