reading war and peace

I understand what you are talking about. I too, read the Lord of the Rings quickly, although it took me more like a week; however when I attempted War and Peace I became so confused, I would think I had the story strait and then Lord so and so would enter and I would go, 'now wait where did he come from?'. If you are just reading the book for the fun of it, maybe you should consider putting it down. However if you have to read it for school or just want the challenge try http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/warandpeace/ This has plot outlines, chapter summaries, character overviews which will help you sort out who is who and a lot of other things, this website saved my life in lit class, have fun and good luck!