Crime and Punishment (Bantam Classics)

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The talented Alex Jennings creates an atmosphere of gripping psychological tension and brings a variety of characters to life in this new audio edition of a crime classic. When the student Raskolnikov puts his philosophical theory to the ultimate test of murder, a tragic tale of suffering and redemption unfolds in the dismal setting of the slums of czarist, prerevolutionary St. Petersburg. While Jennings's adept repertoire of British accents works to demonstrate the varying classes of characters, it occasionally distracts the listener from the Russian setting. However, Dostoyevsky's rendering of 18th-century Russia emerges unscathed, bringing the dark pathos (such as wretched poverty and rampant suffering) to life. (Running time: 315 minutes; 4 cassettes)

Book Description

A desperate young man plans the perfect crime -- the murder of a despicable pawnbroker, an old women no one loves and no one will mourn. Is it not just, he reasons, for a man of genius to commit such a crime, to transgress moral law -- if it will ultimately benefit humanity? So begins one of the greatest novels ever written: a powerful psychological study, a terrifying murder mystery, a fascinating detective thriller infused with philosophical, religious and social commentary. Raskolnikov, an impoverished student living in a garret in the gloomy slums of St. Petersburg, carries out his grotesque scheme and plunges into a hell of persecution, madness and terror. Crime And Punishment takes the reader on a journey into the darkest recesses of the criminal and depraved mind, and exposes the soul of a man possessed by both good and evil ... a man who cannot escape his own conscience.

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This epic tells the story of Raskolnikov, a student who believes he is superior and entitled. He commits a crime and the book traces his downfall. After being shipped off to Siberia for a prison sentence, Raskolnikov finds suffering to be a means by which the soul is purified of all its sins.

With the help of CliffsNotes you'll understand the overall structure of the work, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

Customer Reviews:

You owe it to yourself to read this book........2007-10-13

Crime and Punishment is: laced in great characters, a compelling drama, a page turner, at times laugh out loud funny, an opportunity to experience Dostoyevsky in classic form, thought provoking, unpretentious and an easy to read classic. You would be doing yourself a favor to read this book.

Dostoyevsky's Best!.......2007-10-02

I liked this slightly better than The Brothers Karamozov which is also one of the best books ever! The book is similar to Poe's, A Tell-Tale Heart in which a man commits a murder that absolutely nobody suspects. What becomes his undoing is only his guilty conscience.

Spiffy-fantasticness.......2007-09-19

I had my doubts when I started this book. One problem I had was that I bought, what I later discovered, a really awful translation. Several times durring the story I felt myself thinking "oh common, lets move this along!" It seemed like yet another book where there is a main plot that deviates into several smaller plots along the way just to "beed up" the story. I wanted to give up. Fortunately, I'm pig headed and I kept with it to the very end, and I'm glad I did. Upon finishing the book I realized just how beatifully written it actually is. It's honestly a work of art. The development of the characters and the graphic descriptions are so fantastic that I really did lose myself in it.

Page turner par excellence.......2007-09-19

I went into this with an open mind. I had heard of the author, of course, but never expected to read anything of his. Someone left a copy lying around. I grabbed it to have something to read while I soaked in a hot bath. The bath turned cold and I was still reading.

I'm not sophisticated enough to expound on the deeper meaning or the underlying philosophy. For me the book was simply a highly entertaining read. I couldn't put it down, as they say. I didn't want it to finish. The author created a world in which you could fully "immerse" yourself. Good reading for the bath.

In one word, GREAT.......2007-09-18

This book is a masterpiece. Fyodor Dostoevsky makes it so pyschological that you become the murderer and start worrying yourelf. He takes the reader in and out of the mind of a murderer and his consequences. The book is also very fast paced and doesn't lag at all, which is a plus.

The only downside is that the Signet Classic version of Crime and Punishment smears like crazy. The book is tiny itself and your thumbs have to go on the book but then it would also smear letters and make it look ugly.

Average customer rating:

classic
The translation isn't perfect, but it's still Dostoevsky at his finest!
Cut to the chase..
Found in Translation
Extremely intriguing

The Brothers Karamazov
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0374528373

Book Description

The award-winning translation of Dostoevsky's last and greatest novel.

Customer Reviews:

classic.......2007-10-11

I'd read this before but this particular copy is for my nephew who asked for it as a gift.

The translation isn't perfect, but it's still Dostoevsky at his finest!.......2007-10-10

There is absolutely no way to summarize the key concepts and themes in this novel, so I wont even try. (I wish other reviewers would do the same...) That said this novel is definitely worth reading. I originally read the old Constance Garnett translation by Signet Classic and bought this new translation to re-read the book. (Your going to re-read this novel) I actually prefer the old translation. There's a certain lyrical flow that's missed when you try to translate the exact 'word-for-word' phrases instead of looking at the over-all meaning. For example:

There's an aphorism in Part III which in the Garnett translation is written as:

"Any man of sense will always come back to reason in time, but, if love does not gain the upper hand in a youth's heart at such an exeptional moment, when will it?

Where-as in this translation it goes:

"I am glad that at such a moment my young man turned out to be not so reasonable; the time will come for an intelligent man to be reasonable, but if at such an exceptional moment there is no love to be found in a young man's heart, then when will it come?

Its obviously much more rigid and forced. There are other instances too. Like when Fyodor Pavlovich adds to the 3,000 rouble note he offers to Grushenka, "To my little chicken." Its much more comic then the new versions, My chicky. Or something to that matter. These ofcoarse are mere trifles, but it's the detail that Dostoevsky always focused on. Details are what make or break a novel. I'm still waiting for a perfect tranlation of The Brothers. Maybe I should learn Russian? Until then, this will have to do!

Cut to the chase.........2007-09-28

1. Ivan is the only character who is worth reading. The rest of them are either completely insane, or squishy nothings (Alyosha).

2. Aside from a handful of GREAT chapters, there is soooooo much nonsense filler. It's not a perfect work of art a la Tolstoy.

3. Read Garnett. Don't be sucked into the Pevear/Volokhonsky marketing machine.

Found in Translation.......2007-08-30

I've got to say, Pevear and Volokhonsky have done a tremendous job with this (and the rest of the Dostoevsky library) translation!

Extremely intriguing.......2007-08-14

I read this book for a summer reading assingment for my AP English class and i was extremely impressed. I'm not one that usually reads 800 page books because usually i get bored with assigned readings. This was most definitely not the case with this book. There was constant action and mystery. There was not a time where i just did not feel like reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever read Fyodor Dostoevski or has considered it.

Average customer rating:

Not for the faint of heart
Starts slowly, but finishes strong
The more times you read this the more you will see...
Check Out OtherTranslations First...
Notes

Notes from Underground
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 067973452X
Release Date: 1994-08-30

Book Description

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Dostoevsky’s most revolutionary novel, Notes from Underground marks the dividing line between nineteenth- and twentieth-century fiction, and between the visions of self each century embodied. One of the most remarkable characters in literature, the unnamed narrator is a former official who has defiantly withdrawn into an underground existence. In full retreat from society, he scrawls a passionate, obsessive, self-contradictory narrative that serves as a devastating attack on social utopianism and an assertion of man’s essentially irrational nature.

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, whose Dostoevsky translations have become the standard, give us a brilliantly faithful edition of this classic novel, conveying all the tragedy and tormented comedy of the original.

From the Hardcover edition.

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I am a sick man. ... I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I believe my liver is diseased. However, I know nothing at all about my disease, and do not know for certain what ails me. I don't consult a doctor for it, and never have, though I have a respect for medicine and doctors. Besides, I am extremely superstitious, sufficiently so to respect medicine, anyway (I am well-educated enough not to be superstitious, but I am superstitious). No, I refuse to consult a doctor from spite. That you probably will not understand. Well, I understand it, though. Of course, I can't explain who it is precisely that I am mortifying in this case by my spite: I am perfectly well aware that I cannot "pay out" the doctors by not consulting them; I know better than anyone that by all this I am only injuring myself and no one else. But still, if I don't consult a doctor it is from spite. My liver is bad, well - let it get worse! I have been going on like that for a long time - twenty years. Now I am forty. I used to be in the government service, but am no longer. I was a spiteful official. I was rude and took pleasure in being so. I did not take bribes, you see, so I was bound to find a recompense in that, at least. (A poor jest, but I will not scratch it out. I wrote it thinking it would sound very witty; but now that I have seen myself that I only wanted to show off in a despicable way, I will not scratch it out on purpose!)

Customer Reviews:

Not for the faint of heart.......2007-10-06

First, I thought that the translation was very readable and strongly commend it.

Notes from Underground was not a particularly fun or entertaining book, but Dostoevsky is at his best as he takes us inside the mind of his unnamed narrator. The plot is essentially non-existent, or at least non-essential, but the book is not about plot; it is about the narrator. He is loathsome, detestable. However, too often the his harried and contradicting thoughts are alarmingly familiar. Unlike the modern fashion of reveling in the weaknesses or the humanity of our heroes, Notes from Underground will not allow us romanticize the frailty of human beings. His goal is to shock the reader by self-observation. As the narrator reminds us, "...a novel needs a hero, and here there are purposely collected all the features for an anti-hero, and, in the first place, all this will produce a most unpleasant impression, because we've all grown unaccustomed to life, we're all lame, each of us more or less." I recommend reading it with a healthy dose of introspection.

Starts slowly, but finishes strong.......2007-09-24

" . . . it's hardly literature so much as a corrective punishment."

While reading Part I of "Notes from Underground," you'll undoubtedly get the same feeling. The first third of the novel is a practice in rambling conjecture, as the protagonist of the novel, the "Underground Man", espouses his thoughts and beliefs on his miserable and embittered life. However, Part II picks up interest as Dostoyevsky presents a short, yet powerful, story of this castaway and how he become so alienated from "real" life.

Without a doubt, the protagonist is a haughty, arrogant erudite who feels himself superior to others. Set in 1860s St. Petersburg, the protagonist immerses himself in Romantic literature and comes to view the world through these unrealistic novels. Yet, in practice he fails to act upon any of the noble ideals set forth in the novels and comes to despise himself. His self-loathing and self-pity manifests itself into a vile existence, where self-delusion and an active imagination takes the place of real social interaction in the outside world. Although the protagonist later derides a prostitute on her doomed existence, it is he who is doomed to an early death with no mourners at his funeral.

While the first part of the novel is a droll treatise on his twisted philosophy, the second part details the protagonist's pitiful attempts at maintain dignity and self-worth. Although he thinks highly of himself, his delusions of grandeur are quickly squashed by those who do not care about his existence, such as an officer who barely notices him as he pushes him out of the way everyday.

Perhaps most disturbing is the protagonist's stance on love. To him, love is not about a mutual respect and caring for each other, but is merely a sadomasochistic game of power and domination. To him, being loved means allowing another to tyrannize and control yourself. The loving relationship must include a domineering partner and a submissive partner. Indeed, the protagonist is incapable of real love and quickly repels any hope of love.

Overall, "Notes From Underground" delivers a poignant psychological case study of an individual far removed from society, who despises everyone and thinks there is a cabal of conspirators to subjugate him to his poverty-stricken existence. Written almost 150 years ago, this novel is still relevant today. Most of us, myself included, have certain qualities of the "Underground Man" espoused in this novel, as it is hard not to become alienated and hardened in modern society. Once again, if you can slug your way through the tedious Part I, you are rewarded in the end.

The more times you read this the more you will see..........2007-04-06

This is one of those books that would be suitable for multiple readings, each time coming away with more than you had the last.

Fabulous book. The first part had me very frustrated. It's stream of consciousness writing, and frankly I can't always follow my own stream of consciousness so Dostoyevsky's lost me a bit. But that is only the first 28 pages (in the edition I have).

In the second part "A propos of wet snow" it really picks up. The underground man is very much the anti-hero. He is just not a good person, the kind we all hope we aren't. Whats funny though is that in an overexaggerated sense he could be all of us. I don't want to give too much away here.....

Near the end of the book, when he meets Liza is the most interesting part in my opinion. Through out the entire book he claims to be honest with himself, but it seems like his conversation with Liza is the only time in which he actually is honest. This is short lived however, as he leaves in a hurry and draws back...

I am not going to tell you much more...I believe that is what the editor's review is for....Great book...you will understand why Dostoyevsky is one of the greats!

Check Out OtherTranslations First..........2007-03-29

This edition of "Notes from Underground" is lauded by various publications as masterful, definitve, and a great restoration, but I'm not sure I agree. I bought this edition because I'd lost a version I'd owned years earlier. Before I bought this one, I should have sought out the version I'd owned (which I think was a Penguin Classic edition).

In the first paragraph of the editon I'd owned, the "liver" sentence was translated as, "I think there is something wrong with my liver."

Here, it's translated as "I think my liver hurts."

It seems to me that the former translation of this sentence is superior, because it conveys a kind of mental illness (hypochondriasis) that I think Dostoevsky intended. The matter of whether there's something wrong with the protagonist's liver is left in the shadows.

Whereas, if the sentence is translated, "I think my liver hurts," it leaves the matter in doubt as to whether something really is wrong with his liver, doesn't it?

It's unfortunate that this translation occurs in the first paragraph. For me, the first paragraph of a novel is second in importance only to the first sentence.

I regret to say that I lost interest in reading this translation immediately after reading the "I think my liver hurts," sentence.

Notes.......2007-03-03

Dostoevsky uses Notes From Underground to criticise the idea that reason will produce a perfect society. He believes man to be an imperfect fallen being capable of irrational acts as well as noble ones. He uses symbols like a piano key to argue against determinism, an anthill to plead for individuality, and mathematical tables to cry against the notion that everything about humans can be precisely answered. The Underground Man of this novel has many contradictory impulses and he lives in a fog of self contempt. This sounds kind of bleak but this is the funniest novel Dostoevsky ever penned. The UM rather than submit to the "law of reason" that dictates that only doctors and dentists can cure liver disease and toothaches prefers to suffer his ailments. He is incredibly impulsive and can't make up his mind because as he says he is too conscious. The UM is able to imagine the plethora of consequences that every action might have, and he is conscious of the different motives that inform every decision he tries to make. At the beginning of a really funny segment the UM says "One night as I was passing a tavern I saw through a lighted window some gentlemen fighting with billiard cues, and saw one of them thrown out of the window. At other times I should have felt very much disgusted, but I was in such a mood at the time, that I actually envied the gentleman thrown out of the window -- and I envied him so much that I even went into the tavern and into the billiard-room. "Perhaps," I thought, "I'll have a fight, too, and they'll throw me out of the window." You will probably notice that it seems to be always snowing in the UM's world. This snow serves to set the dark alienated atmosphere of underground life and links the two main sections of the novel together. The wet falling snow at the end of the first section triggers a memory of an incident in the UM's past and we take a look at his past in the second section. Near the close of the novel the UM tells us "for we are all divorced from life... Look into it more carefully! Why, we don't even know what living means now... Leave us alone without books and we shall be lost and in confusion at once." In the end it seems the real underground is in a mind incessantly clinging to thoughts and opinions. The thoughts of this paradoxalist reviewer do not end here, however. I cannot refrain from going on with them, but it seems to me that you may stop here.

Average customer rating:

A modern-day Christ or an Idiot? You decide
The Brothers Myshkin and Raskolnikov
Doestoevsky's Master Work
Fascinating
A Review

The Idiot
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0375702245
Release Date: 2003-07-08

Book Description

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s masterful translation of The Idiot is destined to stand with their versions of Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and Demons as the definitive Dostoevsky in English.

After his great portrayal of a guilty man in Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky set out in The Idiot to portray a man of pure innocence. The twenty-six-year-old Prince Myshkin, following a stay of several years in a Swiss sanatorium, returns to Russia to collect an inheritance and “be among people.” Even before he reaches home he meets the dark Rogozhin, a rich merchant’s son whose obsession with the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna eventually draws all three of them into a tragic denouement. In Petersburg the prince finds himself a stranger in a society obsessed with money, power, and manipulation. Scandal escalates to murder as Dostoevsky traces the surprising effect of this “positively beautiful man” on the people around him, leading to a final scene that is one of the most powerful in all of world literature.

Customer Reviews:

A modern-day Christ or an Idiot? You decide.......2007-09-26

A very touching and powerful novel that asks the question, Is it possible to live a truly Christlike existence?

The "idiot" in the story is a modern-day (19th century) Christ figure, whose empathetic and pure nature will charm and inspire you, but whose well-intended actions take him (and those he loves) down the road to disaster.

My favorite of all Dostoyevsky's works.

A true masterpiece.

The Brothers Myshkin and Raskolnikov.......2007-07-03

Written immediately after CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, Dostoevsky gives us THE IDIOT, whose hero, Prince Myshkin, is gentle and Christ-like - the polar opposite of Raskolnikov, the nihilist murderer. Taken together, the two novels give us a fascinating critique of Russian (and Western) society from the perspective of a sinner and a saint, and of a society that has produced both.

Admittedly, THE IDIOT must be seen a minor novel in comparison to CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. It lacks its psychological power and narrative drive. But I would suggest that the greatness of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT is enhanced by reading THE IDIOT. Further, I would argue that much of what is seen to be the greatness of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT originates in the location of the narrator's point of view inside the teeming and tortured mind of the ultimate outsider, Raskolnikov. The third person narrator inside a single consciousness became the "default" practice in the late 19th and early 20th century. This is perhaps why the story of Prince Myskin, our gentle insurgent in THE IDOT who is nearly always seen inside of a Russian society, and whose story is told in a mix of omniscient narrator and from Myshkin's point of view is seen to be old-fashioned or hard to read.

I would argue that given the nature of the story Dostoyevsky is telling here - of a society that cannot cope with an honest and compassionate man that the omniscient narrator's voice is warranted and appropriate (unlike a number of reviewers below for whom this technique comes off as creaky and plodding). To tell the story he wants to tell, Dostoyevsky must move from one drawing room to another, one set of eyewitnesses, gossips, and minor characters to another. These set pieces - such as Natasya's "party" where she chooses whom she will marry, or the nihilist Ipollit's reading of his Confession, also locate THE IDIOT more in the realm of traditional 19th century novel of manners than CRIME AND PUNISHMENT. And its ostensible subject matter - marriage - places it squarely in the genre.

I find it sad that the set pieces in THE IDIOT can seem interminable to some modern readers. Yes, characters do hold forth for pages and pages, propounding theories, relating anecdotes in excruciating detail. In the society of the 19th century, even in the chaotic society of post-feudal Russia where the social order was in flux, the conversational customs of a court society still held sway. Even in the considerably more democratic United States, the presence of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. at social functions was highly prized by elites because he was universally recognized for his acumen as a speaker and conversationalist. These days we don't talk anywhere near as intelligently, as passionately or grandly these marvelous characters, and our suburbanized circumstances reduce our chances for unsettling social encounters as well. Which do you more often attend - parties featuring a stew of anarchic social criticism, bizarre personal attacks and grotesque dissembling, or a dull pudding of sitcom japes and bumpersticker politics? Which would you prefer?

Dostoyevsky fills his drawing rooms with challenges to the status quo, with intemperate invective, with radical claims on the political and economic system. At the same time he gives voice to conservative views, e.g., that Russia was better before Alexander II freed the serfs (in 1861, only 6 years prior to the publication of THE IDIOT), better before the aristocracy began to rub shoulders with powerful merchants and usurers, better before the atheists, nihilists and anarchists attacked the church and the social structure.

Interestingly, many of these contretemps are, as in so much 19th Century fiction, posed in connection with "the woman question." Our heroine, Natasya, raised by her guardian and seduced at a young age. is intent upon exposing Russian society for its hypocritical attitudes and brutal behavior toward women. Brilliant and beautiful, Natasya concoct a series of circumstances that both outrage and shame conventional society. She is the demonic critic of Russian society, her vindictive spirit contrasting sharply with Prince Myshkin's penchant for compassion and forgiveness. Together they form a unique double-edged critique of the bourgeoisie. And both are broken by their society's cruel intolerance and vast hypocrisy.

Prince Myshkin's conversation marks him among members of his society an "idiot" because he speaks forthrightly and answers truthfully without regard for the consequences. So disturbing is this behavior that Aglaya, the woman he hopes to marry, tells him not speak at the gathering at which he is being introduced to high society as a suitor. But driven by the onset of an epileptic fit, he disobeys and gives himself up to a remarkable speech in which his praise for the assembled company, his views on politics and religion are interpreted by most as an insult, and by many as the ravings of a madman. His speech is a form of social suicide, self-murder, and as such the flip side of Raskolnikov's homicide.

In the largest sense, what's at stake in these conversations and disputes is no less than the soul of Russia. Through the prince's speech Dostoyevsky poses the question as to whether Russia will reawaken to her deep and unique Christian heritage and behave, like the prince, with virtue, compassion and honor, or become like the empires to the West whose money-grubbing ways have begun to infect Russia and her people.

THE IDIOT has flaws. There is too much disquisition and exposition even for a 19th century novel. Sometimes, Dostoyevsky will vamp along for a few pages, trying to figure out what to do next. But still, THE IDIOT is well worth reading by itself, or even better, in combination with CRIME AND PUNISHMENT for its psychological acuity and its devastating dissection of a unique social world under stress.

Doestoevsky's Master Work.......2007-06-30

What could have prompted me to first read "The Idiot" at age 13 on a beach vacation with my family I can not recall. What I do recall, however, that I was fully engrossed day after day in a world of ideas, people and places far beyond my experience. Having now just "re-read" it 39 years later (following Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov), I know I couldn't possibly have digested all of its ideas at that age: atheism vs. Christianity; nihilism vs. a dying social order; Eros vs. charity; truth vs. artifice; id vs.ego and superego. And yet, I also sense I know what captivated me even then.

The characters in this novel, though usually explained as symbolic of the ideas they represent, are yet the most vividly realized characters I had ever "read" then, and still. The real-time manner in which they are drawn and followed is as if the author simply recorded their actions and conversations as and where they happened. We get to know who these people are, not through narrative description, but, as if by "candid camera", observing what they say, withhold, do, and fail to do. What emerges are fascinating, at times frightening and at times affectionate portraits of real and troubled humans: Lizaveta, the flighty, but loving society mother; General Epanchin, the successful but utterly conventional man of the house; Aglaya, the childish but delightful beauty who resents her sister's and parents' expectation for her; Ganya, who wants money and love, but plays the wounded martyr while more obviously blaming his father for his failures at both; Ivolgin, the pathetic figure of an aging man who aches for dignity and respect but who's former glory is long gone and mostly imagined; and Lebedev, the likeable sycophant and name-dropper.

The more central characters to the events, the murderously passionate Rogozhin, and the self-scorning beauty Nastasya, are more starkly drawn. But even those portraits are created not through direct thought narration or narrative description, but by the author's leading us to read between and behind the lines of their words, conversations with others, and public "displays".

As for the Prince himself, he is often said to symbolize the human side of a Christ-like man. That, of course, is true; but (as can also be seen in Aloysha, the hero of The Brothers Karamazov), he is as much child-like as he is like a Christ. The Prince's honesty, naiveté, trust, and simple affection for those around him, are all qualities that he seems to maintain as a man because he is really only entering the "adult" world of social Petersburg after a long and sheltered upbringing among younger children in Switzerland. When he enters this tangled world of adult competition, insecurity, envy, ambition and intrigue, though much older, he's in the most essential ways still the child that was sent by his benefactor to Switzerland for help with his illness.

One comes away with the strong impression (reinforced by the portrait of Aloysha, hero of Brothers Karamazov) that Dostoevsky saw children as embodying the ideal of spirit that we strive to maintain or regain as adults. The prince's obvious affection for the loyal young boy Kolya and the compassionate young girl Vera, in this book, and similar bonds between his hero Aloysha and the children in Karamozov Brothers, show Dostoevsky's admiration for the child in man.

The Idiot shows what happens when a simple, trusting and exceptionally compassionate child-man enters the more corrupt world of human adulthood without the experience to navigate, or even to perceive, the traps and snares laid by more worldly humans whose innocence has been chipped or stripped bare by ambition, envy, greed, despair or old age.

On another level, The Idiot is an allegory for the Christ story itself- with Prince Myshkin coming from the Swiss sanatorium into the "the world" of Petersburg with a mission to live among, love and save its people. The complications of heart and mind when his human emotions unexpectedly collide with the more selfish and less willing of those around him are at the center of this story of a second coming re-imagined.

One might be left, at the awfully tragic end of this novel, with the idea that Dostoevsky himself was of the same mind as Ippolit, the suicidal atheist, who his hero befriends of compassion. That is, from the disastrous conclusion, one might think that Dostoevsky believes that Holbein's painting (central to the story) of the disfigured and lifeless body of Christ the corpse, shows the impossibility of a divine spirit in (and after) a wretched human existence. Yet, it is with such affection that he describes the many and contradictory (and often delightful) sides of the "ordinary" people in this story, that I felt the opposite: that is, that Dostoevsky recognized not just in the tragically compassionate Prince, and the young Vera and Kolya, but also in the few and fleeting glimpses of love, friendship, compassion and even real dignity of the fallen or struggling others, that there is a redemptive force that underpins the human experience. If there were any doubt of that after reading this novel, it is laid to rest in the Brothers Karamazov, whose likewise tragic denouement yet ends on a note more obviously reflective of Dostoevsky's ultimate optimism.

Crime and Punishment, a psychological crime story, showed Dostoevsky's incredible genius for "writing" the inside of the human mind. Brothers Karamozov was a morality tale that laid out, on a grand scale, yet in great detail, the most essential questions of good and evil, id and ego, life and after-life. For me, The Idiot did what both of these other great novels did, but was the most captivating of the three, because it was so human, intimate and real in its characters' discourse, actions and exposition. It was much less overt than the Brothers Karamazov, and less psychologically analytical than Crime and Punishment. But of the three, the timeless characters of "The Idiot" last most indelibly in the mind.

Fascinating.......2007-05-30

The first time I read The Idiot, I didn't quite grasp the meaning of this work. (It was during my teenage years) Now, X-years later, I have decided to revisit The Idiot and the impression it made is entirely different. Although the beginning drags a bit, somewhere around page 200 it became really interesting. Perhaps it took me while to start caring about Prince Myshkin, perhaps my "western" state of mind needed some time to adjust. However, from that moment forward, I enjoyed almost every sentence jumping at me from the pages. (And there are many, many, many.) The characters in this book are extremely well crafted and the author does not spare any detail, to a point, that at times I felt overwhelmed, thinking "is this really necessary?"; nevertheless, as the story progresses, we are drawn to appreciate the vivid details for they become more relevant with time. This book is not a simple love story, although love and its conflict is a major part of the book, but rather a portal to a person's mind. Myshkin, certainly, is an interesting character who, at times deals with his own insecurity and "dreamy" state; however, his innocence and purity plays a sharp contrast against a backdrop of societal pretenders, who are vicious in their own way. Friendships are declared and broken off, love and hate, combined with ignorance and backstabbing, emerge and disappear; but Myshkin remains the same -- beautiful and simple, idealistic and innocent. Overall, this is one of my favorite novels exploring the human condition and I am happy to recommend it.

A Review.......2007-03-24

The other reviews on here, at least most of them, are quite dumb. Firstly, if you can't remember names, what business have you reading Dostoevsky, seriously? Go read Dumas or something. Secondly, to the people who are complaining about it being too long, why? Dostoevsky was an excellent author, I enjoyed all parts of the book. The characters and their conversations take up most of the text of the book. If you don't like long, detailed books, I ask again, what business have you reading Dostoevsky?

Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (Meridian)

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The Best Introduction to Existentialism
i disagree with the previous review.
Watch your Step
the Realm of Existentialism
A thought- provoking anthology

Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (Meridian)

Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452009308

Customer Reviews:

The Best Introduction to Existentialism.......2007-05-09

This anthology of Existentialist texts is the best introduction to Existentialism currently available in English. Walter Kaufmann (best known to philosophy readers as the twentieth century's most important translator of Nietzsche) presents a selection of key texts from Kierkegaard, Dostoyevski, Nietzsche of course, Heidegger, Sartre and others, and Kaufmann prefaces the anthology with a magisterial intro. The most important piece included is the complete text of Sartre's early lecture "Existentialism is a Humanism," the most accessible and clearest exposition of the most influential phase of his thought. If you want to know what Existentialism is all about (or if you already know but want to own a great reference book of essential texts), this is the book to buy.

i disagree with the previous review........2006-12-09

I believe this book is fantastic, especially as a beginning point for understanding what existentialism is. The book has a well written preface that explains that existentialism is not really well defined, but encompasses certain themes. This book does a good job of taking a selection of those who share those themes, and introducing them here. I think it gives one a good representation and idea of existentialism, that can be studied more in depth later, by reading the full text of what is represented here. Very well translated by WK.

Watch your Step.......2005-05-21

This book is most useful if one wishes to study Walter Kaufmann. This book is a waste of time if you wish to study the writers Kaufmann presents to us. Kaufmann warps the texts to suit his own agenda. If you share his agenda you will likely not even notice that he has an agenda.

"If you make people think they are thinking they will love you, but if you really make them think they will kill you. " - Albert Einstein

the Realm of Existentialism.......2005-04-13

"The stone is given its existence; it need not fight for being what it is---a stone in the field. Man has to be himself in spite of unfavorable circumstances; that means he has to make his own existence at every single moment. He is given the abstract possibility of existing, but not the reality. This he has to conquer hour after hour. Man must earn his life, not only economically but metaphysically." --Ortega

Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre, by Walter Kaufmann is a must have for anyone seriously undertaking a jaunt into the Realm of Existentialism and Phenomenology.

Although a small book, the paperback edition weighing in at a mere 384 pages, one will find that Kaufmann has packed it to the gills with usable, and reliable, information. Whole chapters are devoted to Existentialist giants like: Dostoevsky: Notes from Underground, Kierkegaard: The First Existentialist, Nietzsche: "Live Dangerously", Rilke: The Notes of Malte Laurids Brigge, Kafka: Three Parables, Ortega: "Man Has No Nature", Jaspers: Existenzphilosophie, Heidegger: The Quest for Being, Sartre: Existentialism, and Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus.

One should be aware that there are a lot of different writing styles, because of all the different authors, being introduced in one book. So, in some ways, to the casual reader Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre may seem a bit choppy and academic, intimidating and complex. --Katharena Eiermann, 2005, the Realm of Existentialism -- Presidential Hopeful

A thought- provoking anthology .......2004-11-10

Literature, Philosophy and Religion all have their parts in this anthology compiled by Walter Kaufmann. Kaufman was of course more expert on certain matters ( Neitzsche ) than on others(Kierkegaard) but he here provides a variety of texts that enable the reader to know and think for himself about the major ' existensial writers and thinkers'.

Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics (Theory & History of Literature)

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A defense of the open text
Intense Revelations
absolutely great
but what does that have to do with david bowie?
A master novelist's work explored by master critic

Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics (Theory & History of Literature)
M. M. Bakhtin
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0816612285

Customer Reviews:

A defense of the open text.......2002-06-28

Bakhtin's "Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics" remains an essential critical writing to understand the complex and eclectic critical imagery of Bakhtin. The plurality of consciousness within a novel (polyphony) together with the idea of simultaneity in the relationships among characters confine to this work an extremely contemporary view of what literary creation is like or must be conceived of.
Bakhtin's defense of the independency of the hero from the author stands not only as a strong critique to those critical trends which regard biographical information as the only source to fully capture the essence of a literary work, but also it enables a new kind of open criticism which embraces the role of the reader in the process of authoring a text, that is, providing the text with a meaning. Bakhtin's interest on physiology to capture the real insight of human perception and, hence, of human understanding of a literary work is, in my opinion, a great advance for the reader to become an undisputed element in the literary chain formed by the author, the text and the reader.
Bakhtin's work has rapidly become a cornerstone in the current flow of literary criticism and his "Problems of Dostoevsky's Poetics" stands as one of his finest achievements.

Intense Revelations.......2001-07-23

Bakhtin's critique of Dostoevsky's work has revealed so much more to me about the form of this great author's novels than I would have ever been able to understand for myself. What makes Bakhtin such a masterful theorist is his methodical approach to understanding an author's work discussing the historical influence of form and the critical misinterpretations that have preceded the work. He is so attentive to levels of narration that he is able to identify voices in relation to the author and the other characters. This helps to clarify the structure of the narrative and the many ways we can interpret it. Many people have marvelled at the brilliance of Doestoevsky's work but haven't been able to put their finger on why it is so great. Bahktin not only names the reason, but also gives an incredible amount of thorough evidence as to why this is so in a comprehensible way. The technical theory is easy to understand as he is very careful to define his terms and the reasons he uses them. His survey of the development of literary forms, particularly the carnavelesque is informed and inspiring, but be careful as it is slightly idealistic and, though perfectly relevant, you feel that he is assimilating it a little too easy to his critique of Doestoevsky. The narrative techniques he identifies are not only useful in understanding Doestoevskys work but are incredibly useful in thinking about current authors. This is a very important piece of critical work I have come back to again and again.

absolutely great.......2000-04-17

Bakhtin's seminal work owes a lot to thinkers like Nietzsche, buy by gum, does he stand on his own. The most brilliant exposition I've read on Dostoevsky (with Rozanov in second place) and perhaps the most perceptive and insightful comments on the literary process and theory this century.

but what does that have to do with david bowie?.......1999-11-07

Dude, I mean, like, Dostoevsky's poetics have, like, lossa problems man. I mean, like, what's the deal with that Marmaledov dude? Is he related to Ziggy or something? I don't get it man. It's all voodoo to me. But it's a good read, I mean, making love with his ego is such an, ahhhh, maybe I should keep this to myself. But I really dig that stuff about the landlady and the axe, that was inspirational, metatarsal, trippy dude. Whatever.

A master novelist's work explored by master critic.......1997-06-18

This book is the ideal introduction to the thought of Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin is becoming established as one of the giants of 20th century literary criticsm, despite his work being unknown in the West until the 1970's. This book is less about Dostoyevsky per se, rather a profound meditation on how Dostoyevsky's art exemplifies the central concern of Bakhtin, the concept of 'dialogism'. This idea defies a simple definition; the book in exploring manifold aspects of it, itself becomes truly dialogic. If you value Dostoyevsky as an artist, require an antidote to the chill winds of modern 'Theory', or simply appreciate genius at work, catch up with one of the best kept secrets in literature

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Is the title ironic? or pragmatic?
The Idiot is a work of genius by Fyodor Dostoevsky
One of Dostoevsky's Best: Strong Story, Good Characters, and Lots of His Philosophy.
Dostoyevsky at his very worst
Light and dark

The Idiot (Modern Library Classics)
Fyodor Dostoevsky , and Anna Brailovsky
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679642420
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Book Description

Returning to Russia from a sanitarium in Switzerland, the Christ-like epileptic Prince Myshkin finds himself enmeshed in a tangle of love, torn between two women—the notorious kept woman Nastasya and the pure Aglaia—both involved, in turn, with the corrupt, money-hungry Ganya. In the end, Myshkin’s honesty, goodness, and integrity are shown to be unequal to the moral emptiness of those around him. In her revision of the Garnett translation, Anna Brailovsky has corrected inaccuracies wrought by Garnett’s drastic anglicization of the novel, restoring as much as possible the syntactical structure of the original.

Customer Reviews:

Is the title ironic? or pragmatic?.......2007-08-22

I had read just two Dostoevsy novel before this - 'The Brothers Karamazov' and 'Notes from the Underground', but lots of Turgenev and some other Russians - Kropotkin, Goldman, .... I also have some connection with Russian people because some of my work colleagues are Russian ex-patriots (one even carries a family name mentioned at one point in 'The Idiot').

Russian naming is difficult for those of us who do not have the Russian background, and 'The Idiot' was hard to keep straight in my mind - I probably didn't feel comfortable with names to near the end of this very long novel. There's Pavlovitch and Pavlischtev - not the same person. The hero Myshkin is also Lyov Nikolayevitch. Gavril is also Ganya (the short form of his name). With a large suite of characters, tracking these names is not easy. Perhaps a publisher/translator might provide a guide for non-Russian readers. I did find some connection through my knowledge of music: Madame Epanchin, Lizaveta Pokofyevna reminded me of Prokofiev, and the young man dying of consumption, Ippolit, reminded me of Ippolitov-Ivanov.

This novel is a psychological thriller and it may be unbelievable to most readers. How did Dostoevsky know that there are people in the world like Myshkin - perhaps he was one himself, perhaps he observed and understood one. Myshkin, perhaps because of his own 'illness' is attuned to everyone else's needs - sacrificing his own needs as totally without value. So what happens when two women fall in love with him (strange though each of them is)? He wants to love them both. Neither can accept that, but still he cannot let go. This seems to be a recipe for disaster (and in some ways it is), but Myshkin flourishes where he might not have because he has the most extraordinary view of the value of every moment of life. Early on he describes a guillotine execution he had observed and how the man being executed clung to every moment of his life - trying to maximise the richness of it even as the blade came down on his neck. Does Dostoevsky really believe that this is an idiotic way to live life? Or is he recommending that we should all pay more attention, be less flippant with the time that passes us by?

One of the women who fall in love with Myshkin is one of Madame Epanchin's daughters - Aglaia Ivanovna. Despite her love, Aglaia torments Myshkin (but that's not of much significance to him). Here is a quote that meant so much to me - a real insight into Myshkin's personality. 'There is no doubt that the mere fact that he could come and see Aglaia, again without hindrance, that he was allowed to talk to her, sit with her, walk with her was the utmost bliss to him; and who knows, perhaps, he would have been satisfied with that for the rest of his life.'

This novel is hard work, and it's not a happy story. But it is rewarding in its insight into human nature. If you read it you will have to decide for yourself if people like Myshkin actually do exist. And if you happen to meet one - how should you interact with them?

other recommendations:
explore the philosophy of phenomenology - I don't have a preferred book to suggest
as a contrast - 'Spring Torrents' - Ivan Turgenev (the author is mentioned in 'The Idiot')
'Under Western Eyes' - Joseph Conrad
'Sylvie and Bruno' - Lewis Carroll

The Idiot is a work of genius by Fyodor Dostoevsky.......2007-06-12

The Idiot of the title is Prince Myshkin. Myshkin suffers from epilepsy and is very highly strung! When the novel opens he is arriving in St. Petersburg following three years in an expensive Swiss Clinic. Myshkin's rich patron a Russian nobleman has provided to pay for the expenses of his psyciatric care. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg the Prince is soon involved with a wealthy middle class family; meets the evil Rogohzin and the mysterious beauty Natasya. Myshkin is also romantically linked with the beautiful but shallow Aglaya youngest of three daughters of a family to whom he is distantly related.
The plot involves Dostoevsky's look at love. Myshkin represents innocent, Christ-like love. Gavrin is a character representing greed seeking to wed a rich woman. Rogohzin the fiery noble with murder in his heart and passion in his love-hate for Natasya.He is symbolic of humankind's passionate nature. We also meet such interesting characters as Ippolit a young man dying of TB who writes a long (and at times boring) statement of his view of life.
The novel would probably be shortened by a modern editor! Long passages deal with philsophy evincing the author's disdain for Western culture and his strong Messianic Slavic beliefs in Russian orthodoxy.
The book can become mesmerizing as many of the characters are dreamy sorts wont to spin out their thoughts in long monologues reminiscent of the otiose figures populating the Chekhovian stage. Dostoevsky had been sentenced to Siberia for his participation in a plot to assassinate the Tsar. He, therefore, knew suffering and allows his characters to act in
accord with his own tormented, suffering character.
The novel is not the place to begin when delving into Dostoevsky. It is a flawed masterpiece usually rated below his "The Brothers Karamazov" and
"Crime and Punishment." Dostoevsky impresses this reviewer with his modern concerns with suffering, human angst and a deeply flawed society of secular skepticism. He is a Christian writer who is not afraid to inject his belief in the redemptive salvic work of Jesus Christ.
Myshkin is an innocent man who is unable to cope with modern society. At the end of the novel this butterfly of hope is forced backed into the cocoon of sanatarium care. Myshkin like Don Quixote has tilted his love against society and been defeated. Or has he? Dostoevsky would explore the Myshkin type in his greater novel "The Brothers Karamazov" through the Christ-like figure of Alyosha.
This is a long book which will test the reader's patience. One must deal with long Russian names that my be confusing. It is a worthwhile experience which you will never forget.

One of Dostoevsky's Best: Strong Story, Good Characters, and Lots of His Philosophy........2007-05-27

As background information, I have read most of Dostoevsky's novels including some of his early works and all of his most popular 6 or 7 novels. Among those, I have read some from Oxford Classics and some Vintage translations by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. It took me about a week to read the 575 pages in this present Wordsworth Classic reviewed here.

I bought and read the Wordsworth Classics version of this Dostoevsky novel The Idiot. This is a minimalist book with little more than the text. For example, Wordsworth does not even give the names of the translators and the introduction to Dostoevsky and the novel is very brief, just three pages long, and it is oriented more towards a biography of the writer than giving the reader much analysis of the story and the themes. Having said that, the translation appears to be smooth and it is highly readable, and it is good value for the money. My initial impression was that the font was small, but it seems to have the same number of pages as other printers of the same novel. In any case, there is lots of analysis on the web which mitigates the need to pay more to buy analysis and the text. So, I would recommend this text only version.

This is one of Dostoevsky's better novels. It has a clear story and it has strong characters led by Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin the protagonist: he is "the idiot." He returns to Russia after spending some years in a hospital or clinic in Switzerland. The story flows smoothly interrupted by only one diversion about a man who is just mildly related to the main thrust of the story: Ippolit. Some consider this part to be brilliant. I thought that it was interesting but did not add that much to the overall story. Most will find the novel to be near perfect but perhaps a bit long.

The book is an opportunity for Dostoevsky to present a morally perfect but physically flawed Christian character, and then to show how the character interacts with an imperfect Russian society. That is the main theme. We follow the story of six odd but interesting primary characters and about twenty secondary characters who represent a cross-section of Russian society.

This is one of his best novels and some might consider it to be a masterpiece and that the protagonist Prince Myshkin is an important literary character. As a novel it is not as good as The Brothers Karamazov which is Dostoevsky's best. It is entertaining and it has a good story, although not what one describe as a compelling read, although the second half is better in that regard. Dostoevsky gives many comments on morality and the Christian faith. It is a story of good versus evil, but with the edges or boundaries slightly blurred.

There is a moderate level of drama and uncertainty which keeps the reader's interest throughout. This is an excellent buy and a good value from Wordsworth Classics.

Dostoyevsky at his very worst.......2007-04-08

Don't waste your time reading this book - this book is awful! This book was supposed to be so good, according to the other reviews, and it's definitely not a good novel. In fact, this is by far the worst novel I have read in my life. I think one of the other reviewers hit the nail on the head - most of this book just seems like random writing and ultimately it has no real purpose for carrying forward the plot line. Indeed, it definitely seems like he was just trying to meet a word count for the publisher. The edition of the book I read was slightly over 700 pages, and it could have easily been reduced to 300 without affecting in any way the plot line. Thus the reader is left to swallow 400 pages of pointless writing that just seems like "waffling" to mention the term used in England to describe writing that leads you no where. Not only that, but the 300 pages devoted to actually explaining the plot are not that interesting anyway. The plot line of the novel is incredibly implausible; a prince who is an "idiot" but on occasions doesn't seem like such an idiot after all and who suffers from a mysterious illness of "idiocy" that could not be labelled as an actual illness by modern medicine. Moreover, one of the principal characters in the novel, Aglaia Yepanchin supposedly is madly in love with the prince while at the same time making fun of him in a very rude way right in front of his nose - am I the only one here who thinks this is JUST a little implausible? And then just to make matters worse, and as an appetizer after having to swallow 650 pages of horrible writing, near the end of the novel Dostoyevski puts in the mouth of the prince two full pages of the most outrageous slander against the Catholic religion I have read in my life. Supposedly, according to Dosteyvski, atheism comes from the Catholic religion - certainly Dosteyevski doesn't hide his hatred for the Catholic faith. Even atheists would laugh at such an absurd proposition.

Light and dark.......2007-02-12

Prince Myshkin is just back in Russia after a few years of treatment in Switzerland for epilepsy. Upon his return, he becomes involved in the affairs of his distant relatives as well as those of a new acquaintance, Parfyon Rogozhin. The Prince is guilelessly Christ like and innocent, a prelapsarian figure in a fallen world. This leads to those around him regarding him, at times as idiotic but also endearing. Rogozhin is frantic to gain the love of Nastasya Filippovna. She is a woman of great beauty who has suffered greatly at the hands of her guardian who had kept her as a concubine. Having been degraded by her guardian, Nastasya Filippovna becomes self destructive and acts as if she were attempting to prove that she is a fallen woman. The Prince sees her suffering and seeks to help her, even offering to marry her. This puts him at odds with Rogozhin and yet these two men become like brothers, exchanging crosses as a sign of their friendship. At times Rogozhin seems to be Prince Myshkin's dark doppelganger. Dostoevsky strikes a contrast between light and dark from the start of this novel, juxtaposing descriptions of Rogozhin's dark hair and eyes with Myshkin's blue eyes and light hair. Practically everything that involves Rogozhin is dark, his appearance, his house, the hall in which he tries to kill Myshkin, and the study in which he kills Nastasya Filippovna are all dark. Conversely when Rogozhin tries to kill Myshkin the Prince has an attack of epilepsy and "intense inner light flooded his soul." Prince Myshkin writes a letter to, Aglaia, a young woman he loves as to his "light." Nastasya writes to Aglaia telling her how the Prince regards her: "He thought of you as radiating "light.' Those are his own words, I heard them from him. But without words I knew that you meant "light" to him." Although not in agreement with with everything in Hermann Hesse's essay "Thoughts on The Idiot of Dostoevsky" I like this observation he made about Prince Myshkin "He has had rare instants of intuitive perception, occasional seconds of transcendent exaltation. For a lightning moment he has felt the all-being, the all-feeling, the all-suffering, the all-understanding. He has known all that is in the world. There lies the kernel of his magical being. He has not studied and is not endowed with, mystical wisdom, he has not even aspired to it. He has simply experienced the thing itself." At one point in the novel Prince S. says to Prince Myshkin: "paradise on earth is not easily achieved; but all the same you are counting on paradise in a way; paradise is a difficult thing, Prince, much more difficult than it seems to your wonderful heart. . . ." This lamentably proves true for Prince Myshkin and most of the characters in this novel and yet we are left with a glowing memory of Prince Myshkin's character. The Prince always listens, always understands, he can enter into the soul and suspend his judgement before the human condition. He feels an infinite compassion in `suffering together' with people. He never turns his back, never abandons anybody, always does the little that humans can like listening and forgiving.

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Dostoevsky's "Pulp"
Great companion, the ulitmate translators, Everyman, what more needs to be said

The Double and The Gambler
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375719016
Release Date: 2007-01-16

Book Description

The award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have given us the definitive version of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s strikingly original short novels, The Double and The Gambler.

The Double is a surprisingly modern hallucinatory nightmare–foreshadowing Kafka and Sartre–in which a minor official named Goliadkin becomes aware of a mysterious doppelganger, a man who has his name and his face and who gradually and relentlessly begins to displace him with his friends and colleagues. The Gambler is a stunning psychological portrait of a young man's exhilarating and destructive addiction to gambling, a compulsion that Dostoevsky–who once gambled away his young wife's wedding ring–knew intimately from his own experience. In chronicling the disastrous love affairs and gambling adventures of Alexei Ivanovich, Dostoevsky explores the irresistible temptation to look into the abyss of ultimate risk that he believed was an essential part of the Russian national character.

Customer Reviews:

Dostoevsky's "Pulp".......2007-07-19

These two short novels by Dostoevsky, are a change of pace fot the writer. "The Double" was written when the author was young and was sort of a "riff" on Gogol-style absurdity. Mr. Golyadkin goes to work one day and finds a man with the same name who looks just like hiim doing his job. What's worse is that the other man is more popular with the coworkers than he ever was. It is a darkly comic story who's main character is a vague, early take on Dostoevsky's Underground Man/Raskolnikov character.

"The Gambler" was written for money and in a hurry. He was trying to finish "Crime and Punishment" but needed to publish a book FAST so he dictated this short book to a secretary (whom he later married). It's about the foolishness of the gambling community at Baden-Baden in Germany. All of Dostoevsky's Gemran stereotypes are on display so take those for what they're worth. The great fun of this book is the pace; the dictated novel zips along faster than most 19th century novels ever do. It's as close to a Summer read as Dostoevsky ever got.

Five stars might be a little high for such trifles that are so out of character for Dostoevsky but the writing is top notch, much better than reading "The Adolescent" or "Insulted and Injured." The translation is tight and the stories are really a lot of fun. The translations by Jessie Coulson (published by Penguin, I think) are also very good.

Great companion, the ulitmate translators, Everyman, what more needs to be said.......2006-01-31

The perfect little companion piece to two of Dostevsky's several short stories, and two of his best if not THE best might I add.

I have read both these stories before but translated by different authors in the Great Short Works compilation by Perennial classics. Before I go on to mention about the Peaver/Volkhonsky translations which are superior I will talk briefly about both stories, not so much what they are about (you can find many of those around here) but of the translations themselves.

The Double is quite a fascinating short story, but for a lot of people it doesn't have closure, and the ending gives the impression of cheating the reader. I first read the George Bird translation which is actually okay compared to this one, but nowhere near as colourful. You will really get a kick of Mr. Golyadkin's play into madness, it is quite a wild ride.

The Gambler is truly one of those books that litteraly makes your skin crawl. Also Peaver/Volokhonsky's translation compared to Constance Garnett is FAR superior full of life and what I call Dostoevsky "flow" where as Garentt's comes off as 'flat'. The Gambler isn't just a well written story but also gives a glimpse into a time period that doesn't exist any more, (his comments about Frenchmen, Englishmen, Germans and Poles is quite insane) and a depth into the soul of the tortured novelist who suffered the afflictions of the main character. You will also get a serious kick out of the high wheeling grandmother (baboushka) in this book, she is one of the most memorable characters in any story EVER.

Both these stories are great page turners you wont be able to stop until you are done.

More importantly, the Everyman book looks great on my book shelf as always. And this is just the perfect thing highlighting two of his great short stories. The only one I can think that were better than these two is "A Nasty Anecdote" (sometimes translated as "A disgraceful affair").

As for a Dostoevsky work and how it is presented in this companion, it is a sure 5 star winner!

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Living Translation of an Alive Novel

Crime and Punishment
F. M. Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Vintage Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0099981904

Customer Reviews:

Living Translation of an Alive Novel.......2007-03-06

Anyone who has delved into Russian literature knows the critical importance of the translator(s) - Tolstoy can be made brilliant or a bore, and the same goes for Dostoevsky.

Translating one of the world's foremost novels is no small task, but Pevear and Volkhonsky do the work invisibly and artfully, capturing the dark but vivid language of Dostoevsky's ever-modern novel. From the psychosis of Raskolnikov to the cold calculations of Luzhin, this translation captures Dostoevsky's unbelievably believable, sometimes disturbingly accurate portrayal of humanity's nuerosis.

"Crime and Punishment" inspired everything from modern crime fiction to Sigmund Freud - it is a must-read for readers, students of Russian, and would-be criminals alike. Thanks to Pevear and Volokhonsky for making it so readable.

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Dostoyevsky's toughest nut to crack
Not for casual reading...
Demons is a devil of a read on Russian angst/nihilism by the master Dostoevsky
Great Potential Never Realized: Too Diffuse and Too Fragmented.
Russian in the Atheistic Rye

Demons
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679734511
Release Date: 1995-08-01

Book Description

Inspired by the true story of a political murder that horried Russians in 1869, Fyodor Dostoevsky conceived of Demons as a "novel-pamphlet" in which he would say everything about the plague of materialist ideology that he saw infecting his native land. What emerged was a prophetic and ferociously funny masterpiece of ideology and murder in pre-revolutionary Russia.

Customer Reviews:

Dostoyevsky's toughest nut to crack.......2007-09-04

This is the best of the 'dynamic duo's' translations that I have read, and interestingly it's a translation of the novel by Dostoyevsky I find most difficult to love. I have read and re-read "Demons" or "The Devils" several times, and feel that this admittedly excellent book falls short of greatness when compared to his other three true masterpieces. "Demons" suffers from a less-than-gripping plot (not just a 'plot' to kill a revolutionary) that is barely sustained by some of the author's least interesting conversational set pieces, a cast of thoroughly unlikable characters, or caricatures, and a narrator whose befuddlement at events that transpire is matched only by his inabilty to influence these events.

In Nikolai Stavrogin, Dostoyevsky creates the pencil sketch of an intriguing individual (perhaps his most purely evil character) but the gradations of shade and light present in the author's best characters are all but absent. Stavrogin's nonchalant vileness may have been too much for even Dostoyevsky to explain, and the appended 'Stavrogin's Confession' omitted from the original publication, is very unpleasant with all it alludes to. If, as some have speculated, Stavrogin is the Prince of Darkness incarnate, the author gives the reader a shadow wrapped in an enigma.

In short I feel "Demons" pales somewhat compared to the other three acknowledged masterpieces.Structural deficiencies in "The Idiot" (my favorite) are more than compensated for by the wicked humor and pathos, as well as by more lovingly drawn characters, whilst both "The Brothers Karamazov" and "Crime and Punishment" are sustained by suspenseful narratives and again by terrific characters. "Demons" is polemic-as-novel, and whilst by no means a failure, is nonetheless a difficult love and is best left to the last by those wishing to read and come under the spell of this remarkable author.

Not for casual reading... .......2007-08-03

Intense view into the soul of Russia before the revolution. Among countless other perceptions of a genius.

Great book if you are interested in the life of Russian provinces. Or, if you are interested in how evil men get their way. Or if you are interested in super intense psycho analytical mambo-jumbo. Dostoevsky has the ability to make anyone drop their jaw and hold on to their boots. This book brings on a lot of intense feelings, not too many of which are pleasant. It also has a lot of amazingly interesting outlooks on situations that are as real as the air you breathe.

Strongly recommend this particular translation:Demons
Other translations of this book have other names.

Demons is a devil of a read on Russian angst/nihilism by the master Dostoevsky.......2007-07-24

Demons (also known as Possessed & The Devils) is a 1878 novel by literary genius Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881). The novel is long, difficult and rife with Russian names easy to confuse. The novel is also a work of art of peerless genius.
The massive novel is set in the unimportant provincial Russian town of
Skvorishniki. The major characters are:
Vavara Stavrogin-She is the wealthy widow of a Russian general. Vavara is an aristocrat who is cultured and kind.
Stavrogin-A nihilist who is involved in the budding communist movement to overturn the Russian government. He is cruel, self-centered and self-loathing. An intellectual bored with life and love. He marries a crippled and ugly woman whom he later has murdered at his behest. He is Vavara's wastrel son.
Stepan-The old liberal of the 1840s who is a failed professor. He is the tutor to the young Stavrogin and is supported by the kindness of Vavara. He will later flee the town to die on the road. I found him to be a pathetic foolish character.
Lembke-The ridiculous head of the local town government. Dostoevsky did not like government officials and has fun with this pathetic creature. His wife seeks to climb society's slippery ladder by holding a literary fete in the town.
Lisa-The love interest of the novel who has suitors but is drawn to Stavrogin in a hopeless and tragic love.
The long novel is many books wrapped into one:
a. A mystery and suspense story about the conspirators and the destruction they perpetuate in the town. The town is a microcosm of Russian Tsarist society. These are the "demons" of the title based on Christ's driving out the demons from the Gerasene demoniac in the gospel accounts.
b. A philosophical/theological book exploring the issues of the existence of God; theodicy; the existence of good and evil. Not easy going for the casual reader!
c. A satire of the Russian literary world in which Dostoevsky makes fun of Turgenev who was too Westernized for the Slavophilic author.
d. A tragic love story.
The novel takes a long time getting into the exciting tale of the machinations of the conspirators. It will, however, reward the patient reader.

Great Potential Never Realized: Too Diffuse and Too Fragmented........2007-05-19

As background information, I have read most of Dostoevsky's novels including some of his early works and all of his most popular 6 or 7 novels.

First of all, this is a good translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. My only complaint is that the characters have multiple names, i.e.: as an example the same character is called von Blum and Andrei Antonovich. It is all quite confusing, and it is compounded by 20 similar names and characters. In any case, Richard Pevear provides an excellent introduction to the novel without giving away the plot - so one can read the introduction first or go back and read it midway without spoiling the reading experience. Also, he provides a list of all the major characters with the duplicate names. That information is essential for reading the book; I found myself going back to look at that list every 25 pages or so to keep all the characters straight.

The question for Dostoevsky fans is the following, i.e.: is this a great novel or just too much? I think it is simply too much and too diffuse: it lacks strong characters and the plot is weak. Obviously, a lot of time and effort had gone into the novel but it does not quite work as a well balanced and entertaining piece of work. Yes, it is easy to read but the story is not compelling. It seems to wander and it takes forever. It takes at least 500 pages to get to any writing that could be classified as compelling.

Dostoevsky re-wrote the novel a number of times, and based it on a real life event in Russia. But that event does not appear until late in the novel. Most of the story is elaborate and slow moving. It is too diffuse and there is too much dialogue.

Instead of one or two key characters, we have a whole village full of characters, and each character seems to be missing a lot of detail. As Richard Pevear tells us, each character says a lot but we cannot determine what the character is like. It is as if a mask is speaking instead of a complete person, or persons.

Dostoevsky uses the Jane Austen technique of fitting different levels of speech to portray different social levels for different characters. Sometimes they speak in French. All of this seems to add more confusion.

So in summary, this is a long and elaborate novel that took Dostoevsky a number of years to write. He has all the ingredients for a great novel, so one might expect that it will be a great novel. He tries to interweave interesting non-fiction events with a long and elaborate fictional story about atheists or revolutionaries in a small Russian village. He does not quite pull it all off. The novel is very readable and there is lots of subtle humor in the first 150 pages, but after a while it is all a bit too much. The main result here is that it gives Dostoevsky the ideas and approach to write his last novel "The Brother Karamazov."

Readers will find it slow and fragmented, and most will think it too diffuse, lacking a clear plot and any literary punch.

Russian in the Atheistic Rye .......2007-05-18

Secret political cells of underground socialist activists honeycomb your "somnolent and lethargic" (1) cities and countryside . . . rumors that their instructions emanate from an international crime syndicate are in the air . . . a mysterious, wealthy foreign prince awaits his moment to seize power . . . political tracts and a revolutionary manifesto have been discovered in the hands of local factory workers . . . nihilistic students influenced by the "evil West" are advocating chaos and destruction. This dark and gloomy atmosphere pervades "The Possessed" - all 700 pages of it. It is a complex and interesting hybrid of ideas and characters drawn by a great author with an axe to grind against the political radicalism he felt opposed to during the 1860s. As a sardonic tirade against a generation of radical atheists bent on deconstructing the moral fiber of Russian society, as well as an apology for the Russian Orthodox church, it helps to keep in mind that the original titles were "Atheism" and "The Great Sinners" and to be familiar with Dostoevsky's attitudes towards Christianity. Thus, in my mind, Dostoevsky is a predecessor to Holden Caulfield and "The Possessed" the Russian godfather to Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" (1951).

The shady and reprehensible Peter Verkhovensky and unpredictable Nikolai Stavrogin are the central "agitators" in the mysterious plot. The Byronic Stavrogin is the most obscure of all, but to understand his duality and ennui is to understand the novel. According to Dostoevsky, he is "the first artistic expression of a crisis in the Russian spirit" (2). The reader is constantly guessing who's who and what's what amidst constant chatter of an ever-widening plot, the nature of which is intentionally vague. All the while, characters from one generation or the other interact as though from different planets. As for the immense length, I couldn't help wonder whether Dostoevsky, like one of his favorite authors Charles Dickens, didn't prolong his narrative for greater remuneration (in those days authors were often paid by the word) - it was serialized for a full two years between 1871 and 1872. At times I became more frustrated and irritated instead of curious, and had to use all my reading strength to stay the course. The characters are frequently melodramatic (especially, Stepan Verkhovensky) and difficult to relate to by modern norms, but it's revelatory that the author's earliest influences were the Gothic novels of Ann Radcliffe. Nevertheless, I admire Dostoevsky's manner of drawing well-rounded descriptions for each and every living thing in his books (like Balzac and Tolstoy) because it creates a world unto itself; one that is more complete and believable once entered.

All of Dostoevsky's favorite themes are here: Revolution, crime, atheism, religion, strong men, underground men, and the Russian past and present (3). The eternal East vs. West theme is internalized and encapsulated as a Russian struggle for national identity, and it is awe-inspiring that Dostoevsky managed to pull this artistic feat off at all. "The Possessed", or "Demons", or "Devils", or whatever title happens to be en vogue, is not the ideal novel with which to begin reading Dostoevsky by any means, but is absolutely essential for those who enjoyed the themes of "Crime and Punishment" and "Brothers Karamazov", and certainly "Notes from Underground". Like Turgenev in "Fathers & Sons", a novel Dostoevsky greatly admired in-spite of his merciless portrayal of its author as the pathetic Karmazinov, "The Possessed" has come to be seen as an uncanny prophecy of the Bolshevik Revolution (it is fascinating to realize that Lenin, Stalin and the Soviet Union were another 40-50 years removed). At times unwieldy and confusing, long-winded and unbearable, its greatness lays within its complex richness of themes. Much like "The Idiot" in terms of novelistic imperfections, "The Possessed" remains intellectually stimulating and thought-provoking on multiple levels long after one has put the book down.

1.) Frank, Joseph. Demons, Everyman's Library (Knopf), 1994. Introduction, p.xvii.
2.) Ibid p. xxi.
3.) MacAndrew, Andrew. The Possessed, Signet, 1962. This is the translation I read and is an easily readable, modernized and less stilted one than that of the probably more "accurate" Pevear & Volokhonsky version.

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