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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I missed Dostoevsky so much I picked this up at the store instinctively when I saw it. I set myself a challenge to read it by the end of the year and had a lot of fun spending a few days with my only plan being to read this. It's interesting to see that if I spend weeks rather than months reading a book like this I get the same effect.
This book has almost everything I loved from Brothers Karamazov except for a half decent story. Basically, we see the actions of the Prince who acts on honesty and good nature versus the reactions of twisted connivers and refined society members. When I read afterwards that even the author didn't have a plan for the plot I didn't doubt that for a second. It's clear any plot is an afterthought. This book is really just an idea or an experiment in 600 pages. It's very frustrating at times, but I still loved it and couldn't stop reading.
What makes this book great is of course the writing. Dostoevsky can make one day feel like years and 10 people feel like they make up the entire world. Each character had so many flaws, none more than the perfect "idiot" hero. Having the viewpoint of an independent narrator instead of first person made this book so much more interesting as we are seeing events play out in what seems like real time. This book kept me guessing until the end (and even afterwards).
I've read so many 1800s Russian books I feel almost part of that world. Something new to me in this book was touching heavily upon the young "socialists" and "nihilists" of the time. All these books take place after freeing serfs and before the revolution, and with that context it's always a background thought in my brain as I read. However, this book really brought that idea to the forefront and provided some great insight into the thought process of a more conservative writer. Glad he died before things got too bad for him lol
As I said earlier, this book lacks a completeness that made Brothers Karamazov immediately jump into my heart, but it still made me incredibly happy to read.
This book has almost everything I loved from Brothers Karamazov except for a half decent story. Basically, we see the actions of the Prince who acts on honesty and good nature versus the reactions of twisted connivers and refined society members. When I read afterwards that even the author didn't have a plan for the plot I didn't doubt that for a second. It's clear any plot is an afterthought. This book is really just an idea or an experiment in 600 pages. It's very frustrating at times, but I still loved it and couldn't stop reading.
What makes this book great is of course the writing. Dostoevsky can make one day feel like years and 10 people feel like they make up the entire world. Each character had so many flaws, none more than the perfect "idiot" hero. Having the viewpoint of an independent narrator instead of first person made this book so much more interesting as we are seeing events play out in what seems like real time. This book kept me guessing until the end (and even afterwards).
I've read so many 1800s Russian books I feel almost part of that world. Something new to me in this book was touching heavily upon the young "socialists" and "nihilists" of the time. All these books take place after freeing serfs and before the revolution, and with that context it's always a background thought in my brain as I read. However, this book really brought that idea to the forefront and provided some great insight into the thought process of a more conservative writer. Glad he died before things got too bad for him lol
As I said earlier, this book lacks a completeness that made Brothers Karamazov immediately jump into my heart, but it still made me incredibly happy to read.
This is one of Dostoevsky's most challenging books. It has a marvelous beginning, but afterwards it becomes confusing quickly. Even though this book is confusing, the character of Myshkin is worth reflecting on. Do we despise those who are perhaps more righteous or naive? After reading The Idiot you will probably know.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good and fascinating but I found it boring at times and didn't enjoy the characters as much as the ones in Brothers Karamazov.
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
With a book this dense and respected, a first reading -- especially in audio, perhaps, and especially in translation -- is best thought of as a preliminary reconnaissance. As the three stars show, I "liked it." The overall narrative feels ponderous and overwritten, but there are some set pieces and stories-within-the-story where the pace picks up considerably. There is a lot about mortality, and the limited amount of time one always has remaining, and that, I suppose, is what the book is "about."
"They were not quite certain, but had at times a strong suspicion that things did not happen to them as they did to other people."
I honestly can't believe this was my fourth venture with Dostoyevsky - it doesn't seem that long ago that he appeared to me as a fantastical, intimidating figure of Russian literature. And now, in less than a year, I've devoured four of his great works.
The Idiot certainly felt different from [b:The Brothers Karamazov|4934|The Brothers Karamazov|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427728126l/4934._SX50_.jpg|3393910], [b:Demons|5695|Demons|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524586008l/5695._SY75_.jpg|1487216], and [b:Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382846449l/7144._SY75_.jpg|3393917]. Its plot is not quite as complex, and it does not so quickly descend into darkness. Its lighter nature (that term being used quite loosely, wholly in the context of the author's broader body of works) for me derived out of the sweet wholesome man that is Prince Mushkin. It's been a while since I have been so impressed with a character; the prince's genuine heart, his role as "the idiot" of the title, does not inhibit Dostoyevsky from imbuing his character with all sorts of personal complexities and interior turmoil. Yes, I, as did most of the novel's other characters, loved him for his pure soul, but he was also far more complicated than that, and, as the book's protagonist, made this read a particularly engrossing and complex one.
I also really loved the dynamic of the Epanchin family and how much insight the reader was able to gain not only into their family relations but into each member individually. This is certainly a work that, without much of a plot, hinges almost entirely upon the characters, and Dostoyevksy certainly delivered in the fascinating studies he provided.
I will say that though I've been lamenting the lack of a central plot in this novel, the unexpectedness of those last few chapters really blew me away and wrapped all this up in a way that was, yes, dark and horrific, but at the same delectably satisfying in that I would have been disappointed if some of Dostoyevsky's characteristic violence hadn't been included.
While I really did enjoy The Brothers Karamazov and, though to a lesser extent, Demons, I really struggled with Crime and Punishment, mostly due to my indifference to Rodya. However, Mushkin, as Rodya's polar opposite, provided the perfect mode for me to settle back into Dostoyevsky's work, and I very much look forward to picking up [b:Notes from Underground|49455|Notes from Underground|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327909683l/49455._SY75_.jpg|50717723] later this year.