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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
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.
Idiot je hodně brutální a temná kniha. Příběh sleduje knížete Myškina, zdánlivě nemocného člověka, který se vrací do rodné ruské země, po rehabilitaci ze Švýcarska. A z čeho že se to rehabitoval? To se moc podrobně nedovíme, jsou zde náznaky epilepsie a, jak všichni komentují, idiocie. Tahle idiocie se projevuje hodně zvláštně, kníže Myškin je důvěřivý a čestný a ruská “vysoká” společnost se z toho může zbláznit. Na tomhle pozadí vykresluje Dostojevskij hromadu příběhů z tehdejší ruské společnosti. Jsou tu příběhy o posedlosti, popravách, alkoholicích, šílenství, pomalému umírání, neopětované lásce a úplně obyčejné nenávisti. No a jak se taková čistá duše jako je Myškovinova vyrovná s touhle realitou? No, neskončí to s ním nejlíp.
Je to hodně dobře napsaný román. V půlce se to začalo trochu táhnout, ale poslední část, mi to všechno vynahradila. Vše spěje k tragickému konci a nikdo s tím nemůže nic udělat. Jedině co bych tak trochu mohl vytknout je teatrálnost ruského lidu a hysterie všech hlavních hrdinek. Ale bez toho by to nebyl Dostojeskij.
Je to hodně dobře napsaný román. V půlce se to začalo trochu táhnout, ale poslední část, mi to všechno vynahradila. Vše spěje k tragickému konci a nikdo s tím nemůže nic udělat. Jedině co bych tak trochu mohl vytknout je teatrálnost ruského lidu a hysterie všech hlavních hrdinek. Ale bez toho by to nebyl Dostojeskij.
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
insane literary experience and a story I know I’ll treasure for a long time. So excited to reread this in like a decade or two when it’ll indubitably take on a completely different meaning to me
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes