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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rarely do books touch the soul, but with Dostoyevsky it’s to be expected.
I can’t remember the last time I read a book that weighed on me so heavily as this one. I don’t even know what to write as a review. The Prince’s character is undoubtedly the purest, most beautiful soul you’ll ever read about, and to see him navigate 19th Century Russian society was as enriching as it was crushing. The end left me with a sad feeling that’s going to take a while to fade, but the imprint of this reading experience will remain with me till my last breath.
5/5
I can’t remember the last time I read a book that weighed on me so heavily as this one. I don’t even know what to write as a review. The Prince’s character is undoubtedly the purest, most beautiful soul you’ll ever read about, and to see him navigate 19th Century Russian society was as enriching as it was crushing. The end left me with a sad feeling that’s going to take a while to fade, but the imprint of this reading experience will remain with me till my last breath.
5/5
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
nevem no 4⭐️ sam ker je bla predstava insanely good other from that... bit too long tbh
There are many scenes in this book that I'd rank right up there with the best of Dostoevsky, Russian literature more broadly, or just literature in general. These can be astutely observed and carefully written, offering the reader a clear commentary on Russian life of Dostoevsky's time. Their precision, though, also allows them to transcend the bounds of this particular narrative to become more universal.
Unfortunately, these scenes were more frequent in the first half than the second. Or maybe my issue was only that the plotting of the second half seemed more forced, more contrived, and so these stellar scenes were more life raft than anything. Dostoevsky himself seems to have recognized that his second half was getting looser, saying multiple times that he was correcting the course of the narrative (but not entirely managing).
All that said, I still enjoyed our dear idiot. It had some good characters, and it was surprisingly funny. I would rank Brothers K or C&P over this, but it's still perfectly readable and enjoyable.
My last comment is on the translation by Igant Avsey, with the caveat that I don't know Russian. I found it to be very easy to read, avoiding (as far as I could tell) awkward translationese. It was mostly colloquial, which may or may not reflect Dostoevsky's style but certainly makes reading a big book like this more approachable.
Unfortunately, these scenes were more frequent in the first half than the second. Or maybe my issue was only that the plotting of the second half seemed more forced, more contrived, and so these stellar scenes were more life raft than anything. Dostoevsky himself seems to have recognized that his second half was getting looser, saying multiple times that he was correcting the course of the narrative (but not entirely managing).
All that said, I still enjoyed our dear idiot. It had some good characters, and it was surprisingly funny. I would rank Brothers K or C&P over this, but it's still perfectly readable and enjoyable.
My last comment is on the translation by Igant Avsey, with the caveat that I don't know Russian. I found it to be very easy to read, avoiding (as far as I could tell) awkward translationese. It was mostly colloquial, which may or may not reflect Dostoevsky's style but certainly makes reading a big book like this more approachable.
I think I was expecting this book to be a lot more moving and a lot less moving from house to house and gossipping.
emotional
reflective
sad
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
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes