Reviews

i love dostoyevskys work but this book was just not it for me. i found this book so utterly boring and hard to read. i literally read more than half and i still had no idea what was going on.

chrisrohlev1234's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the fourth Dostoevsky book that I've read and is by far his most accessible. The appeal of Dostoevsky is his ability to analyze people and their motivations. Dostoevsky has a very rigid framework for novels that I think is unorthodox for writers today. I'll start by saying that I think the novels that we learn the most from are the ones that cut us the deepest. Maybe that's just me but I've always felt that the books that had the biggest effect on me were largely the most unpleasant ones. Modern novels use a framework I think that's somewhat cheap. They use external factors to force either intra or inter-personal conflict. What I mean by this is that it's very easy in my opinion to write a novel where a character gets cancer and then analyze their relationships. You can do this without ever taking a deep dive into the character because what you are examining is "relationships" not "feelings." Dostoevsky however starts with the mind and works his way out. I think this is what makes him a genius. He will examine the "sickness" in a persons mind and then watch this person destroy himself and others. Although it takes a lot more time to get into the appeal is that you form a bond with the character. You pray that he will get better or be cured. You pray that he will make the right choice and you pray for his well-being. Of course, Dostoevsky has to cut us deep and destroy his characters from the inside out and therefore destroy our hope. Like I said before though, this has much more of an impact that any type of external force making decisions for the character. Anyway, I'm rambling now. If you feel like being extremely pessimistic, having all semblances and hopes of love existing in this world destroyed and you want to catapult yourself into a feeling of deep isolation then I would definitely recommend this novel. I'm going to read November 9 to make me feel better now.

catalinathebes's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

marg_reads_books's review against another edition

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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

4.5

💃😘🥰🥰 books with truly detestable narrators 💃🪩 i loveeeee this book, the explorations of the human mind, the idea that knowledge of why society is the way it is does not set you apart from it, I LOVE.

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