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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Fascinante. La literatura rusa tiene esa fama de pesada que asusta, pero a mí, con CYC me pareció vil difamación. No solo no me resultó pesado, sino que hasta diría que es adictivo.
Por un lado tenemos la trama, un Thriller psicológico que no pierde vigencia. Me atrevo a decir que hasta se adelanta un siglo a muchas cosas de psicología criminalista que sabemos hoy. La locura de Rodión Raskólnikov me mantuvo cautiva, sus estados febriles te hacían desconfiar de los sucesos, no sabías para dónde iba a salir disparado... Y, así y todo, consigue despertar cierto punto de "simpatía". Esto lo logra gracias a la atmósfera asfixiante de San Petersburgo de esa época, que volvería loco a más de uno, y a varios personajes que lo rodean (todos muy bien retratados) que resultan hasta más odiosos que nuestro héroe. Por ejemplo, Petróvich, narcisista quién aspira a casarse con la hermana de Rodión; o Svidrigáilov, un abusador horripilante.
CyC, ya por su simple trama de Thriller, es excelente.
Y sin dejar de ser una lectura absorbente, desarrolla conceptos más "densos", sobre todo los de índole existencialista. Una de las cosas que más disfruté de los dos libros de literatura rusa que leí es la ausencia de tibieza política. No hay que leer "entre líneas", a los escritores no les temblaba el pulso al retratar las ideologías de la época, criticarlas, despellejarlas (por qué no) o defenderlas. De paso, eso nos ayuda a entender uno de los sucesos históricos posteriores más influyentes de la historia contemporánea, que mal no nos vienen. Pero volviendo a la obra, aquí podemos leer un abordaje desde distintos puntos de vista de un tema hasta hoy cuestionable: moralidad versus legalidad. Fin o medios.
Si no lo leyeron todavía, denle una oportunidad. Sé que a los rusos los agarramos con miedo, pensando que nos va a llevar tanto tiempo que necesitamos estar de ánimo. De tratarse de Tolstoy, les diría que sí
Por un lado tenemos la trama, un Thriller psicológico que no pierde vigencia. Me atrevo a decir que hasta se adelanta un siglo a muchas cosas de psicología criminalista que sabemos hoy. La locura de Rodión Raskólnikov me mantuvo cautiva, sus estados febriles te hacían desconfiar de los sucesos, no sabías para dónde iba a salir disparado... Y, así y todo, consigue despertar cierto punto de "simpatía". Esto lo logra gracias a la atmósfera asfixiante de San Petersburgo de esa época, que volvería loco a más de uno, y a varios personajes que lo rodean (todos muy bien retratados) que resultan hasta más odiosos que nuestro héroe. Por ejemplo, Petróvich, narcisista quién aspira a casarse con la hermana de Rodión; o Svidrigáilov, un abusador horripilante.
CyC, ya por su simple trama de Thriller, es excelente.
Y sin dejar de ser una lectura absorbente, desarrolla conceptos más "densos", sobre todo los de índole existencialista. Una de las cosas que más disfruté de los dos libros de literatura rusa que leí es la ausencia de tibieza política. No hay que leer "entre líneas", a los escritores no les temblaba el pulso al retratar las ideologías de la época, criticarlas, despellejarlas (por qué no) o defenderlas. De paso, eso nos ayuda a entender uno de los sucesos históricos posteriores más influyentes de la historia contemporánea, que mal no nos vienen. Pero volviendo a la obra, aquí podemos leer un abordaje desde distintos puntos de vista de un tema hasta hoy cuestionable: moralidad versus legalidad. Fin o medios.
Si no lo leyeron todavía, denle una oportunidad. Sé que a los rusos los agarramos con miedo, pensando que nos va a llevar tanto tiempo que necesitamos estar de ánimo. De tratarse de Tolstoy, les diría que sí
listened and read with Simon & Schuster Enriched Classic. translated by Constance Garnett.
After having the book for more than a decade, I've finally read it. I was initially planning to read the modern translation by Oliver Ready since it received lots of praise and people mentioned it's closer to Dostoevsky's writing style - including his humor. But listened to this one (since it's free on Audible) and my physical copy is also translated by Garnett. This got bumped up on my to read list because of Lav Diaz's Filipino movie, which is loose adaptation of Crime and Punishment, titled Norte, the End of History, and surprisingly one of his shorter ones which only runs for 250 minutues. But sadly, it's not included in his Mubi Collection, or it's geo-locked.
There's a lot of themes and subjects to really unpack here and I really haven't look in-depth or read the notes and criticism included in the physical book. And it's just sending me down on a rabbit hole of Nihilism, Utilitarianism, Ayn Rand's Objectivism (tempted to read her [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] despite being heavily criticized due to her world view and how bad/dragged out the story is). Or just replay Bioshock 1 & 2, because "fuck Ayn Rand" or something.
After having the book for more than a decade, I've finally read it. I was initially planning to read the modern translation by Oliver Ready since it received lots of praise and people mentioned it's closer to Dostoevsky's writing style - including his humor. But listened to this one (since it's free on Audible) and my physical copy is also translated by Garnett. This got bumped up on my to read list because of Lav Diaz's Filipino movie, which is loose adaptation of Crime and Punishment, titled Norte, the End of History, and surprisingly one of his shorter ones which only runs for 250 minutues. But sadly, it's not included in his Mubi Collection, or it's geo-locked.
There's a lot of themes and subjects to really unpack here and I really haven't look in-depth or read the notes and criticism included in the physical book. And it's just sending me down on a rabbit hole of Nihilism, Utilitarianism, Ayn Rand's Objectivism (tempted to read her [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] despite being heavily criticized due to her world view and how bad/dragged out the story is). Or just replay Bioshock 1 & 2, because "fuck Ayn Rand" or something.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An account of a man who set out to prove himself above humans, only to discover that he was profoundly human.
A bit too thick for me, but worth the time invested nevertheless.
wow wow I completed it! due to the nature of this novel it felt like I had been reading it for eternities - Dostoevsky is very clever, absorbing you into the story and making you feel just like Raskolnikov, trapped, claustrophobic, unable to escape this reality you've created your yourself.
I did not expect this book to contain so many meaningful relationships, people are really all we have. Sonya, Razumhikin, Dunya, such wonderful friends and relatives that really help our troubled (extremely troubled) protagonist (strong word for Raskolnikov) through his torment. The love these characters share between one another is so wonderful to read about, the tender moments between them, the heart to heart he has with his mother towards the end, simply beautiful.
We must not forget Svidrigailov - an abominable man who we also mildly feel for in the end; such talent, such masterful story crafting.
The ending of this novel was so frustrating but I understand why it had to end there, I just wish we could find out if they stuck to it, if the plan worked.
I did not expect this book to contain so many meaningful relationships, people are really all we have. Sonya, Razumhikin, Dunya, such wonderful friends and relatives that really help our troubled (extremely troubled) protagonist (strong word for Raskolnikov) through his torment. The love these characters share between one another is so wonderful to read about, the tender moments between them, the heart to heart he has with his mother towards the end, simply beautiful.
We must not forget Svidrigailov - an abominable man who we also mildly feel for in the end; such talent, such masterful story crafting.
The ending of this novel was so frustrating but I understand why it had to end there, I just wish we could find out if they stuck to it, if the plan worked.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I can see the influence this book had in Catch-22. It is stream-of-thought, with overly exaggerated character descriptions and dialogues that make you feel as if you are the main character, annoyed or surprised or excited along with the story.
I was initially dreading this book, but it was truly excellent. A psychological unpacking of many of the darker thoughts that echo around our 'civilized' minds.
I was initially dreading this book, but it was truly excellent. A psychological unpacking of many of the darker thoughts that echo around our 'civilized' minds.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A