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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
hopeful
medium-paced
slow-paced
I read this book because I felt a bit like an idiot for never reading any Dostoyevsky. I guess my public high school education let me down on that score. I also read it because there was an entire section of [i]The Goldfinch[/i] entitled "The Idiot" and I thoroughly enjoyed [i]The Goldfinch[/i]. Did I enjoy [i]The Idiot[/i]? Hmm. Not so much.
It wasn't bad. It just felt a little... oblique, maybe? I had the feeling that I was missing nuances based on the difference of our time from the time of Dostoyevsky. I did enjoy some of the quirks of the characters -- especially the title character and Madame Yepanchina. And by the end I was firmly on the side of our simple idiot. The plot and staging felt a bit like an opera. And I found the changing omniscience of the narrator and some of the introductory narration in the different parts interesting and endearing.
But for the most part, I felt removed from the characters and their actions. It took me a long time to get into the plot and I was ready for the book to end far sooner than it did. Although the final chapter was possibly the most interesting one of the entire book. So overall, I liked it, but I'm glad to be done with it.
It wasn't bad. It just felt a little... oblique, maybe? I had the feeling that I was missing nuances based on the difference of our time from the time of Dostoyevsky. I did enjoy some of the quirks of the characters -- especially the title character and Madame Yepanchina. And by the end I was firmly on the side of our simple idiot. The plot and staging felt a bit like an opera. And I found the changing omniscience of the narrator and some of the introductory narration in the different parts interesting and endearing.
But for the most part, I felt removed from the characters and their actions. It took me a long time to get into the plot and I was ready for the book to end far sooner than it did. Although the final chapter was possibly the most interesting one of the entire book. So overall, I liked it, but I'm glad to be done with it.
romanın kahramanı prens mışkin, iyiliği, naifliği, saflığı ile beni suç ve ceza'nın ruhu çelişki dolu, mutsuz, katil raskolnikov'undan daha mutsuz etti, daha çok daralttı. holbein'in "the body of the dead christ in a tomb" tablosuna eğildiği kısımlarıyla; rogojin'in, ippolit'in, lebedev'in, yevgeniy pavloviç'in ve hatta mışkin'in tiratlarıyla kusursuza yakın bir roman budala. ama yine de suç ve ceza ve karamazov kardeşler'den daha çok sevemedim.
Took me a long time to finish as I was in the middle of a massive reading slump, but since picking it up again it was so thrilling and enticing.
Dostoevsky really does it like no other, to add such depth to what is basically a bunch of people sitting around a room and talking.
And the social and religious paraboles with the autobiographical nuances, make this a easy 5 star for me.
Dostoevsky really does it like no other, to add such depth to what is basically a bunch of people sitting around a room and talking.
And the social and religious paraboles with the autobiographical nuances, make this a easy 5 star for me.
So, this is my 6th Annual "Red October" reading challenge, the completely made up event where I dig in to some Russian literature. This year I selected two books, first the biggest Dostoyevsky novel that I haven't yet read, "The Idiot", and second an example of Soviet era science fiction, "Roadside Picnic" by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
"The Brothers Karamazov" has long been my favorite Dostoyevsky novel, which opinion remains unchanged after finishing "The Idiot", which slides neatly into second place behind it. There were some fascinating and intriguing characters in this novel, led by the so-called idiot himself, Price Myshkin. What a fascinating young man. You know how sometimes your children get you in trouble because they repeat something they heard you say confidentially to exactly the wrong person? This is Prince Myshkin's default setting. But it's not because he wants to ruffle feathers, it's just the opposite. Without a hint of guile in his entire being, the Prince simply doesn't comprehend that you shouldn't repeat certain things to certain people. It is this very innocence that - spoiler ahead! - is his downfall in the end, when his gut reaction to Nastassya's unhappiness causes him to completely alienate Aglaya, the person that perhaps could have brought him true happiness.
Speaking of the ending, I must say that it left me a little underwhelmed. While I was not able to predict - more spoilers! - the momentous event of the conclusion (I kept thinking to myself, "now this person is going to do himself in", "now that person is definitely going to throw herself in front of a train", never envisioning a murder instead of a suicide) I would have loved a little more "epilogue" to tie up everybody's loose ends.
"The Brothers Karamazov" has long been my favorite Dostoyevsky novel, which opinion remains unchanged after finishing "The Idiot", which slides neatly into second place behind it. There were some fascinating and intriguing characters in this novel, led by the so-called idiot himself, Price Myshkin. What a fascinating young man. You know how sometimes your children get you in trouble because they repeat something they heard you say confidentially to exactly the wrong person? This is Prince Myshkin's default setting. But it's not because he wants to ruffle feathers, it's just the opposite. Without a hint of guile in his entire being, the Prince simply doesn't comprehend that you shouldn't repeat certain things to certain people. It is this very innocence that - spoiler ahead! - is his downfall in the end, when his gut reaction to Nastassya's unhappiness causes him to completely alienate Aglaya, the person that perhaps could have brought him true happiness.
Speaking of the ending, I must say that it left me a little underwhelmed. While I was not able to predict - more spoilers! - the momentous event of the conclusion (I kept thinking to myself, "now this person is going to do himself in", "now that person is definitely going to throw herself in front of a train", never envisioning a murder instead of a suicide) I would have loved a little more "epilogue" to tie up everybody's loose ends.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes