Reviews - Humiliated and Insulted: From the Notes of an Unsuccessful Author

168 reviews for:

Humiliated and Insulted: From the Notes of an Unsuccessful Author

Fyodor Dostoevsky

4.12 AVERAGE

angelsbeforeman's review against another edition

4.75

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

sarapalooza's review against another edition

4.0

Humiliated and Insulted
Fyodor Dostoevsky
.
Written before the masterpieces of the end of his life, this novel foreshadows some themes that will soon be fully developed. It is not anywhere near as philosophical as Karamazov, nor does it have the insight into the characters’ minds like in Crime, but it is very enjoyable and important in the development of the great author’s style.
.
As a massive Fyodor fan, I enjoyed this very much, but a warning for readers - boy, is it bleak. It starts sad, gets worse, and doesn’t end any better. This is the ninth work of his I’ve read and it helps me to understand him better. Definitely a deeper cut.
.
Hard to pinpoint a moral, but initial impression without sitting down to contemplate, I’d say: the reality of the world is often very cruel. Incredibly, love also exists alongside the evil. While the goodness doesn’t negate cruelty, it does comfort and shape some of us for the better. False love destroys, while true compassion heals. There’s a message we can all get behind.

wen's review against another edition

3.0

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

there was definitely something gay going on between nataša and katja

noeliamollet's review against another edition

3.0

Desde sus inicios como escritor y de manera cronológica, este es el libro que más me ha gustado de Dostoievski. La narración es más fluida y amena que Stepanchikovo y sus moradores o El doble, por ejemplo, pero el hecho de que la historia tenga 500 páginas me parece excesivo, además de que me costó entrar en el libro y encontrarle interés.
Me gusta mucho cómo están construidos los diálogos, con ironía y diciendo mucho con pocas palabras, y la psicología que hay detrás de ellos.
Mención a parte merece el tipo de amor que Natasha siente por Aliosha, enfermizo, obsesivo e incomprensible y la actitud del señor Sergeich, ese orgullo tan espeso que no es capaz de dejar a un lado por el profundo amor que tiene hacia su hija.

Es un libro recomendable pero que más de una persona abandonaría antes de llegar a la mitad.

P.D. la traducción de Fernando Otero y José Ignacio López Fernández es maravillosa (Alba Minus 2021).