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

166 reviews for:

Humiliated and Insulted: From the Notes of an Unsuccessful Author

Fyodor Dostoevsky

4.12 AVERAGE

mika55's review against another edition

3.25

challenging reflective 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

ranidxe's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

juli3008's review against another edition

5.0

One of the best books I’ve read, but also so painful and heart wrenching.

torjus's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

j_f's review against another edition

5.0

While reading The Insulted and Humiliated, I had a sudden thought: "I wish every book I read was like this." More precisely, I wish every book I read gave me the same experience, one of comfort and entertainment. If every book were like this, I would prefer reading to any other activity there is, even those as basic as eating or sleeping. This is the kind of book I became a reader to read.

The novel is not overly complex, but it is not simple, either. There are points at which the author makes you think or feel deeply, but these moments don't demand too much of you. Rather, they are a natural part of the enjoyable experience of reading this book, which tells the story of a semi-struggling author who is at the centre of two interconnected family dramas. One of the dramas surrounds the author's ex-romantic interest, who loves another man, and whose father disapproves of her behaviour. The other family is a poor one, and the central figure of that family is a young, frail girl who has no one to support her.

However, like all cozy books, The Insulted and Humiliated is about more than its plot. Like all Dostoyevsky books, it is filled with profound concepts and analyses that are somehow expertly woven into the story with ease. The language flows well, the story is neither horribly depressing or romantically happy. It's realistic, but relaxed.

It's not a life-changing book, but all books don't have to be.