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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Double, April 20, 2021
doppelgänger: German (literally "double-walker") - a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction, a doppelgänger is usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck.
Here we have an introvert who, dissatisfied with his station in life, tries desperately to elevate his social standing while combating a debilitating inferiority complex. Along the way, his persecutory delusion and paranoia blossom into full blown schizophrenia which itself mushrooms into a dissociative identity disorder. Or does it..?
Dostoyevsky himself labeled this literary experiment unsuccessful but I rather enjoyed it (especially after I stopped trying so hard to understand it).
_________________________________
Notes from Underground, March 10, 2022
Let’s be honest, I just don’t play well with fiction. I try to pick up on symbolism and allegory and metaphors, but it all seems so convoluted and unnecessary. Seriously, if you’re unhappy with socialism or capitalism then just say so. Why do you feel compelled to express your displeasure through talking crickets giving sage counsel to marionettes, or through retired civil servants bitterly contemplating the duality of wet snow? Take Chomsky for example, if he was disenchanted with the system at hand he wrote, “I am disenchanted with the system at hand” and then he proceeded to give you ten or twenty or a hundred reasons why. But not Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky gave us wet snow.
Moving on…
My first impression is that Dostoyevsky’s protagonist is tilting at the windmill of determinism. He repeatedly asserts that he is not a spiteful person yet his defining characteristic seems to be his ability to hurt, annoy and offend those around him. He’s not really a dick at heart, but being a dick gives him so much pleasure that he can’t really help himself.
My second impression is that Dostoyevsky’s protagonist is chafing under the constraints of Russian nihilism. His love interest, a prostitute, is convinced that she can better her situation and rise in the hierarchy of the brothel by aligning with and embracing the political establishment. Our anti-hero, predictably, thinks otherwise.
Am I off base? I don’t know enough about Russian history to know what, if anything, Dostoyevsky is railing against. I hate that I agonize and overthink and second guess myself to the point of insomnia. Why do you always do this to me Fyodor? Why????
doppelgänger: German (literally "double-walker") - a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction, a doppelgänger is usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck.
Here we have an introvert who, dissatisfied with his station in life, tries desperately to elevate his social standing while combating a debilitating inferiority complex. Along the way, his persecutory delusion and paranoia blossom into full blown schizophrenia which itself mushrooms into a dissociative identity disorder. Or does it..?
Dostoyevsky himself labeled this literary experiment unsuccessful but I rather enjoyed it (especially after I stopped trying so hard to understand it).
_________________________________
Notes from Underground, March 10, 2022
Let’s be honest, I just don’t play well with fiction. I try to pick up on symbolism and allegory and metaphors, but it all seems so convoluted and unnecessary. Seriously, if you’re unhappy with socialism or capitalism then just say so. Why do you feel compelled to express your displeasure through talking crickets giving sage counsel to marionettes, or through retired civil servants bitterly contemplating the duality of wet snow? Take Chomsky for example, if he was disenchanted with the system at hand he wrote, “I am disenchanted with the system at hand” and then he proceeded to give you ten or twenty or a hundred reasons why. But not Dostoyevsky. Dostoyevsky gave us wet snow.
Moving on…
My first impression is that Dostoyevsky’s protagonist is tilting at the windmill of determinism. He repeatedly asserts that he is not a spiteful person yet his defining characteristic seems to be his ability to hurt, annoy and offend those around him. He’s not really a dick at heart, but being a dick gives him so much pleasure that he can’t really help himself.
My second impression is that Dostoyevsky’s protagonist is chafing under the constraints of Russian nihilism. His love interest, a prostitute, is convinced that she can better her situation and rise in the hierarchy of the brothel by aligning with and embracing the political establishment. Our anti-hero, predictably, thinks otherwise.
Am I off base? I don’t know enough about Russian history to know what, if anything, Dostoyevsky is railing against. I hate that I agonize and overthink and second guess myself to the point of insomnia. Why do you always do this to me Fyodor? Why????
dark
informative
reflective
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Not enough time to read at the moment. The text in my version of the book is WAY too small, which makes more difficult to try and get through the book (especially since I have to be done by February 1st)
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes