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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*Read for class.
3.75/5
Well, this is the first Dostoyevsky's novel I've actually finished. And it is the first or one of the first things he's ever written. Belinskiy - Russian critic at a time - after this very novel said that Dostoyevsky will be a great writer. As we all know now, he was totally right.
At first I thought it was very short and ended weirdly. Then I understood there was an intervention after the first half of letters and it all made sense.
It is a novel about small people, about their inner world, their feelings, thoughts. About small people also being people.
I'm very happy I've read this after we discussed it a little bit in class. Always makes you understand more about the book.
3.75/5
Well, this is the first Dostoyevsky's novel I've actually finished. And it is the first or one of the first things he's ever written. Belinskiy - Russian critic at a time - after this very novel said that Dostoyevsky will be a great writer. As we all know now, he was totally right.
At first I thought it was very short and ended weirdly. Then I understood there was an intervention after the first half of letters and it all made sense.
It is a novel about small people, about their inner world, their feelings, thoughts. About small people also being people.
I'm very happy I've read this after we discussed it a little bit in class. Always makes you understand more about the book.
“Poor and unhappy people ought to steer clear of one another, so as not to catch a greater degree of infection.”
Poor Folk is Dostoyevsky’s first novel, but my fifth to read. It’s a damn good debut. It’s about a “long-distance relationship” (the lovers are actually distant cousins of very different ages who live on the same street) in the pre-text messaging age of 19th century Russia. It’s an epistolary novel, so about 98% of it is in the form of letters between a man and woman. It taps into the hearts of the ill and impoverished through the lens of this letter-based relationship. We see the sickness of mind and body that poverty causes, the unstable excitement of empty dreams that are destined to never be fulfilled, and the crashing down of a relationship between two people who are both crushed by financial woes. Like a lot of Dostoevsky, paranoia, alcoholism, descent into madness, and financial mismanagement are major themes.
It’s a depressing book for sure.
While the characters are never depicted together, they have quarrels that could exist in any (realistically flawed) relationship: disagreements about the quality of literature, financial arguments, conflicted feelings about starting a new job. A big portion of the book tracks the descent of the relationship at the core of the novel, with the main characters Makar and Varvara demonstrating codependency financially and emotionally. The inappropriate romantic relationship is the characters’ form of escapism from poverty.
I basically decided that they never really loved each other, although this facet of the story is left purposefully ambiguous. When Varvara agrees to marry a wealthy man at the end, the story quickly adopts a breakneck pace. The letters become a series of requests and responses about errands Varvara needs completed because she’s too sick to carry them out herself. Varvara, who is accustomed to dependency, decides that it is the only thing she can do to accept a marriage proposal from a wealthy sleaze bag. Interestingly, and to Dostoyevsky’s credit as a psychological writer, Varvara doesn’t appear as traitorous to the reader or Makar; she still attracts our sympathies.
At the death of the relationship, Makar becomes crushed by Varvara leaving and in his last letter begs for her to stay with him and that he will buy her “furbelows,” which kind of highlights how money was always central to their relationship and Makar’s desperation to match her new suitor. They were both poor and desperate for an escape. It’s possible that Varvara never loved him as deeply as he loved her, or as it is hinted at the very end, if Makar could have pursued a writing career as he secretly wanted to, the the same may have happened in reverse. Dostoyevsky has a way of devilishly presenting a scenario that could easily be flipped on its head and still be reasonable to the reader.
Poor Folk is Dostoyevsky’s first novel, but my fifth to read. It’s a damn good debut. It’s about a “long-distance relationship” (the lovers are actually distant cousins of very different ages who live on the same street) in the pre-text messaging age of 19th century Russia. It’s an epistolary novel, so about 98% of it is in the form of letters between a man and woman. It taps into the hearts of the ill and impoverished through the lens of this letter-based relationship. We see the sickness of mind and body that poverty causes, the unstable excitement of empty dreams that are destined to never be fulfilled, and the crashing down of a relationship between two people who are both crushed by financial woes. Like a lot of Dostoevsky, paranoia, alcoholism, descent into madness, and financial mismanagement are major themes.
It’s a depressing book for sure.
While the characters are never depicted together, they have quarrels that could exist in any (realistically flawed) relationship: disagreements about the quality of literature, financial arguments, conflicted feelings about starting a new job. A big portion of the book tracks the descent of the relationship at the core of the novel, with the main characters Makar and Varvara demonstrating codependency financially and emotionally. The inappropriate romantic relationship is the characters’ form of escapism from poverty.
I basically decided that they never really loved each other, although this facet of the story is left purposefully ambiguous. When Varvara agrees to marry a wealthy man at the end, the story quickly adopts a breakneck pace. The letters become a series of requests and responses about errands Varvara needs completed because she’s too sick to carry them out herself. Varvara, who is accustomed to dependency, decides that it is the only thing she can do to accept a marriage proposal from a wealthy sleaze bag. Interestingly, and to Dostoyevsky’s credit as a psychological writer, Varvara doesn’t appear as traitorous to the reader or Makar; she still attracts our sympathies.
At the death of the relationship, Makar becomes crushed by Varvara leaving and in his last letter begs for her to stay with him and that he will buy her “furbelows,” which kind of highlights how money was always central to their relationship and Makar’s desperation to match her new suitor. They were both poor and desperate for an escape. It’s possible that Varvara never loved him as deeply as he loved her, or as it is hinted at the very end, if Makar could have pursued a writing career as he secretly wanted to, the the same may have happened in reverse. Dostoyevsky has a way of devilishly presenting a scenario that could easily be flipped on its head and still be reasonable to the reader.
dark
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Very much enjoyed the book.
يقال ان هذه اول رواية كتبها كاتبي المحترم دوستوفيسكي وعلي القول بأنها بديعة جداً وبامكاننا ان نرى بدايات تشكل الهيكل الاساسي لاسلوب فيودور الفريد. فكرة الرسائل جميلة ولكن لم تدهشني كثيراً. أحببت المودة والحب بين الشخصيتين وعلاقتهما الافلاطونية اذا صح التعبير. معانيها عميقه جداً وان لم امر بما عانت منه الشخصيات لكن وقع ألامهم قريب من القلب فأنا أتألم لألمهم واحزن لحزنهم. شكراً مره أخرى دوستوفيسكي لو كنت حياً لقبلت رأسك ❤️
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated