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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Non c'è sintonia
Ci ho provato, con Dostoevskij, due volte.
La prima volta (Le notti bianche) avevo già notato questo favoleggiare della mente delirante, e non lo avevo apprezzato.
Ho avvicinato il secondo scevra di qualsiasi informazione su cosa trattasse e mi ritrovo lo stesso tipo di personaggio, nonché una prosa spesso cacofonica e ridondante che, se da un lato risulta funzionale all'esacerbazione del delirio stesso, dall'altro risulta oltremodo fastidiosa.
Direi proprio che siamo su diverse lunghezze d'onda.
Ci ho provato, con Dostoevskij, due volte.
La prima volta (Le notti bianche) avevo già notato questo favoleggiare della mente delirante, e non lo avevo apprezzato.
Ho avvicinato il secondo scevra di qualsiasi informazione su cosa trattasse e mi ritrovo lo stesso tipo di personaggio, nonché una prosa spesso cacofonica e ridondante che, se da un lato risulta funzionale all'esacerbazione del delirio stesso, dall'altro risulta oltremodo fastidiosa.
Direi proprio che siamo su diverse lunghezze d'onda.
reflective
slow-paced
Lettura super lenta e molto pesante.
Amo Dostoevskij ma penso che questo sia uno dei sui libri che mi è piaciuto meno.
Non ho niente da dire, onestamente, l'unica cosa che mi è piaciuto è stato il tema. Il fatto che ognuno di noi presenta un lato oscuro (ombra), la parte della nostra personalità che tendiamo a ripudiare perchè lo consideriamo poco desiderabile e addirittura ripugnante. Cerchiamo di nascondere questa parte di noi e più lo facciamo più si fa denso ed oscuro, cui andrà ad influenzare negativamente lo sviluppo della nostra personalità. In più siccome lo teniamo sempre nascosto, lo andiamo inconsciamente a proiettare verso gli altri e ad incolpare tutto ciò che ci circonda dei nostri problemi portandoci alla miseria ad una battaglia autodistruttiva del nostro essere.
Sarò sincera è stato veramente difficile leggere questo libro, l'unica volta che mi è capitato è stato quando ho letto ''Il Grande Gatsby'', ho dovuto forzarmi molto e la maggior parte delle volte non sapevo nemmeno cosa stava succedendo. Mi dispiace tanto che non sono stata in grado di godermi questo libro come gli altri, ma ovviamente non tutto deve piacere.
Amo Dostoevskij ma penso che questo sia uno dei sui libri che mi è piaciuto meno.
Non ho niente da dire, onestamente, l'unica cosa che mi è piaciuto è stato il tema. Il fatto che ognuno di noi presenta un lato oscuro (ombra), la parte della nostra personalità che tendiamo a ripudiare perchè lo consideriamo poco desiderabile e addirittura ripugnante. Cerchiamo di nascondere questa parte di noi e più lo facciamo più si fa denso ed oscuro, cui andrà ad influenzare negativamente lo sviluppo della nostra personalità. In più siccome lo teniamo sempre nascosto, lo andiamo inconsciamente a proiettare verso gli altri e ad incolpare tutto ciò che ci circonda dei nostri problemi portandoci alla miseria ad una battaglia autodistruttiva del nostro essere.
Sarò sincera è stato veramente difficile leggere questo libro, l'unica volta che mi è capitato è stato quando ho letto ''Il Grande Gatsby'', ho dovuto forzarmi molto e la maggior parte delle volte non sapevo nemmeno cosa stava succedendo. Mi dispiace tanto che non sono stata in grado di godermi questo libro come gli altri, ma ovviamente non tutto deve piacere.
Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin is a government clerk, a faceless bureaucrat, who is struggling both in work and in his social life. After a particularly emotional encounter at a party, while walking home through a cold night's fog, he finds himself face to face with his double, a man identical in look, background, and even name. At first, they becomes friends. Golyadkin even shares his home with him, but before soon his doppelgänger begins to take over his life. Golyadkin is awkward with people, but this double is charismatic and popular. Golyadkin isn't getting anywhere in his career, but the double is working with his superiors and advancing within the organization. He's everything Golyadkin has tried and failed to be.
This was my first Dostoyevsky novel, and I really had mixed feelings about it. I like the premise and how the story was structured, but I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. The dialogue, in particular, was a bit painful to get through. Golyadkin's incessant repeating of each character's name while speaking to them was a bit too much for me. I don't think it's a translation problem, Jessie Coulson seemed to do a fine job on the rest, but rather a style choice made to show how the character was struggling to hang on. It did successfully convey that feeling, but it wasn't fun to read. When characters weren't speaking, I found myself enjoying the story much more.
I was surprised by how darkly funny this was at times. There were scenes that were awkward to the point of slapstick, a weirdly tragic slapstick that I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially loved how Golyadkin would struggle with getting the nerve up to do something, standing outside a party for the better part of three hours for example, and as soon as he'd decide to abandon the plan he'd immediately turn around and go through with it. It felt like the physical version of an internal monologue that many introverted people will know all too well.
At the end of the novel, Golyadkin is driven away to an asylum. This business with his doppelgänger was all in his head, and it ends with him being locked away. I was still thinking there really was a double at that point, mainly because we see the hallucination conversing with people in the office and at parties, and it's written very much as if they're two different people.
Looking back now, I do really like the idea of his double being a delusion. I've often heard people with social anxiety describe social situations as feeling like they're an actor playing a part, so the idea of that stress manifesting itself like this makes a kind of sense. Golyadkin feels so out of character that it's like watching a completely different version of himself.
There is a scene in which Golyadkin asks his co-worker if the new hire reminds him of anyone, and it takes a while but does eventually dawn on him that Golyadkin and his double look remarkable similar, and I don't really understand how that works with the idea of Golyadkin going insane. I suppose you could write that whole conversation off as a hallucination, but that seems a bit easy. There are a couple of moments in the story, looking back, that don't seem to really fit with the ending.
So, I'm still not sure about Dostoyevsky, but I will give him another go at some point. I have Notes from Underground as well, so that may be the next one. The Double was one of his first published novels, so maybe I'll enjoy his later work more. Even though I was lukewarm on this one, I am interested in giving it a re-read at a later date. I think it would be really interesting to see each scene again, knowing how it ends.
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This was my first Dostoyevsky novel, and I really had mixed feelings about it. I like the premise and how the story was structured, but I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style. The dialogue, in particular, was a bit painful to get through. Golyadkin's incessant repeating of each character's name while speaking to them was a bit too much for me. I don't think it's a translation problem, Jessie Coulson seemed to do a fine job on the rest, but rather a style choice made to show how the character was struggling to hang on. It did successfully convey that feeling, but it wasn't fun to read. When characters weren't speaking, I found myself enjoying the story much more.
I was surprised by how darkly funny this was at times. There were scenes that were awkward to the point of slapstick, a weirdly tragic slapstick that I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially loved how Golyadkin would struggle with getting the nerve up to do something, standing outside a party for the better part of three hours for example, and as soon as he'd decide to abandon the plan he'd immediately turn around and go through with it. It felt like the physical version of an internal monologue that many introverted people will know all too well.
Spoiler
At the end of the novel, Golyadkin is driven away to an asylum. This business with his doppelgänger was all in his head, and it ends with him being locked away. I was still thinking there really was a double at that point, mainly because we see the hallucination conversing with people in the office and at parties, and it's written very much as if they're two different people.
Looking back now, I do really like the idea of his double being a delusion. I've often heard people with social anxiety describe social situations as feeling like they're an actor playing a part, so the idea of that stress manifesting itself like this makes a kind of sense. Golyadkin feels so out of character that it's like watching a completely different version of himself.
There is a scene in which Golyadkin asks his co-worker if the new hire reminds him of anyone, and it takes a while but does eventually dawn on him that Golyadkin and his double look remarkable similar, and I don't really understand how that works with the idea of Golyadkin going insane. I suppose you could write that whole conversation off as a hallucination, but that seems a bit easy. There are a couple of moments in the story, looking back, that don't seem to really fit with the ending.
So, I'm still not sure about Dostoyevsky, but I will give him another go at some point. I have Notes from Underground as well, so that may be the next one. The Double was one of his first published novels, so maybe I'll enjoy his later work more. Even though I was lukewarm on this one, I am interested in giving it a re-read at a later date. I think it would be really interesting to see each scene again, knowing how it ends.
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nothing like some spooky dostoevsky to start off the reading year
Ok, this was so much fun to read/listen to! Golyadkin is a very well-illustrated character that I was equally annoyed by and filled with pity for. A wonderful, quick classic that is funny AND creepy.
reflective
tense
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
Goljadkin, non conquista per il suo valore, ma per la sua ingenuità e il suo candore, quasi condannato dal suo stesso nome. Il “nostro eroe”, il cencio con il suo modesto orgoglio, come lui stesso si definisce è l’uomo della sua era, vittima inevitabile dei raggiri della società e dei suoi manipolatori.
Goljadkin è un uomo come tutti e la sua lotta contro i suoi “nemici” invisibili, è destinata a fallire. Ma rimane comunque un eroe, ai miei occhi.
(D. never disappoints, seppur sia convinto che la forma del suo romanzo sia risultata un fallimento, come scrive nel suo Diario di uno scrittore.)
Goljadkin è un uomo come tutti e la sua lotta contro i suoi “nemici” invisibili, è destinata a fallire. Ma rimane comunque un eroe, ai miei occhi.
(D. never disappoints, seppur sia convinto che la forma del suo romanzo sia risultata un fallimento, come scrive nel suo Diario di uno scrittore.)
reflective
tense
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:
Yes
Questo libro è la rappresentazione di cosa accade quando si chiede ad un introverso di cambiare, di essere più socievole e di "saper lucidare i pavimenti con gli stivali".
Goljadkin è, per sua stessa ammissione, un piccolo uomo che indossa la maschera solo alle mascherate e la trama del racconto parte dalla richiesta, del suo medico, di essere più aperto, di "fare violenza al vostro temperamento". Da qui si dipana una matassa che porta il povero Goljadkin ad essere completamente sostituito dal suo sosia, un uomo perfettamente uguale a lui, ma così come il mondo lo pretende: affabile, socievole e profondamente falso.
Morale della favola? Lasciate i poveri introversi in pace, noi stiamo bene a casa con la nostra copertina e la nostra tisanina.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced