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lumya 's review for:
White Nights
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
emotional
reflective
sad
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
I wanted to like White Nights.
I wanted to love it, even—but I don’t believe I ever expected to, which makes it rather unsurprising that the book didn’t resonate with me deeply.
It’s a good story with great writing, but it didn’t feel, to me, like a great _love_ story. And I believe that’s entirely due to my own beliefs about love, and my distaste for the kind of attachment this book portrays: love at first sight, love that demands rather than offers, love that is owed to someone.
Perhaps my dislike for the way love is framed here comes less from the story itself, and more from how it’s often sold: a heartbreaking love story. That framing led me to expect something different. The "Nice Guy" narrative, as I see it, is far less compelling than the deeper, more poignant theme in this novel: being so wrapped up in your own dreams that you forget to live. That is where White Nights truly shines.
I think a re-read could help me appreciate it more, now that I know what to look for in the narrative, and what to ignore.
I wanted to love it, even—but I don’t believe I ever expected to, which makes it rather unsurprising that the book didn’t resonate with me deeply.
It’s a good story with great writing, but it didn’t feel, to me, like a great _love_ story. And I believe that’s entirely due to my own beliefs about love, and my distaste for the kind of attachment this book portrays: love at first sight, love that demands rather than offers, love that is owed to someone.
Perhaps my dislike for the way love is framed here comes less from the story itself, and more from how it’s often sold: a heartbreaking love story. That framing led me to expect something different. The "Nice Guy" narrative, as I see it, is far less compelling than the deeper, more poignant theme in this novel: being so wrapped up in your own dreams that you forget to live. That is where White Nights truly shines.
I think a re-read could help me appreciate it more, now that I know what to look for in the narrative, and what to ignore.