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A review by dori_anne
Что делать? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky
4.0
I don't even know were to start. First of all, this is a must read if you're interested in the late XIXth century in Russia and in the development of the socialist / nihilist / revolutionary movement. Really interesting to read in parallel with [b:Demons|5695|Demons|Fyodor Dostoevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524586008l/5695._SY75_.jpg|1487216] , [b:Notes from Underground|49455|Notes from Underground|Fyodor Dostoevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1657562670l/49455._SY75_.jpg|50717723] by Dostoïevski, as well as [b:Fathers and Sons|19117|Fathers and Sons|Ivan Turgenev|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390793535l/19117._SY75_.jpg|1294426] written by Turgenev and even [b:Nihilist Girl|729154|Nihilist Girl|Sofia Kovalevskaya|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387747849l/729154._SY75_.jpg|715354] by Sofia Kovalevskaïa; to see how they answer, discuss, and refute each other through literature.
Let's just talk about the minus : This book feels old (partly)... in the sense that the author's high hopes in term of progress, of the end of human depravation and vices, and the "science combined to reason that will save us all" idea have been proven mere illusions by history, whereas in comparison Dostoïevski seems to us like a visionnaire of some sort. I guess that why everyone remembers Dosto. and forgot Tchernychevski... :( that's a shame
[...] because this work still deserves to be studied, or at least read. The way it looks at women's condition and the analysis of women in society is still relevant today. I would say the same about the toughts expressed on relations between people, be it between women and men in general, wives and husbands, parents and children, etc
Apart from that it is a gem of a literary work. It crosses every boundaries between genres and literary movements. Not only it is a XIXth century fiction, but it sometimes takes the form of an espistolary novel, sometimes of a political essai, a social analysis, when suddenly it turns to utopia, and comes back to the novel to become almost a play toward the end. And all this is masterfully executed, and never seems chaotic to the reader (at least to me).
+ Without a doubt Tchernychevski belongs to the "Natural School" movement, but still this novel sometimes crosses the brigde to the then highly scorned romanticism - I mainly think about the beginning of Vera's fourth dream here.
What else ? The narration ! How unique. This author-narrator that despises us and mistreats us without shame made me laugh so hard. A very ingenious narration in which the author pretends to take some space, but is actually playing a part to appease the "preservatives" readers, while simultaneously openly roasting them. Hard to describe in detail...and I'm kind of lazy I guess, just give it a try !
Let's just talk about the minus : This book feels old (partly)... in the sense that the author's high hopes in term of progress, of the end of human depravation and vices, and the "science combined to reason that will save us all" idea have been proven mere illusions by history, whereas in comparison Dostoïevski seems to us like a visionnaire of some sort. I guess that why everyone remembers Dosto. and forgot Tchernychevski... :( that's a shame
[...] because this work still deserves to be studied, or at least read. The way it looks at women's condition and the analysis of women in society is still relevant today. I would say the same about the toughts expressed on relations between people, be it between women and men in general, wives and husbands, parents and children, etc
Apart from that it is a gem of a literary work. It crosses every boundaries between genres and literary movements. Not only it is a XIXth century fiction, but it sometimes takes the form of an espistolary novel, sometimes of a political essai, a social analysis, when suddenly it turns to utopia, and comes back to the novel to become almost a play toward the end. And all this is masterfully executed, and never seems chaotic to the reader (at least to me).
+ Without a doubt Tchernychevski belongs to the "Natural School" movement, but still this novel sometimes crosses the brigde to the then highly scorned romanticism - I mainly think about the beginning of Vera's fourth dream here.
What else ? The narration ! How unique. This author-narrator that despises us and mistreats us without shame made me laugh so hard. A very ingenious narration in which the author pretends to take some space, but is actually playing a part to appease the "preservatives" readers, while simultaneously openly roasting them. Hard to describe in detail...and I'm kind of lazy I guess, just give it a try !