readingoverbreathing 's review for:

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

4.0

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"They were not quite certain, but had at times a strong suspicion that things did not happen to them as they did to other people."

I honestly can't believe this was my fourth venture with Dostoyevsky - it doesn't seem that long ago that he appeared to me as a fantastical, intimidating figure of Russian literature. And now, in less than a year, I've devoured four of his great works.

The Idiot certainly felt different from [b:The Brothers Karamazov|4934|The Brothers Karamazov|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1427728126l/4934._SX50_.jpg|3393910], [b:Demons|5695|Demons|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1524586008l/5695._SY75_.jpg|1487216], and [b:Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382846449l/7144._SY75_.jpg|3393917]. Its plot is not quite as complex, and it does not so quickly descend into darkness. Its lighter nature (that term being used quite loosely, wholly in the context of the author's broader body of works) for me derived out of the sweet wholesome man that is Prince Mushkin. It's been a while since I have been so impressed with a character; the prince's genuine heart, his role as "the idiot" of the title, does not inhibit Dostoyevsky from imbuing his character with all sorts of personal complexities and interior turmoil. Yes, I, as did most of the novel's other characters, loved him for his pure soul, but he was also far more complicated than that, and, as the book's protagonist, made this read a particularly engrossing and complex one.

I also really loved the dynamic of the Epanchin family and how much insight the reader was able to gain not only into their family relations but into each member individually. This is certainly a work that, without much of a plot, hinges almost entirely upon the characters, and Dostoyevksy certainly delivered in the fascinating studies he provided.

I will say that though I've been lamenting the lack of a central plot in this novel, the unexpectedness of those last few chapters really blew me away and wrapped all this up in a way that was, yes, dark and horrific, but at the same delectably satisfying in that I would have been disappointed if some of Dostoyevsky's characteristic violence hadn't been included.

While I really did enjoy The Brothers Karamazov and, though to a lesser extent, Demons, I really struggled with Crime and Punishment, mostly due to my indifference to Rodya. However, Mushkin, as Rodya's polar opposite, provided the perfect mode for me to settle back into Dostoyevsky's work, and I very much look forward to picking up [b:Notes from Underground|49455|Notes from Underground|Fyodor Dostoyevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327909683l/49455._SY75_.jpg|50717723] later this year.