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A review by yara_aly
What Is to Be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky
5.0
I started reading this novel to figure out why Dostoyevsky distastes it. (It is said that Dostoyevsky was enraged by Chernyshevsky's "utilitarianism" and his depiction of his Russian Utopia.)
First of all, I had to look up words like "materialism" and "utilitarianism" dozens of times to just get the gist of. Big words like these confuse me so much. As assisting as the notes of the annotator were, they were as confusing. There are so many explanations that - as an un-perspicacious and unlearned reader - I could have done without. Furthermore, the names of many authors, philosophers, great thinkers, etcetera in the explanatory notes overwhelmed me.
That aside, I have most enjoyed reading this novel. Chernyshevsky is a most agreeable, well-informed, admirable man. I was immensely interested in reading what he thought about all sorts of subjects. The intertwined tales became a bit baffling towards the end, and quite surprising, too, when it came to Chapter Five; however, all in all, they were incredibly interesting. I enjoyed reading What Is to Be Done? as much as I enjoyed reading Notes from the Underground. (I still don't get why Dostoyevsky didn't like Chernyshevsky's peculiarity, for Dostoyevsky's own peculiarity is far beyond Chernyshevsky's.)
Oh, and I love Chernyshevsky's direct addressing to the reader and the way he started his novel with the fool's story and preface. The flashbacks and flash forwards were also incredibly interesting.
My thoughts are unorganised; but I do recommend this novel to anyone who has a taste for Russian literature.
First of all, I had to look up words like "materialism" and "utilitarianism" dozens of times to just get the gist of. Big words like these confuse me so much. As assisting as the notes of the annotator were, they were as confusing. There are so many explanations that - as an un-perspicacious and unlearned reader - I could have done without. Furthermore, the names of many authors, philosophers, great thinkers, etcetera in the explanatory notes overwhelmed me.
That aside, I have most enjoyed reading this novel. Chernyshevsky is a most agreeable, well-informed, admirable man. I was immensely interested in reading what he thought about all sorts of subjects. The intertwined tales became a bit baffling towards the end, and quite surprising, too, when it came to Chapter Five; however, all in all, they were incredibly interesting. I enjoyed reading What Is to Be Done? as much as I enjoyed reading Notes from the Underground. (I still don't get why Dostoyevsky didn't like Chernyshevsky's peculiarity, for Dostoyevsky's own peculiarity is far beyond Chernyshevsky's.)
Oh, and I love Chernyshevsky's direct addressing to the reader and the way he started his novel with the fool's story and preface. The flashbacks and flash forwards were also incredibly interesting.
My thoughts are unorganised; but I do recommend this novel to anyone who has a taste for Russian literature.