Girl you know how much I love my boy Dostoyevsky! And you’re so right! He shows; he’s not a teller and I love him for it 🤩 He pieces his character together and really it’s like how we interact with people in real life. We can never know what another person is thinking, but over time, as we continue to interact with them and get to know them, over time their quirks and unique ways of expression make more and more sense. I’ll be reading The Idiot next year and I’m super excited for it! Great video Christy!!!!
I remember once while reading Dostoevsky I said "I can't tell you anything I've just read from the last 5 pages", went on to reading the next one and boom, everything clicked
Dostoyevsky wrote some of the most complex characters I have ever read and I have always loved those long discussions and the way the characters seem to work out their own thoughts on the page.
This absolutely resonates with my experience. The stages are so right, its funny. And then days after finishing the book, you are still deep in thought because boom its all making sense.
I love this video so much! Dostoyevsky definitely has a pattern he follows. I think a lot of people get frustrated somewhere in the middle during the philosophical rambling/speeches, but he really does pull it all together in the end. I can’t wait to hear what your final thoughts are on The Idiot!
Great summary! My first try at "reading" Crime and Punishment was a fail because of all the different names of the characters. So, I tried listening to it on Audible and that completely solved my problem. I loved it!
😍 LOVE to hear that! Audiobooks can make such a difference. They solve my focus issues 75% of the time, and I can read much more in quantity and quality with their help. SO glad you enjoyed Crime and Punishment!!
Great video Christy. It makes me want to - finally - get around to reading some of the Dostoevsky I've got on my shelves. "Hang in there, enlightenment is coming" is a motto to live by.
Just bought Crime and Punishment and also Notes from Underground to familiarize with his style. Thanks for this video, now I know what to expect! Greetings from Argentina!!
The Idiot is also tricky because of its more stream of conscious rather unstructured approach to the narrative. His showing not telling is also a great insight! So happy to see another appreciative reader of Dostoevsky!
So true 😂 Dostoevsky's storytelling seems to mirror the psychologies of his characters. It's so beyond its time!! Thank you so much for coming by and commenting!! I am glad to meet another Dostoevsky fan!
I have just arrived at your channel via Peg on the History Channel. I must have started Crime and Punishment half a dozen times and ground to a halt around page 100. I will have another attempt, as your observations I believe will help me. I am a Tolstoy fanatic which I find so much easier to grasp, but I realise that it is all very subjective. One of the best explanations of The Idiot is on the Bookish Topics channel, where the background to the novel is explained by a very knowledgeable young lady. Thank you for this, even though I am a year late! Stay safe and enjoy your reading.
I love Fyodor Dostoevsky. The first time I read his work was in junior high. My teacher, a brilliant Russian lady, first explained how names of individuals in Russia especially in 1800s were multi layered eg. by class level and familial one person can have multiple names which adds to the emotional story line. Then the Absolute turmoil of The Times. Understanding these points in riches every story.. Like any? Great book as you get older and you re-read these books and you add your life experience to these books you draw so much more out of these writings, as with most classics. My goal is to learn Russian better so I can read in the original Language. All that said. I enjoy your videos. Well done BTW, Dostoevsky has 15 book and more trivia Brothers Karamazov was supposed to have a two part Unfortunately he died before he could complete the second novel.
I understand why you would want to learn Russian to read Dostoyevsky. In general I think you will like Russian itself even if not for Dostoevsky. it’s a very deep language. For example when I was reading Karamazov Brothers I ran into this sentence: «Приезжаю лет семь назад в один городишко, были там делишки, а я кой с какими купчишками завязал было компаньишку». If you noticed a lot of words here have a suffix “-ишк», which shows a certain tone of this story and makes it a some sort of a joke itself (people don’t talk like that especially when they are serious). It helps you understand the character (Fyodor Pavlovitch is shown through such talking as a complete buffoon in this case). For example «городишко» is “город»+ «ишко» , where “город» іs “a town”, but “городишко” is a way of saying “a town” but in a kind of a mockery way as if it’s not even worth your time to remember its name plus it shows that he doesn’t think good about this little town. The same with other words there. Then I went to English translation and realized that this “buffoonish tone” was lost there. The sense still got through but this certain tone Dostoevsky had in that sentence was gone. “I was seven years ago in a little town where I had business, and I made friends with some merchants there. Maybe learning Russian and reading Dostoevsky in Russian will help you have a better understanding of some things. If you need help with Russian let me know I’d love to help 😉 Не сдавайся и все будет хорошо 👌
Thank you so much for this excellent break down for reading Dostoevsky! I have only read "Crime and Punishment" at this point, but I found your analysis largely true for the character of Raskolnikov. I have recently purchased "The Brothers Karamazov" and will keep the 4 stages in mind as I read it.
I totally understand and agree with you 100 percent with what you are saying about this amazing video love it ❤❤love you and your amazing channel prayers and thoughts to you and your family love your Aussie family friend John ❤❤❤
I’m going to try another Dostoevsky but with a more recent translation. Reading War & Peace in a couple translations has shown me how important that is.
Yes, Pevear and Volokhonsky or another modern translator might do the trick for you! They do smooth over some of the more difficult language 😂 Thank you so much, Sara!!
I agree completely with the translation making a huge difference. I struggled reading Crime and Punishment in the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation but found the Garnett translation flowed better for me.
I haven’t read Dostoevsky yet, and was very tempted to join in on The Idiot but couldn’t fit it in. Thank you for putting this together! I will definitely be coming back to rewatch this when I’m ready to start his books.
That's a good idea, tackling it when you have some time to devote to it! Thank you so much for watching and commenting and I wish you all the best when for your first experience with Dostoevsky!! 🥰
Thank you for this. I attempted to get into Dostoevsky with Crime and Punishment. First by audiobook then regular text. And now with this help I'm going to listen while I read. Maybe try and annotate.
I disagree with the second point, he usually starts by describing the unusual / odd things the characters have as features and then when he starts on actions you say in your head: yea ! that makes sense, that was a brilliant introduction.
My uncle has recently bought me A Dostoevsky Book (Crime & Punishment) i a want to make sure i Understand The story From what I've read from people's experience its great and im currently here to prepare after a finish dracula
in my copy of Demons, there was a translator's note explaining that a chapter had been censored from the original, but they added it in at the end since they thought it was important for the story. Turned out that censored chapter was the biggest "enlightenment" moment of the whole book! so watch out for that when you get to it. ~ i haven't read The Idiot yet but I adore the film version by Akira Kurosawa, so maybe that could help for ppl having a hard time with it (tho i can't say exactly how faithful it is to the book ofc).
Oh wow, that's crazy about the censorship of Demons 😭 I will definitely watch out for that, as I will be reading it at the end of the year! Great tip about watching the movie for the idea, too!!
The chapter is called "At Tikhons" and when you read it you'll see why it was censored but it is a truly enthralling chapter which outlines the depth of Stavrogins decadence.
Thank you for the amazing video, Im just getting started with Russian literature and I have a gorgeous folio society edition of the brothers Karamazov that was a gift from my best friend. Mine is the Magarshack translation. K thanks bye!
Hi Christy, so nice to come across this video with your tips as I'm currently reading The Idiot, into part 2 where Myshkin is recuperating at Lebedyev's villa. At times, I did struggle with his writing and question if am I not clever enough to fathom what he's conveying to his readers? But this video of yours is totally so timely that the enlightenment does come later on! I'm so with you! So grateful to you and I'm so encouraged to carry on reading and look forward to hearing your thoughts when you've finished this book. I'm definitely feeling more motivated now! Happy reading!!😀
Ooh Jo, it makes me so happy to hear that you are reading The Idiot and that this video was encouraging to you! Thank you for leaving a comment! I hope your journey through The Idiot is going/went well. Dostoevsky can be a challenge to understand, but he's so worth it in my experience!
Thanks alot... i started Karamazov brothers and dropped in 50th page.. but i really wanted to read all of his works... i have k.brothers,demons and idiot..
“I think she was letting her dog poop in my yard” 🤣🤣🤣 best video intro ever As you already know, I struggled through Brothers Karamazov a bit but loved Crime and Punishment! If I get around to rereading Bros K, I will watch this video as a helpful perspective reminder :)
Bahaha! I think she was scoping out my front office window to see if I was watching and was about to come tell her off 🤣 I hope you do reread TBK at some point! Maybe when life is less crazy 😂 But I struggled with it, too. It's a different sort of book entirely tbh!
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace If my eyes can take the light of Dante’s Paradiso…!! But I already know I’m going to love it. Inching closer and closer to act on my impulse to drop everything and run away in the woods with 2,000 books. Much closer.
The internal truth is the most important than anything else, that's my summary of Dostoyevsky. It is a good material to understand the Russian culture and philosophy. It is dark also books and at glance it is just a chriminal chronicle but it is full of deep senses and exposes entire culture.
I cut my teeth in classics back in my academic days on War and Peace and my All Time favorite classic which is Moby Dick…I have just started getting back more heavily into the classics again and wasn’t sure where to jump back in when I got a recommendation of The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and loved it then went on to read The Idiot and Demons by Dostoevsky…Crime and punishment is on my list for this year also Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina…Hopefully want to get to The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov at some point this year too…I also read The Count of Monte Cristo and Lolita last year…Dostoevsky has become one of my favorites…
That is wonderful to hear!!! Dostoevsky got me back into classics, as well! After reading a lot of literature for school and not loving, I discovered Dostoevsky a few years later. He convinced me to read more widely. SO glad to hear you enjoying the Russian greats! They are truly special
I was surprised to find so many videos titled “how to read Dostoevsky”… What can I say, the only right way to read Dostoevsky starts with step 1: be Russian … There’s no way to understand him without reading his works in original! It’s mind blowing!
Yeah, Russian is a very deep language. For example when I was reading Karamazov Brothers I ran into this sentence: «Приезжаю лет семь назад в один городишко, были там делишки, а я кой с какими купчишками завязал было компаньишку». If you noticed a lot of words here have a suffix “-ишк», which shows a certain tone of this sentence and makes it a some sort of a joke itself (people don’t talk like that especially when they are serious). It helps you understand the character (Fyodor Pavlovitch is shown through such talking as a complete buffoon in this case). For example «городишко» is “город»+ «ишко» , where “город» іs “a town”, but “городишко” is a way of saying “a town” but in a kind of a mockery way as if it’s not even worth of your time to remember its name plus it shows that he doesn’t think good about this little town. The same with other words there. Then I went to English translation and realized that this “buffoonish tone” was lost there. The sense still got through but this certain tone Dostoevsky had in that sentence was gone. “I was seven years ago in a little town where I had business, and I made friends with some merchants there. Maybe learning Russian and reading Dostoevsky in Russian will help you have a better understanding of some things. At least it will definitely add some colors to it for sure. If you need help with Russian let me know I’d love to help 😉 Не сдавайся и все будет хорошо 👌
Fyodor Dostoevsky is my 5th favorite author and his best book is "The Idiot." What I hate is "The Brothers Karamazov" and need someone to give me real spoilers as to why I should want to read the book and don't worry about giving me spoilers to make me want to read it. You can't spoil a good book. Here is where they fall on my list of favorite books for the ones I finished: 3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 17) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 107) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 134) "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 141) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace, here is one you might like to check out: “Dostoevsky in Love: An Intimate Life” by Alex Christofi I know which one I am looking for now: "The Insulted and Humiliated” by Fyodor Dostoevsky There are four authors better than him, but I think with reading that book by him, that I'm looking for (see above) he might pass one of them. My favorite books... 0) "The Holy Bible: King James Version" copyright 1967 1) "Verbal Behavior" by Dr. B. F. Skinner 2) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy 3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4) "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev 5) Myth Adventures - series by Robert Asprin 6) The Chronicles of Narnia - series by C. S. Lewis 7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë 8) "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy 9) "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 10) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev 11) "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener 12) "Poland" by James A. Michener 13) "Roots" by Alex Haley 14) The Silmarillion - The Hobbit, or there and back again - The Lord of the Rings - Middle Earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien 15) Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov 16) "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin 17) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 18) "Paris 1919: six months that changed the world" by Margaret MacMillian 19) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë 20) "Virgin Soil" by Ivan Turgenev 21) "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace, before I made my top favorite books list at the end of 2021 I would have said Fyodor Dostoevsky was my favorite author, but at one point this year he was #5 and Ivan Turgenev was at the top. A lot has changed in the last two months. FAVORITE AUTHORS 1st) Fyodor Dostoevsky 1) “The Insulted and Humiliated” by Fyodor Dostoevsky 4) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 19) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 30) "Demons" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 65) "My Uncle's Dream" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 80) "The Heavenly Christmas Tree" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 113) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 130) "The Gentle Spirit" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 141) "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 149) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky 173) "Netochka Nezvanova" (nameless nobody) by Fyodor Dostoevsky 2nd) Leo Tolstoy 3) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy 9) "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy 16) “Childhood, Boyhood” by Leo Tolstoy 62) "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy 91) "A Confession" by Leo Tolstoy 3rd) Ivan Turgenev 5) "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev 11) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev 23) "Virgin Soil" by Ivan Turgenev 41) "Torrents of Spring" by Ivan Turgenev 64) "First Love" by Ivan Turgenev 101) "Acia" by Ivan Turgenev 107) "The Watch" by Ivan Turgenev 132) "Rudin" by Ivan Turgenev 141) "On the Eve" by Ivan Turgenev 152) "Home of the Gentry" by Ivan Turgenev 172) "Clara Militch" by Ivan Turgenev 177) "The Inn" by Ivan Turgenev 4th) James A. Michener 12) "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener 13) "Poland" by James A. Michener 36) "Caribbean" by James A. Michener 37) "Hawaii" by James A. Michener 197) “Mexico” by James A. Michener 5th) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 10) "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 28) "Cancer Ward" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 44) "In the First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 78) "The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an Experiment in Literary Investigation" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Christy: Have you read various translations of Brothers K? I am reading the Avsey trans. I am struggling a bit, but was very reassured by your comments about confusion and frustration like the ruble payments that are discussed for example along with the rambling speeches, but I have been finding some synopses that help a bit.
Hey, i have just entered into this reading world. And the book im starting with is Crime & punishment. 😅 As its the 1st novel i am starting with. How should i immerse myself into(1) being Raskolnikov (2) or as a watcher,watching him from nearby. ?¿ Currently im in a first part where his sister has agreed for marriage! Thankyou, appreciate your patience with my novice question.
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace I bought four Dostoyevsky now, I am planning to buy all his writings including articles or anything related to his writings. Recommend me something if you know.. ❤️ thank you🥰
@masterasher1048 What have you already read? 👀 I'm loving reading a biography of Dostoevsky by Joseph Frank alongside Dostoevsky's stories, because the bio has whole chapters on each story 😍
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace I read the crime and punishment and the Idiot. Brother’s Kamarazov and Notes from Underground is next on line. I will check on his biography and his short stories also. Thank you❤️
About to start c&p. I think it's gonna help me a lot. I'm reading the constance garnet version. Do you think as a non-english speaker it's gonna be an easy translation read?
I hope c&p blows your mind! 🥹 I say try Garnett and see if she works for you, since translation preferences are very personal. I know one friend who prefers Garnett over all other translations. However, if you run into difficulties, you might find a more modern translator easier to read, such as Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
I think that most people start with the wrong Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment isn't nearly as good as Brothers Karamazov, but it seems to be the go to. Heck, Demons is better in a lot of ways. Of course, I also originally read them all in Russian, so it is a bit different
Reading them in Russian is a whole different experience I'm sure! I'm so jealous 😩 Crime and Punishment was my gateway classic, so I will always heartily recommend it; but The Brothers Karamazov is known as his masterpiece for a reason! Thank you so much for watching and leaving a commen, Bradyy!!
I think that the context of how you read them can make a difference too. I had a Russian Lit class that assigned Crime and Punishment and then spent every discussion talking about things like "the significance of the tilt of Raskolnikov's hat." No one can take the joy out of literature quite like a literature professor
i just want to i am new to books and reading and i picked up the brothers of karamzov i undertand the story but sometimes the details and references are hard to get due to the different cultural context still can i read it ? and experience the beauty of his writings
You absolutely can still enjoy it! It's quite a challenge, so it might be good to start with a new-ish translation that includes notes. If you find it too intimidating, you could start with one of Dosotevsky's shorter works.
That may be true 😂 I think his style may be very difficult for some readers and really make sense for others. You just kind of have to jump in and try it!
Oooh that's a great question. It totally depends on what you like! If you want a faster-paced mystery, I recommend Crime and Punishment. It's still full of philosophy, but the philosophy is second to the story. (It changed my life!) If you want to just dip your toes in, I recommend his short stories. If you want to start with his magnum opus, I would recommend The Brothers Karamazov.
Oh man, so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner! Crime and Punishment is a great place to start if you want to start with his most accessible novel (it was my first and is tied with The Idiot for my favorite). The Brothers Karamazov is a great place to start if you want to get to his most brainy novel right off the bat. His short stories will give you a taste of his humor, and you can read them much more quickly. It's totally up to you, that's what I'd recommend!
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace no worries. I did read crime and punishment first and loved it. I am doing brother karamazov next I guess. I did some short stories of his over Christmas too.
I've been wanting to read a book from Dostoevsky but, I'm not sure where to start? Which book would recommend first for the first-time Dostoevsky reader?
That is wonderful to hear!! Crime and Punishment is the most accessible novel among his "greats"; but "Notes From a Dead House" (alternately titled "The House of the Dead") is a semi-autobiographical novel about his time in a siberian labor camp and it is even more accessible. Either place is a great place to start! I hope you really enjoy him!! 😄
What's this ? technics to read ? do we really need that ? or read is read and if didn't get it go back as many times necessary and then some light will begin to appear ? A young girl will teach ??!! US technics to read ? Dosto ?
Достоевски дава първо описанието, символиката която в последствие дава и характера на героя. В руския език винителния падеж има много разклонения на мисълта, като например думата *_нищо._*
I have read different translations for each book and they are all good! Pevear & Volokhonsky is a bit simplified and modernized; Constance Garnett is free online and most audiobooks will use her translations because they are in the public domain
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace thank you so much for answering! I’m currently going back and reading the P and V translations that I had not read when I originally read Dostoevsky . The other day I finished The Adolescent and today I started Notes From a Dead House. I really like those translators. Enjoy your reading.
I agree he is great at beginnings and I like his characters - but when he starts to develop his themes, he loses the spark with the characters, I guess that would be what you call his speech stage. His method is a long drawn out info dump. I disagree that he does it like your videos - I like your videos and don’t DNF them, lol. Like you said, he makes you work hard for it, for us who read strictly for enjoyment, this is why I wouldn’t recommend him.
That totally makes sense! If the Enlightenment portions aren't enjoyable enough to make up for the more difficult parts, then Dostoevsky probably won't vibe with you and that's totally okay ❤
I know this is a shocking admission for someone who's been a passionate Russophile for almost thirty years (since around my thirteenth birthday), who's adored Russian literature almost as long, and who counts three of her Top Five favoritest writers as Russian, but I DNFed The Brothers Karamazov a few years ago and have never read anything else by Dostoyevskiy. That book felt so slow and dull for me, and I was immediately annoyed by how it opened with like 50 pages of backstory infodump. Maybe someday I'll attempt him again.
Oooh yeah understandable! I definitely recommend trying him again, maybe with a different book to start. I found The Brothers Karamazov to be more difficult than Crime and Punishment or The Idiot. And don't be fooled by the short length of Notes From the Underground, the opening part of that one is really difficult 🥴😂
Thanks for the feedback. I just learned recently that you can slow down or speed up youtube videos in settings FYI! But now I'm mostly doing unedited videos, so I probably don't speak to quickly anymore.
Fun fact about Dostoevsky: his most famous books were written the same years when the Russian Empire officially prohibited publishing of books in Ukrainian. Now they are cherished all over the world while ukrainians suffer yet another mass killing by russians. I know you see no connection between this but hope that decolonization will go into fashion one day on the same level as Dostoevsky. It’s great though that you go so deep into reading Dostoevsky. Maybe next video you could also answer some other questions, like: - Does the popularity of writers whose books you try to read so hard although they cause frustration has something to do with the fact that they are a product of imperialist culture that has been promoting its culture all over the world at the price of its colonies' resources? - Would the application of decolonization optics help to understand Dostoevsky at some deeper level? - Does a 500-page justification of murder somehow impact the minds of 99mln of people so that they justify the murders of thousands in the neighboring country?
If I am allowed to express my personal opinion: Dostoevsky is one of the most overestimated writers of all time. Really D.? What can one say about Alyosha's theological discussions with a 13 year old boy? What can one think about the ending of Brothers Karamazov, where Alyosha together with some pre-adolescent children (!) are all together cheerfully happy as they celebrate... the coming of the Last Judgement Day!... Seriously? Is this suppose to be good literature? Even a believer reader should have enormous problems with such a literary, such an artistic solution, which is not. In Dostoevsky we find always the following concept: All "good" guys get to be rewarded and all "bad" guys either commit suicide or go to prison or get crazy. Ivan Karamazov, the one that could have saved Dmitri's - his brother's - life, gets crazy one day before the court! And why? Because he is the "atheist" of the novel! Is there anything more p r e d i c t a b l e in whole literature? Do we want our literature to be predictable in that silly way? How can a healthy human mind accept this forced and totally disgusting solution? And this novel is considered from many, many, many "serious" people that read (do they actually read?) serious literature as "the best novel ever written". H o l y cow! After having read Dostoevsky's works again and again I have come to this conclusion: He is the most horrible, boring and kitsch author out there. Not even his language has anything to offer! And although I don't agree with every single critical opinion Nabokov expressed for a number of authors, I totally agree with his opinion on Dostoevsky. There are so many writers out there that are... writers! D. is at least mediocre. And please, for all of you reading this comment and thinking that I am crazy: Read D. anew; don't let yourself repeating "what the world is saying". Shape your own opinion.
Girl you know how much I love my boy Dostoyevsky! And you’re so right! He shows; he’s not a teller and I love him for it 🤩 He pieces his character together and really it’s like how we interact with people in real life. We can never know what another person is thinking, but over time, as we continue to interact with them and get to know them, over time their quirks and unique ways of expression make more and more sense. I’ll be reading The Idiot next year and I’m super excited for it! Great video Christy!!!!
Your description is EXACTLY right!! You are going to love The Idiot 🥰 Thank you so much for coming by and commenting!!
I remember once while reading Dostoevsky I said "I can't tell you anything I've just read from the last 5 pages", went on to reading the next one and boom, everything clicked
Dostoyevsky wrote some of the most complex characters I have ever read and I have always loved those long discussions and the way the characters seem to work out their own thoughts on the page.
yes!! It's so rewarding to see how they think and where they end up 😍 He always has a "point" to those discussion.
This absolutely resonates with my experience. The stages are so right, its funny. And then days after finishing the book, you are still deep in thought because boom its all making sense.
Thank you so much for sharing that this has been your experience as well! 🥹
I love this video so much! Dostoyevsky definitely has a pattern he follows. I think a lot of people get frustrated somewhere in the middle during the philosophical rambling/speeches, but he really does pull it all together in the end. I can’t wait to hear what your final thoughts are on The Idiot!
ExACTly lol! It requires patience, but imo, the patience pays off. That is not the case with every author, imo 😅😂
This was so interesting and spot on. Dosoevsky is my favorite writer hands down. Stage 2 is for real!
Thank you so much! Wowwwww it's so great to meet another humongous fan 🤩
this deserves so much more recognition, fuelled the desire in me completely to pick back up the book!
😍 Yesss that is so exciting to hear!!! I hope you really enjoy it and find the "enlightenment" portions worth it!!! I always do 😂
Such a joy listening to you. Glad I found this channel.
I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel 🥹 Thank you for the feedback!
Great summary! My first try at "reading" Crime and Punishment was a fail because of all the different names of the characters. So, I tried listening to it on Audible and that completely solved my problem. I loved it!
😍 LOVE to hear that! Audiobooks can make such a difference. They solve my focus issues 75% of the time, and I can read much more in quantity and quality with their help. SO glad you enjoyed Crime and Punishment!!
Great video Christy. It makes me want to - finally - get around to reading some of the Dostoevsky I've got on my shelves. "Hang in there, enlightenment is coming" is a motto to live by.
Hahahaa so true about the motto to live by. I think you might love Dostoevsky!!!
girl , you really made me relaxed , cause I got depressed in stage 3. now i know the enlightenment in coming .
Yesss! Keep going! 💪
Just bought Crime and Punishment and also Notes from Underground to familiarize with his style. Thanks for this video, now I know what to expect! Greetings from Argentina!!
The Idiot is also tricky because of its more stream of conscious rather unstructured approach to the narrative. His showing not telling is also a great insight! So happy to see another appreciative reader of Dostoevsky!
So true 😂 Dostoevsky's storytelling seems to mirror the psychologies of his characters. It's so beyond its time!! Thank you so much for coming by and commenting!! I am glad to meet another Dostoevsky fan!
I have just arrived at your channel via Peg on the History Channel. I must have started Crime and Punishment half a dozen times and ground to a halt around page 100. I will have another attempt, as your observations I believe will help me. I am a Tolstoy fanatic which I find so much easier to grasp, but I realise that it is all very subjective. One of the best explanations of The Idiot is on the Bookish Topics channel, where the background to the novel is explained by a very knowledgeable young lady. Thank you for this, even though I am a year late! Stay safe and enjoy your reading.
Hi there and welcome to the channel! Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment! I hope you are able to enjoy a Dostoevsky next time 🥹
Just started Crime and Punishment today!and it seems promising
Btw Thanks for the video, loved the way you explained everything 😂❤
Yesss I hope you enjoy Crime and Punishment!! Thank you for leaving your feedback 🤗
I love Fyodor Dostoevsky. The first time I read his work was in junior high. My teacher, a brilliant Russian lady, first explained how names of individuals in Russia especially in 1800s were multi layered eg. by class level and familial one person can have multiple names which adds to the emotional story line.
Then the Absolute turmoil of The Times. Understanding these points in riches every story..
Like any? Great book as you get older and you re-read these books and you add your life experience to these books you draw so much more out of these writings, as with most classics.
My goal is to learn Russian better so I can read in the original Language.
All that said. I enjoy your videos. Well done
BTW, Dostoevsky has 15 book and more trivia Brothers Karamazov was supposed to have a two part Unfortunately he died before he could complete the second novel.
I studied English to be able to read my favourite English classics and was never sorry for that!😂❤
I understand why you would want to learn Russian to read Dostoyevsky. In general I think you will like Russian itself even if not for Dostoevsky. it’s a very deep language. For example when I was reading Karamazov Brothers I ran into this sentence:
«Приезжаю лет семь назад в один городишко, были там делишки, а я кой с какими купчишками завязал было компаньишку».
If you noticed a lot of words here have a suffix “-ишк», which shows a certain tone of this story and makes it a some sort of a joke itself (people don’t talk like that especially when they are serious). It helps you understand the character (Fyodor Pavlovitch is shown through such talking as a complete buffoon in this case). For example «городишко» is “город»+ «ишко» , where “город» іs “a town”, but “городишко” is a way of saying “a town” but in a kind of a mockery way as if it’s not even worth your time to remember its name plus it shows that he doesn’t think good about this little town. The same with other words there.
Then I went to English translation and realized that this “buffoonish tone” was lost there. The sense still got through but this certain tone Dostoevsky had in that sentence was gone.
“I was seven years ago in a little town where I had business, and I made friends with some merchants there.
Maybe learning Russian and reading Dostoevsky in Russian will help you have a better understanding of some things. If you need help with Russian let me know I’d love to help 😉
Не сдавайся и все будет хорошо 👌
Thank you so much for this excellent break down for reading Dostoevsky! I have only read "Crime and Punishment" at this point, but I found your analysis largely true for the character of Raskolnikov. I have recently purchased "The Brothers Karamazov" and will keep the 4 stages in mind as I read it.
Wonderful!! 😍 Thank you for letting me know! I hope you love TBK. It is a masterpiece and very entertaining.
I totally understand and agree with you 100 percent with what you are saying about this amazing video love it ❤❤love you and your amazing channel prayers and thoughts to you and your family love your Aussie family friend John ❤❤❤
I’m going to try another Dostoevsky but with a more recent translation. Reading War & Peace in a couple translations has shown me how important that is.
Yes, Pevear and Volokhonsky or another modern translator might do the trick for you! They do smooth over some of the more difficult language 😂 Thank you so much, Sara!!
I agree completely with the translation making a huge difference. I struggled reading Crime and Punishment in the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation but found the Garnett translation flowed better for me.
I haven’t read Dostoevsky yet, and was very tempted to join in on The Idiot but couldn’t fit it in. Thank you for putting this together! I will definitely be coming back to rewatch this when I’m ready to start his books.
That's a good idea, tackling it when you have some time to devote to it! Thank you so much for watching and commenting and I wish you all the best when for your first experience with Dostoevsky!! 🥰
I will remember these tips (and rewatch this) when I decide to read C&P. Nice video!
Yesss that makes me so happy to hear!! 🤩❤ Thank you Penny!! I hope Crime and Punishment is a winner for you. It is definitely my fave 😂
Thank you for this. I attempted to get into Dostoevsky with Crime and Punishment. First by audiobook then regular text. And now with this help I'm going to listen while I read. Maybe try and annotate.
I disagree with the second point, he usually starts by describing the unusual / odd things the characters have as features and then when he starts on actions you say in your head: yea ! that makes sense, that was a brilliant introduction.
My uncle has recently bought me A Dostoevsky Book (Crime & Punishment) i a want to make sure i Understand The story From what I've read from people's experience its great and im currently here to prepare after a finish dracula
in my copy of Demons, there was a translator's note explaining that a chapter had been censored from the original, but they added it in at the end since they thought it was important for the story. Turned out that censored chapter was the biggest "enlightenment" moment of the whole book! so watch out for that when you get to it. ~ i haven't read The Idiot yet but I adore the film version by Akira Kurosawa, so maybe that could help for ppl having a hard time with it (tho i can't say exactly how faithful it is to the book ofc).
Oh wow, that's crazy about the censorship of Demons 😭 I will definitely watch out for that, as I will be reading it at the end of the year! Great tip about watching the movie for the idea, too!!
Russian films ( both of them) are much better.
@@user-sf3fe4bh2q good to know! i'll try to get my hands on subtitled versions one of these days =)
The chapter is called "At Tikhons" and when you read it you'll see why it was censored but it is a truly enthralling chapter which outlines the depth of Stavrogins decadence.
Thank you for the amazing video, Im just getting started with Russian literature and I have a gorgeous folio society edition of the brothers Karamazov that was a gift from my best friend. Mine is the Magarshack translation. K thanks bye!
Oh wow, that is amazing! I hope you end up LOVING TBK!
This was amazing!! I’ve only read two by Dostoyevsky but I noticed there was a pattern to both! So interesting how you’ve got him figured 😂
Thank you, Jennifer!! Reading Dostoevsky always gives me brainwaves 😂
i love people like you omg love the video so much ❤
Hi Christy, so nice to come across this video with your tips as I'm currently reading The Idiot, into part 2 where Myshkin is recuperating at Lebedyev's villa.
At times, I did struggle with his writing and question if am I not clever enough to fathom what he's conveying to his readers?
But this video of yours is totally so timely that the enlightenment does come later on! I'm so with you!
So grateful to you and I'm so encouraged to carry on reading and look forward to hearing your thoughts when you've finished this book.
I'm definitely feeling more motivated now! Happy reading!!😀
Ooh Jo, it makes me so happy to hear that you are reading The Idiot and that this video was encouraging to you! Thank you for leaving a comment! I hope your journey through The Idiot is going/went well. Dostoevsky can be a challenge to understand, but he's so worth it in my experience!
Great video! I need to read Dostoevsky. I have several on my TBR. 😊💙
Woohooo! That is exciting to hear 🤩 Please do let me know if you pick one up and what you think!!! Thank you so much for watching and commenting 🤗
Thanks alot... i started Karamazov brothers and dropped in 50th page.. but i really wanted to read all of his works... i have k.brothers,demons and idiot..
You can do it 💪
“I think she was letting her dog poop in my yard” 🤣🤣🤣 best video intro ever
As you already know, I struggled through Brothers Karamazov a bit but loved Crime and Punishment! If I get around to rereading Bros K, I will watch this video as a helpful perspective reminder :)
Bahaha! I think she was scoping out my front office window to see if I was watching and was about to come tell her off 🤣
I hope you do reread TBK at some point! Maybe when life is less crazy 😂 But I struggled with it, too. It's a different sort of book entirely tbh!
Loved everything about this! I can’t wait to have the time to read The Idiot.
Tom. It's so stunning, you might not survive the enlightenment 😂
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace If my eyes can take the light of Dante’s Paradiso…!! But I already know I’m going to love it. Inching closer and closer to act on my impulse to drop everything and run away in the woods with 2,000 books. Much closer.
Bahahaha! Well, in CA, living in the woods with your books is probably legally permissable 🤣🤣
The internal truth is the most important than anything else, that's my summary of Dostoyevsky. It is a good material to understand the Russian culture and philosophy. It is dark also books and at glance it is just a chriminal chronicle but it is full of deep senses and exposes entire culture.
I cut my teeth in classics back in my academic days on War and Peace and my All Time favorite classic which is Moby Dick…I have just started getting back more heavily into the classics again and wasn’t sure where to jump back in when I got a recommendation of The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky and loved it then went on to read The Idiot and Demons by Dostoevsky…Crime and punishment is on my list for this year also Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina…Hopefully want to get to The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov at some point this year too…I also read The Count of Monte Cristo and Lolita last year…Dostoevsky has become one of my favorites…
That is wonderful to hear!!! Dostoevsky got me back into classics, as well! After reading a lot of literature for school and not loving, I discovered Dostoevsky a few years later. He convinced me to read more widely. SO glad to hear you enjoying the Russian greats! They are truly special
MASTER AND MARGARITA is a very interesting, easy to read and funny book!
Please, read "Humiliated and insulted" by him. A very good book!
Thank you for the recommendation! I definitely will 🤩
Thank you for these tips. I'm about to embark on Brothers K.
Ooh good luck and prepare to have your mind BLOWN 😍
Thank you for posting this. I've never been able to finish the idiot and there isn't much out there on the book.
Of course! I'm so glad it helped you! 🤗
Oh I remember you on the video discussion about 100 years of solitude. 😊
Oh!! Haha hello then and welcome back! I hope both videos were enjoyable for you 😂😂
Great tips, and I love the hair!
😍🥰 Thank youuuu!
I love Dostoevsky AND Lezlie 😂❤️🥰
They are definitely not mutually exclusive loves lol!
You’re so right!
just started the idiot today, dostoevsky's prose is so unique and fun :))
Isn't it?! 😍 I hope you enjoy the Yhe Idiot!
Thank you!
Thank YOU for watching and leaving your thoughts 🥹
I love him, jumped straight out of Crime and Punishment into The Idiot
😍 Yesssss! That is great news! I hope you love it!
I was surprised to find so many videos titled “how to read Dostoevsky”…
What can I say, the only right way to read Dostoevsky starts with step 1: be Russian …
There’s no way to understand him without reading his works in original! It’s mind blowing!
That is a good motivation to learn Russian! 😂
Yeah, Russian is a very deep language. For example when I was reading Karamazov Brothers I ran into this sentence:
«Приезжаю лет семь назад в один городишко, были там делишки, а я кой с какими купчишками завязал было компаньишку».
If you noticed a lot of words here have a suffix “-ишк», which shows a certain tone of this sentence and makes it a some sort of a joke itself (people don’t talk like that especially when they are serious). It helps you understand the character (Fyodor Pavlovitch is shown through such talking as a complete buffoon in this case). For example «городишко» is “город»+ «ишко» , where “город» іs “a town”, but “городишко” is a way of saying “a town” but in a kind of a mockery way as if it’s not even worth of your time to remember its name plus it shows that he doesn’t think good about this little town. The same with other words there.
Then I went to English translation and realized that this “buffoonish tone” was lost there. The sense still got through but this certain tone Dostoevsky had in that sentence was gone.
“I was seven years ago in a little town where I had business, and I made friends with some merchants there.
Maybe learning Russian and reading Dostoevsky in Russian will help you have a better understanding of some things. At least it will definitely add some colors to it for sure. If you need help with Russian let me know I’d love to help 😉
Не сдавайся и все будет хорошо 👌
Fyodor Dostoevsky is my 5th favorite author and his best book is "The Idiot."
What I hate is "The Brothers Karamazov" and need someone to give me real spoilers as to why I should want to read the book and don't worry about giving me spoilers to make me want to read it. You can't spoil a good book.
Here is where they fall on my list of favorite books for the ones I finished:
3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
17) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
107) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
134) "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
141) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Yesss love to meet a huge fan of The Idiot! It's the best!
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace, here is one you might like to check out:
“Dostoevsky in Love: An Intimate Life” by Alex Christofi
I know which one I am looking for now:
"The Insulted and Humiliated” by Fyodor Dostoevsky
There are four authors better than him, but I think with reading that book by him, that I'm looking for (see above) he might pass one of them.
My favorite books...
0) "The Holy Bible: King James Version" copyright 1967
1) "Verbal Behavior" by Dr. B. F. Skinner
2) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy
3) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4) "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev
5) Myth Adventures - series by Robert Asprin
6) The Chronicles of Narnia - series by C. S. Lewis
7) "Vilette" by Charlotte Brontë
8) "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
9) "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
10) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev
11) "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener
12) "Poland" by James A. Michener
13) "Roots" by Alex Haley
14) The Silmarillion - The Hobbit, or there and back again - The Lord of the Rings - Middle Earth stories by J. R. R. Tolkien
15) Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
16) "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin
17) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
18) "Paris 1919: six months that changed the world" by Margaret MacMillian
19) "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë
20) "Virgin Soil" by Ivan Turgenev
21) "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace, before I made my top favorite books list at the end of 2021 I would have said Fyodor Dostoevsky was my favorite author, but at one point this year he was #5 and Ivan Turgenev was at the top. A lot has changed in the last two months.
FAVORITE AUTHORS
1st) Fyodor Dostoevsky
1) “The Insulted and Humiliated” by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4) "The Idiot" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
19) "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
30) "Demons" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
65) "My Uncle's Dream" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
80) "The Heavenly Christmas Tree" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
113) "Poor Folk" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
130) "The Gentle Spirit" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
141) "The Gambler" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
149) "White Nights" by Fyodor Dostoevsky
173) "Netochka Nezvanova" (nameless nobody) by Fyodor Dostoevsky
2nd) Leo Tolstoy
3) "Resurrection" by Leo Tolstoy
9) "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy
16) “Childhood, Boyhood” by Leo Tolstoy
62) "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
91) "A Confession" by Leo Tolstoy
3rd) Ivan Turgenev
5) "Fathers and Sons" by Ivan Turgenev
11) "Smoke" by Ivan Turgenev
23) "Virgin Soil" by Ivan Turgenev
41) "Torrents of Spring" by Ivan Turgenev
64) "First Love" by Ivan Turgenev
101) "Acia" by Ivan Turgenev
107) "The Watch" by Ivan Turgenev
132) "Rudin" by Ivan Turgenev
141) "On the Eve" by Ivan Turgenev
152) "Home of the Gentry" by Ivan Turgenev
172) "Clara Militch" by Ivan Turgenev
177) "The Inn" by Ivan Turgenev
4th) James A. Michener
12) "Chesapeake" by James A. Michener
13) "Poland" by James A. Michener
36) "Caribbean" by James A. Michener
37) "Hawaii" by James A. Michener
197) “Mexico” by James A. Michener
5th) Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
10) "A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
28) "Cancer Ward" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
44) "In the First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
78) "The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an Experiment in Literary Investigation" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Christy: Have you read various translations of Brothers K? I am reading the Avsey trans. I am struggling a bit, but was very reassured by your comments about confusion and frustration like the ruble payments that are discussed for example along with the rambling speeches, but I have been finding some synopses that help a bit.
Synopses are a fantastic idea and so helpful!! I've read P&V and Constance Garnet and really enjoyed both.
PV = Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Hey, i have just entered into this reading world. And the book im starting with is Crime & punishment. 😅
As its the 1st novel i am starting with.
How should i immerse myself into(1) being Raskolnikov (2) or as a watcher,watching him from nearby. ?¿
Currently im in a first part where his sister has agreed for marriage!
Thankyou, appreciate your patience with my novice question.
Dostoyevsky is my Favorite❤❤❤
SAME THOUGH 😍
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace I bought four Dostoyevsky now, I am planning to buy all his writings including articles or anything related to his writings. Recommend me something if you know.. ❤️ thank you🥰
@masterasher1048 What have you already read? 👀 I'm loving reading a biography of Dostoevsky by Joseph Frank alongside Dostoevsky's stories, because the bio has whole chapters on each story 😍
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace I read the crime and punishment and the Idiot. Brother’s Kamarazov and Notes from Underground is next on line. I will check on his biography and his short stories also. Thank you❤️
About to start c&p. I think it's gonna help me a lot. I'm reading the constance garnet version. Do you think as a non-english speaker it's gonna be an easy translation read?
I hope c&p blows your mind! 🥹 I say try Garnett and see if she works for you, since translation preferences are very personal. I know one friend who prefers Garnett over all other translations. However, if you run into difficulties, you might find a more modern translator easier to read, such as Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
I think that most people start with the wrong Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment isn't nearly as good as Brothers Karamazov, but it seems to be the go to. Heck, Demons is better in a lot of ways.
Of course, I also originally read them all in Russian, so it is a bit different
Reading them in Russian is a whole different experience I'm sure! I'm so jealous 😩
Crime and Punishment was my gateway classic, so I will always heartily recommend it; but The Brothers Karamazov is known as his masterpiece for a reason!
Thank you so much for watching and leaving a commen, Bradyy!!
I think that the context of how you read them can make a difference too. I had a Russian Lit class that assigned Crime and Punishment and then spent every discussion talking about things like "the significance of the tilt of Raskolnikov's hat."
No one can take the joy out of literature quite like a literature professor
i just want to i am new to books and reading and i picked up the brothers of karamzov i undertand the story but sometimes the details and references are hard to get due to the different cultural context still can i read it ?
and experience the beauty of his writings
You absolutely can still enjoy it! It's quite a challenge, so it might be good to start with a new-ish translation that includes notes. If you find it too intimidating, you could start with one of Dosotevsky's shorter works.
I too love Dostoevsky but it seems like you either love him or you don’t.
That may be true 😂 I think his style may be very difficult for some readers and really make sense for others. You just kind of have to jump in and try it!
From which novel we should start reading doestovesky?
Oooh that's a great question. It totally depends on what you like! If you want a faster-paced mystery, I recommend Crime and Punishment. It's still full of philosophy, but the philosophy is second to the story. (It changed my life!) If you want to just dip your toes in, I recommend his short stories. If you want to start with his magnum opus, I would recommend The Brothers Karamazov.
Which book of his do you recommend someone read first? I am torn. I want to read them all.
Oh man, so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner! Crime and Punishment is a great place to start if you want to start with his most accessible novel (it was my first and is tied with The Idiot for my favorite). The Brothers Karamazov is a great place to start if you want to get to his most brainy novel right off the bat. His short stories will give you a taste of his humor, and you can read them much more quickly. It's totally up to you, that's what I'd recommend!
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace no worries. I did read crime and punishment first and loved it. I am doing brother karamazov next I guess. I did some short stories of his over Christmas too.
I've been wanting to read a book from Dostoevsky but, I'm not sure where to start? Which book would recommend first for the first-time Dostoevsky reader?
That is wonderful to hear!! Crime and Punishment is the most accessible novel among his "greats"; but "Notes From a Dead House" (alternately titled "The House of the Dead") is a semi-autobiographical novel about his time in a siberian labor camp and it is even more accessible. Either place is a great place to start! I hope you really enjoy him!! 😄
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace Thank you for the recommendations! 😄 I just placed an order for both.
What's this ? technics to read ? do we really need that ? or read is read and if didn't get it go back as many times necessary and then some light will begin to appear ? A young girl will teach ??!! US technics to read ? Dosto ?
You look pretty.
Stange as it may seem Dostoyevskiy is easier to read in English than in Russian though Russian is my native tongue.
That is fascinating!! I think that may be the case with a lot of translated literature. The translators smooth out the writing in the translation.
Достоевски дава първо описанието, символиката която в последствие дава и характера на героя. В руския език винителния падеж има много разклонения на мисълта, като например думата *_нищо._*
What translation do you read?
I have read different translations for each book and they are all good! Pevear & Volokhonsky is a bit simplified and modernized; Constance Garnett is free online and most audiobooks will use her translations because they are in the public domain
@@ChristyLuisDostoevskyinSpace thank you so much for answering! I’m currently going back and reading the P and V translations that I had not read when I originally read Dostoevsky . The other day I finished The Adolescent and today I started Notes From a Dead House. I really like those translators. Enjoy your reading.
How to read Dostoyevsky? Easy, one word at the time
Very pretty woman
thought daughter
I agree he is great at beginnings and I like his characters - but when he starts to develop his themes, he loses the spark with the characters, I guess that would be what you call his speech stage. His method is a long drawn out info dump. I disagree that he does it like your videos - I like your videos and don’t DNF them, lol. Like you said, he makes you work hard for it, for us who read strictly for enjoyment, this is why I wouldn’t recommend him.
That totally makes sense! If the Enlightenment portions aren't enjoyable enough to make up for the more difficult parts, then Dostoevsky probably won't vibe with you and that's totally okay ❤
your first sentence is a total mystery. did u really finish any of these books?
I know this is a shocking admission for someone who's been a passionate Russophile for almost thirty years (since around my thirteenth birthday), who's adored Russian literature almost as long, and who counts three of her Top Five favoritest writers as Russian, but I DNFed The Brothers Karamazov a few years ago and have never read anything else by Dostoyevskiy. That book felt so slow and dull for me, and I was immediately annoyed by how it opened with like 50 pages of backstory infodump. Maybe someday I'll attempt him again.
Oooh yeah understandable! I definitely recommend trying him again, maybe with a different book to start. I found The Brothers Karamazov to be more difficult than Crime and Punishment or The Idiot. And don't be fooled by the short length of Notes From the Underground, the opening part of that one is really difficult 🥴😂
cute
the dream of a ridiculous man
You speak way too fast, it’s difficult to keep up with all the things you’re saying.
Thanks for the feedback. I just learned recently that you can slow down or speed up youtube videos in settings FYI! But now I'm mostly doing unedited videos, so I probably don't speak to quickly anymore.
I’ve read all novels by Fyodor. I don’t like the characterization of these novels by this person. Big turn off.
Fun fact about Dostoevsky: his most famous books were written the same years when the Russian Empire officially prohibited publishing of books in Ukrainian. Now they are cherished all over the world while ukrainians suffer yet another mass killing by russians. I know you see no connection between this but hope that decolonization will go into fashion one day on the same level as Dostoevsky.
It’s great though that you go so deep into reading Dostoevsky.
Maybe next video you could also answer some other questions, like:
- Does the popularity of writers whose books you try to read so hard although they cause frustration has something to do with the fact that they are a product of imperialist culture that has been promoting its culture all over the world at the price of its colonies' resources?
- Would the application of decolonization optics help to understand Dostoevsky at some deeper level?
- Does a 500-page justification of murder somehow impact the minds of 99mln of people so that they justify the murders of thousands in the neighboring country?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
If I am allowed to express my personal opinion: Dostoevsky is one of the most overestimated writers of all time. Really D.? What can one say about Alyosha's theological discussions with a 13 year old boy? What can one think about the ending of Brothers Karamazov, where Alyosha together with some pre-adolescent children (!) are all together cheerfully happy as they celebrate... the coming of the Last Judgement Day!... Seriously? Is this suppose to be good literature? Even a believer reader should have enormous problems with such a literary, such an artistic solution, which is not.
In Dostoevsky we find always the following concept: All "good" guys get to be rewarded and all "bad" guys either commit suicide or go to prison or get crazy. Ivan Karamazov, the one that could have saved Dmitri's - his brother's - life, gets crazy one day before the court! And why? Because he is the "atheist" of the novel! Is there anything more p r e d i c t a b l e in whole literature? Do we want our literature to be predictable in that silly way? How can a healthy human mind accept this forced and totally disgusting solution? And this novel is considered from many, many, many "serious" people that read (do they actually read?) serious literature as "the best novel ever written". H o l y cow!
After having read Dostoevsky's works again and again I have come to this conclusion: He is the most horrible, boring and kitsch author out there. Not even his language has anything to offer! And although I don't agree with every single critical opinion Nabokov expressed for a number of authors, I totally agree with his opinion on Dostoevsky. There are so many writers out there that are... writers! D. is at least mediocre.
And please, for all of you reading this comment and thinking that I am crazy: Read D. anew; don't let yourself repeating "what the world is saying". Shape your own opinion.
Very accurate and helpful
I'm so glad! Thank you for leaving your thoughts!!