Which Dostoevsky book should I read next? I've already read White Nights, Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Poor Folk.
Which Dostoevsky book should I read next? I've already read White Nights, Dream of a Ridiculous Man, and Poor Folk.
Last edited by Dori; 11-17-2007 at 12:02 PM.
com-pas-sion (n.) [ME. & OFr. <LL. (Ec.) compassio, sympathy < compassus, pp. of compati, to feel pity < L. com-, together + pali, to suffer] sorrow for the sufferings or trouble of another or others, accompanied by an urge to help; deep sympathy; pity
Dostoevsky Forum!
Raskolnikov is mostly like Devushkin and He, not too long and very interesting.
At thunder and tempest, At the world's coldheartedness,
During times of heavy loss And when you're sad
The greatest art on earth Is to seem uncomplicatedly gay.
To get things clear, they have to firstly be very unclear. But if you get them too quickly, you probably got them wrong.
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That depends on whether you want to go with a full sized novel or more short stories. I agree with Bazarov that Crime and Punishment is a good place to start as far as novels are concerned, it's a little less intimidating than his longer ones and he stays pretty on task with that one so it keeps your attention throughout. For novellas or short stories, I would recommend The Gambler and I really liked The Eternal Husband and The Meek One.
*I didn't see the poll... I see the The Meek One is there and House of the Dead is good, I hadn't thought of that one. Again, it depends on whether you're interested in a novel or short story. I think my short story/novella vote would be for House of the Dead and my novel vote would be Crime and Punishment.
Last edited by Idril; 11-17-2007 at 09:44 PM.
the luminous grass of the prairie hides
feet lovely and still as sleeping doves,
porcelain bones strong enough to carry a life,
but weighty and unmovable
As black Dakota hills. ~ Riesa
Thanks, Idril and Bazarov, for your recommendations. I have decided to read The House of the Dead first, and Crime and Punishment second. Thanks again.
com-pas-sion (n.) [ME. & OFr. <LL. (Ec.) compassio, sympathy < compassus, pp. of compati, to feel pity < L. com-, together + pali, to suffer] sorrow for the sufferings or trouble of another or others, accompanied by an urge to help; deep sympathy; pity
Dostoevsky Forum!
Read The Brothers Karamazov next.
Presuming that you have finished C&P by this point, I would definitely recommend that you read "The Idiot" next, and, if possible, "Demons" immediately subsequent to that. I sincerely believe that Lev Myshkin and Nikolai Stavrogin were meant to be character foils in one sense. It is certainly no coincidence that Dostoevsky wrote them back to back in consecutive novels. After that, either move straight to Karamazov or, if you feel that you've really developed a taste for Dostoevsky, then try "The Adolescent" on for size. The latter is definitely one of Dostoevsky's less known works (it doesn't even have its own thread on here) and tends to be almost ignored by even the most dedicated Dostoevsky biographers. It is definitely a worthwhile read in of itself.Originally Posted by Dori
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