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Lux Aeterna

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by
andave_ya
, 04-11-2008 at 12:32 PM (2104 Views)
It's been so long since I've properly blogged I've forgotten how . I've been wanting to for a long while, though.

I've a new favorite author --->Dostoyevsky! The man is genius! I put him on my favorite authors list. I've read Crime and Punishment and this week began The Brothers Karamazov. There is so much in Dostoevsky, seriously. I haven't been this excited about an author in a long time; since Tolkien actually. BK will take me a while, but when I'm done with it I'm going to read Great Short Works of Dostoyevsky. I started flipping through it this morning but I forced myself to put it away when I realized I was getting into Notes from the Underground.

What an interesting difference between him and Tolstoy. Both of them are Realists, johann cruyff told me, but I think that Tolstoy...well, Tolstoy was an extrovert while Dostoyevsky was an introvert. From what I've read of Tolstoy, I think that he writes more about fitting in with society, whereas Dostoyevsky (I'll call him D for short) measures individuals against society mores, as Rasolnikov murdering for "the better good" and Alyosha's dreadful father clowning around the monk to "test"him.

I started reading Russian Lit because it was recommended to me in preparation for my SAT. Of course, the most famous Russian authors are Tolstoy then Dostoyevsky. I read Anna Karenina, didn't like it, read Crime and Punishment, LOVED it! Read the first 160 pages of War and Peace and decided to wait until next school year to get to it.
But D... love affair.

Books are worthy of love affairs, don't you think? If that's the case, I had eleven love affairs (ok, nine, since Anna Karenina and Hamletbombed) just this school year. . I read eleven good books since September.

1. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
2. Daddy Long-Legs by Jean Webster
3. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
4. Morgoth's Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Selected Writings by Oscar Wilde
6. Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats by W.B. Yeats
7. Collected Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway
8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
9. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
10. The Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore
11. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

I despised Hamlet and I don't like Shakespeare. The only thing I can think of is "Elizabethan pomp and splendor." Julius Caesar was ok, and Much Ado about Nothing was amusing, but I didn't (and don't) see why Shakespeare's plays are so amazing. Granted, his sonnets are definitely worthy of praise, but otherwise I got extremely bored while reading Hamlet's soliloquies.

Back to love affairs: here's a bit of bookish geekiness for you; I hope it will make you laugh, but bear with me, the tale is long in the telling .
Every Wednesday I go to Shurtugal's place and help her edit her story. I was trying to change a sentence that went something like "Thunder had sounded...", into a sentence with an active verb. The first thing I thought of was "thunder thundered." The moment I thought that, my mind flashed back to Pevear and Volokhonsky's preface to War and Peace, I think it was. In it they were talking about translation difficulties--how they wanted to keep Tolstoy's precise, beautiful words but change them into English. They gave an example "kapli kapali," which in the original Russian means "drops dripped."
That flashing through my head, I laughed; two teenage girls working on an admittedly good story but the bookworm had to bring in Tolstoy, no less?
Shurt looked at me weirdly. "Erm...I don't see anything funny in that?"
I explained it to her but she didn't laugh.
Then I did it again! I think I embarrassed her a bit.
In her story there was a scene where she had a "foul smell" be the precursor for a dead body. I figured we could play with those words a bit and make them really dramatic. Without thinking, I quoted Anne of Green Gables, "not a bad smell...just an unpleasant odor."
Again, the weird look. "What?"
"Anne of Green Gables!" I said.
She hadn't read it.
"Never mind! Just a bit of geekiness on my part."
and a whole lot of rueful on my part.

And that from a 16 year old! What can I say, books excite me. Anything vaguely bookish excites me. In fact, yesterday I was practicing writing 25-minute essays in preparation for the SAT. I was thinking about how I wanted to answer the prompt ("Do we value only what we struggle for") when suddenly SO MANY ideas, perspectives, examples, and philosophies jumped out at me.
Like, the value depends on what it is we're struggling for. If it's something material, then its value passes away. Think about it. We all save for our books, but they're just ink and paper. In 20 years they'll probably be rotten. However, if the thing we're struggling for is intangible -- ideas, principles, ethics -- then YES, it has immense, inherent value. What is it that's so vital and important about books? The idea behind them. The theme, the tone, the morals. Think of V for Vendetta, "Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof." The Boston Tea Party -- Sam Adams and Paul Revere threw tea into the harbor for the principle of freedom. Beethoven! He shed blood, sweat, and tears for his music. Fate knocks at the door. Why does Dostoyevsky live on? In Crime and PunishmentHe proved that murder is always wrong, even for the better good.
It is the things we struggle for which have value. That's one of the reasons I read; to honor the struggle of those who wrote, especially those who wrote because an idea seized them and wouldn't let go until it ensured that posterity wouldn't forget.
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Comments

  1. Virgil's Avatar
    Wow, you got a lot in there. The Brothers K is truely a great book, one of the greatest. But when I consider the totality of Tolstoy, I prefer Tolstoy. Don't like Shakespeare??? That's sacralidge. And books don't turn to dust in 20 years. I've still got books from 30 years ago.
  2. BulletproofDork's Avatar
    What can I say? Geek.
  3. 's Avatar
    I love Dostoevsky too... Once you finish with TBK, the great short works is phenomenal, I've read most of the stories in it several times... You should pick some of his other novels as well, such as "The Idiot", "The Devils", "A Raw Youth"... alll very good... And Tolstoy, well, he's okay I suppose, I see why others love his work, but I just have never liked AK, I've read it twice now, and well... oh well... War and Peace was okay... And "The Death of Ivan IIlych" was pretty good... but I think there are two main types of Russian lit enthusiasts, those who love Tolstoy, and those who love Dostoevsky, and then a small group who love both... I am firmly on the Dostoevsky side.. Great entry, and a very good list of books you've read this year...
  4. LadyWentworth's Avatar
    Well, you already know how I feel about Anna Karenina. When you eventually finish The Brothers Karamazov, we must discuss it! Oh, how did you like Daddy Long-Legs??? Is it safe to assume that you read it for a connection to a certain Mr. A?
  5. andave_ya's Avatar
    Virgil What do you mean by the totality of Tolstoy? Shakespeare *wince*. The worst part is that I've read enough to be able to say that it'll be hard to get me to change my mind. And I have to take a course in Shakespeare if I'm to get a Librarian degree . Yeah, I guess 20 years is too little, since I've got one that...come to think of it...is 101. Antiquarian I think I went with "thunder rumbled" after a moment's thought. My knee-jerk thought was "thunder thundered" because I remembered the quote. Oh, I'm not done with Tolstoy yet. Like as not, I probably just need to acquire a taste for it. I'll try him again next year, and I'll read The Death of Ivan Ilyich since you suggest it. Bullet Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait. Your time is nigh. islandclimber I'm not done with D yet, not by a long shot. *Eyes go dreamy* I'll be reading him for years...Yeah, I didn't like AK either. It's interesting what you said about people mostly liking either Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky. Count me on firmly Dostoyevsky's side!
  6. andave_ya's Avatar
    Oh, LadyWentworth! Hi! (Hey, just checking, did you get my email?) I'll look forward to discussing TBK with you! DLL I read long ago when I was little, then read it again when I bought it this year. I LOVE the story, and did before I saw the movie, but after...well, it was after I saw the movie I got the book. Mr. A made a lovely Jervis Pendleton, didn't he
  7. mtpspur's Avatar
    While despising Hamlet I do however have an affection for Macbeth. HE makes decisions and lives/dies by them. Not saying they were life affirming but M. doesn't go and on about the raw deal he has. More I think of it Hamlet just has those old fashioned parental issues that stunts many a growth.

    I tested the Brotheres K. as stated somewhere else and just wasn't moved by it. But Hemmingway never did it for me either. As usual this does not at all mean they are bad writers just not my personal cup of tea.

    I have a suspicion that I avoid the more complex character books like Crime and Punishment because of my own innate never ending introspection that (taking the eyes off the Lord Christ) leads me to quiet despair til the end of the tunnel is reached.

    Keep reading girl and shape your likes/dislikes as you see fit. It will give you range in your own writings.

    Confess I'm just a bit creeped out seeing V's visgae as your current avatar but I asure you I've read quite a bit of Alan Moore and he has changed comic book writing forever. He's arguably the first comic WRITER as opposed to ARTIST to achieve recognition in the field. Books are read because HE wrote them--not necessarily who DREW them--the norm for the business. More famous for Watchmen (movie on the way) but that's another kettle of fish.
  8. Virgil's Avatar
    What I mean by the totality of Tolstoy is not just those two novels but his other works as well. The totality of his works.
  9. Shurtugal's Avatar
    i asure you didn't embarres me... lol. and i hope i didn't embarres you.
  10. LadyWentworth's Avatar
    Yes, I did get your email! Crazy, crazy, hectic, crazy week! I didn't get anything done at all that I planned on doing over the week (including emails)! So, sorry about that! Wasn't ignoring you! Anyway, well, it is OK if it takes you a little while to get through TBK. This is actually giving me an excuse to read it again. So, I will have time then to refresh my memory. Yes, Mr. A was quite lovely as Pendleton! There was a silent movie based on that book, also. I will tell you about it in the email, which should be there within the next couple of days!
  11. kiz_paws's Avatar
    Your reading list is impressive. I smiled at how you loved Crime & Punishment -- I remember the first time I read it and the effect the book had on me. I have since read it twice more (is that crazy?) -- it is just that kind of book. I also like to read and hear what others thought of it as well. I also enjoyed Anna Karenina, but it did not have the same effect (which isn't really fair, to compare -- each author does something different for me, thats all). Try some Gogol! That will add an interesting flavour to your reading list, honest!
  12. andave_ya's Avatar
    Rich All right, all right, I won't give up on Shakespeare just yet. Not really that I have a choice, though, I have to take a college course on him before I can get an, was it English? degree. Hemingway...I read his short stories this year and thought they were interesting. I can understand why people enjoy his stuff but it's a little too, what's the word, minimalist? for me. Thank you for the encouragement, and I should probably say that I don't have any anarchist leanings like V. I just admire a man who can take drastic actions like that when he knows he is right. Not to mention all the dizzyingly lovely detailing in the movie. Virg oh, all his works. I get it. Hmm. Well, like I said, I'm not done with him yet. More like "Au revoir" than "farewell." Shurt Thanks! Someday...you're a writer. It'll happen to you. LadyWentworth I never thought you were ignoring me! Take your time, you know that! There's a silent DLL film! ohhhh *dreamy eyes* kizzie No, no, of course it's not crazy! Such a brilliant book; I doubt if I were to read it ten times I'd get everything I could out of it. That's true, it isn't fair to compare, and thanks! I'll keep an eye out for Gogol! Cheers!