The superiority of the idiot.

I have finished reading the idiot. An absolutely stunning masterpiece,and vastly superior to the brothers karazamov. (which was also great.)
From begining to end this book was full of incident and packed with psychological insights. Far more realistic in terms of the characters than TBK,and the speeches by ippolit and myshkin were better than the grand inquisitor equivalent.
I really struggle to see why this book is not referred to more.
Ive just started 'demons' and im very curious to see if it can match the idiot.

I'm in the middle of conquering The Brothers Karamazov, and already find myself a big Dostoevsky fan. Once I'm done with TBK, I'll most likely move on to reading another piece of his, whether it is The Idiot or Crime and Punishment, or something else.

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Originally Posted by Theunderground

I have finished reading the idiot. An absolutely stunning masterpiece,and vastly superior to the brothers karazamov. (which was also great.)
From begining to end this book was full of incident and packed with psychological insights. Far more realistic in terms of the characters than TBK,and the speeches by ippolit and myshkin were better than the grand inquisitor equivalent.
I really struggle to see why this book is not referred to more.
Ive just started 'demons' and im very curious to see if it can match the idiot.

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The Idiot has been widely read and discussed and acknowledged as a masterwork for a century and a half. I'm not sure where you got the impression it was relatively obscure.

Sorry, but the Grand Inquisitor is brilliant and the characters in BK are just as realistic. I really see no reason to rate The Idiot as vastly superior.

Demons is excellent as well.

My point was why its not mentioned more as at least equal or better than TBK.
The grand inquisitor speech has never done it for me personally.
The characters in the idiot seem much more nuanced and down to earth than those in TBK. TBK seems mainly a book about intellectual dialogue,though its still great.
The characters in TBK seem dated now,not so the idiot.

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Originally Posted by Theunderground

My point was why its not mentioned more as at least equal or better than TBK.

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The Idiot is less mentioned, perhaps, because its ending is more paradoxical, more difficult, than in The Brothers Karamazov.

Possibly,but myself i interpret the ending as the absolute failure of living life in a purely emotional,idealistic,chivalrous or 'christian' way. In fact the cruel and hypocritical effects of living in such a way.
Of all the dostoevsky i have read this one seems to me the most relevant to my personal experience.
As a 'human' story i find it second to none,and a great indictment against idealism.

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Originally Posted by Theunderground

Possibly,but myself i interpret the ending as the absolute failure of living life in a purely emotional,idealistic,chivalrous or 'christian' way. In fact the cruel and hypocritical effects of living in such a way ... As a 'human' story i find it second to none,and a great indictment against idealism.

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Oh heavens no! The Idiot tells the story of the heroic Prince Myskhin: the suffering servant, who lives a life of love, persevering to the end. The willing servant who triumphs, despite his perceived failure by human standards.

As the novel ends, back in Switzerland the unfortunate 'idiot' seems, at first sight, to be suffering silently a very slow death - you might say, a crucifixion. The occasional visitor to Dr Schneider’s patient sees something awful but edifying, not unlike Holbein’s "Deposition". But was Prince Myshkin’s sacrifice really in vain?

Clearly not, if the testimonies of virginal Vera Lebedev, forthright Lizabetha Prokofievna, and sceptical playboy Evgenie Pavlovitch matter. The novel closes with an unlikely (if spiritual) resurrection!

The Idiot is a paean to selfless and boundless love. Love to the undeserving: Roghozin, Nastasya Filippovna, Aglaya, Ippolit, Keller, Burdovsky and Lebedev.

TBK is just better. That you may like it more or less does not change it. It is better because it is where Dostoivisky mastered the multiplicity of voices. There is other great characters from him, but just like Myshkin in The Idiot, they are more notable than others, more complex, more brilliant. TBK is almost a book where Myshkin talks with the underground man then with Raskolnikov...

Really i fail to see how any other dostoevsky work compares to the idiot,but each to their own.
I see from the response of Gladys that people really do interpret books in a very different way,again each to their own.

I finished reading the demons and must say it is the least exciting and unusual of dostoevskys works. (especially the bigger novels.) I would not recommend it to a first time reader and im glad its the last major work i read.
However,the demons does have some great and original ideas in it (conquering fear and terror,becoming god,etc.) and the last part is more like the dostoevsky i know,and once again shows the folly of idealism or being a 'flunkey to thoughts'..
Now to finish Gogol,melvilles confidence man and Rabelais...