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I'm around halfway done with Crime and Punishment -- I've had a lot of time to read it, since I'm stuck in China without much to do :)
I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction -- I need advice on 1. discussion topics/questions on the book to help me get a fuller picture of the novel and 2. the next book to read
I just found out that there's also Brothers Karamazov written by Dostoyevsky. Should I just try reading that afterwards?
You should try all of his other major works before attempting to read The Brothers Karamazov.Quote:
Originally Posted by echoyjeff222
Read These: Notes From Underground, The House Of The Dead, The Idiot, Demons (The Possessed).
Only thenceforth shall you read The Brothers Karamazov.
Try and read, at least, Idiot before tackling Karamazove. Idiot is dense and slow but very, very deep and philosophical, Crime and Punishment is fast and racy and Karamazov is all that, ie. slow, deep, fast, thoughtful and everything else that you could hope for in a novel.
doesn't matter a lot. I read Karamazov first, then Crime, The Idiot, and lastly The Possessed. I read several more including those mentioned above plus A Raw Youth and the novella, The Gambler. I also reread Karamazov and Crime a few years later.
It seems there are Dostoyevsky lovers and haters. I fall into the former group. I find Dostoyevsky an enjoyable read and not too difficult. Many of the Victorian novels are slower and will put you to sleep. Thackeray's The Newcomes, for example, is 800 pages of sheer boredom. I liked Vanity Fair, but after that one, he went downhill. He tried to capture the essence of earlier 18th century novelists since as Fielding, but failed to do so.
I second The Idiot: I much preferred it to Crime.
As far as discussion topics go - search these boards. I know there have been quite a few threads on Crime and Punishment, there is bound to be some interesting stuff. There are some people around here who have wonderful Dostoevsky insight.
I agree that you shouldn't read TBK next, but don't save it for last. It is the best (well I haven't read The Possessed yet) but I think it's way too important of a book to place it at the end of the queue in case you don't get around to it for a while. But yeah, try reading The Idiot next, it's depressing but brilliant.
Me too. It's far from depressing (Crime and Punishment is that and more) and brilliant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles Darnay
I also love his early The Village of Stepanchikovo. And I haven't read The Possessed, or The Raw Youth but soon will.
Have you read The Crocodile?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gladys
In my opinion, the four must-read Dostoevsky books are Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov. Feel free to read those in any order that you wish. If you're a save-the-best-for-last sort of person, then certainly put off Brothers until after the rest.
A lo of people would place Demons/The Possessed up there too...But, personally, I thought it was awful.
At least it's not a trifling word play marathon that is Ulysses.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desolation
What was so awful about it? (Without giving anything away, I haven't read it)Quote:
Originally Posted by Desolation
The prose is sloppy (especially the various conversations among the characters), but the content is deep and interesting.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle92
The translation I am reading is about 700 pages long; so if you want to read it, here's my advice:
1) Don't read it if you haven't read Notes From Underground, The Idiot and Crime and Punishment.
2) Read it with utmost patience for the first 150-200 pages because they are quite dull but contain a lot of important information that will be relevant later in the novel.
3) It gets more interesting as it progresses.
4) Get a translation with notes. You'll need them. (Mine is Richard Pavear and his wife's)
5) Read it for philosophical depth, not for fancy prose.
6) You're welcome :hat:
I read Crime and Punishment several years ago while in the hospital under going an amputation. I actually found it very fitting for the mood I was generally in. I don't remember a lot about it but I do remember that I loved most of it. A discussion question might (although this is a bit obvious) entail whether any one is capable of killing another human being and whether all humans have a dark side. I've tried reading The Idiot several times and have never really gotten to far into it. It just seems a bit too dense from what I'm used to reading, some day I intend to pick it up and actually finish it though. I've also read Notes From The Underground and honestly I didn't enjoy that novella much if at all. It's more of an aesthetic problem than any thing. I just couldn't relate to the character at all. In a way it was really effective just not aesthetically pleasing to my current personality. Sort of like certain music that I don't really enjoy listening to but still respect. A good example might be Merzbow I suppose. I'm completely off-topic so I'll leave it at that.
Awful might not be the right word. But, I really disliked it, especially compared to his other works, which I think are some of the best ever written.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle92
Raven got a few of the problems down...It takes a really, really long time to get going. But, I'd add that the payoff is very slim.
Additionally, whereas I found his great works to be socially and psychologically profound, Demons was weighed down immensely by a very reactionary ideology.
It's probably the most polemical of all his works, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Desolation
From a political standpoint, maybe. I would have put Karamazov first on the list for controversial arguments. The Grand Inquisitor alone, in my mind, cements that position.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven Falcon.
It being "awful" is really subjective to what you expect, or want, from a novel. If you lust after beautiful polished prose, Dostoevski will often disappoint you. If you want to connect with well developed characters, again, Dostoevski may fall short of pleasing you. Dostoevski's characters are ideas, concepts, and different sides of whatever argument he is making. The players in The Possessed represent conflicting ideologies, with Dostoevski arguing against many different political concepts, all of which he feels threaten man as an individual, and work against the good of mankind. Read a little later into Russian history and his novel seems almost prophetic. At any rate, try to imagine Mother Russia at that tumultuous time, and you will easily see the value of this work.Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle92
So, awful in the sense of artistic prose and character development, but really brilliant from the intriguing philosophical standpoint.
Demons have some of most powerfull dialogues i know. Kirilov, Stavroguine, Chatov are remarkable characters. the story is not the most important in Demons. the complex structure of the characters is the most important. the dialogues between Kirilov and the narrator , Kirilov and Stavroguine, Chatov and Stavroguine and the dialogue between Stavroguine and Father Tikhone are incredible. This dialogues marked me deeply.
Albert Camus made a great adaptation to theatre. It worth a read too.