Favourite Book

[Zhnyaka]

Dostoyevski's characters are so real for me and I really admire the way he portrays them.

Oh, yes! Dostoevsky is a rare author whose critics argue not with him, but with his characters. The voices of the characters are so different and so strong that it is often unclear when the author expresses his opinion, and when it is only the opinion of a literary character. The difference of opinions of the characters is almost impossible to combine into the opinion of the author. Yes, I guess that's why I love him, because I want to discuss with his characters and this internal dialogue does not let go for a very long time.

Tell me to shut up, because I can talk about Dostoevsky forever.

Though his books take place in Russia, I relate easily to them, maybe it's partly because I also live in a cold country.

Considering that the actions of his novels take place in the 19th century, I think that we are equally far from the author in terms of the place, but Dostoevsky has a somewhat specific view of Christianity. For some reason it seems to me that it should seem strange to Catholics, although I myself treat any religion extremely negatively. I can't imagine why, having such an attitude to religion, I am a fan of Dostoevsky, for whom God-fighting is a key theme of creativity. The author strongly denigrates any people who live for themselves, this is typical here, but in the West, on the contrary, it is encouraged when a person achieves for himself. Also, poverty, alcoholism and so on are quite typical here, quite close and understandable. Do you remember the scene in the Brothers Karamazov, where Ivan tells Alyosha about the suffering of children (the chapter before the Grand Inquisitor), when I first read it, I thought that the author had such a good imagination that he came up with so vividly, and then I found out that the author did not come up with anything, these cases were taken from newspaper notes. Many people are now trying to put some of the responsibility for modern Russian nationalism on Dostoevsky, I don't like it at all, but, you must admit, people who say that have reasons.

God, I envy you so much that when you first began to read Dostoevsky, you didn't know either the plot or the problems of the works. Since Dostoevsky is included in our school curriculum, literally everyone knows who Rodion Raskolnikov is, and we simply cannot have a pure unbiased opinion. I am incredibly interested in how Dostoevsky's work is perceived by people who are in a different historical and cultural context.

Prince Myshkin is part of me.

And my part too . The scene where the author describes his memories of how he was almost hanged made a very strong impression on me, until now, when I reread it, it becomes creepy

someday I will collect all his books in a collector's edition, but for now I have only this. The Demons are the only paperback book, because I could not find this hardcover novel anywhere, wher the chapter "At Tikhon's" was not cut out of it

 

[Zhnyaka]

Oh, yes! Dostoevsky is a rare author whose critics argue not with him, but with his characters. The voices of the characters are so different and so strong that it is often unclear when the author expresses his opinion, and when it is only the opinion of a literary character. The difference of opinions of the characters is almost impossible to combine into the opinion of the author. Yes, I guess that's why I love him, because I want to discuss with his characters and this internal dialogue does not let go for a very long time.

Tell me to shut up, because I can talk about Dostoevsky forever.


Considering that the actions of his novels take place in the 19th century, I think that we are equally far from the author in terms of the place, but Dostoevsky has a somewhat specific view of Christianity. For some reason it seems to me that it should seem strange to Catholics, although I myself treat any religion extremely negatively. I can't imagine why, having such an attitude to religion, I am a fan of Dostoevsky, for whom God-fighting is a key theme of creativity. The author strongly denigrates any people who live for themselves, this is typical here, but in the West, on the contrary, it is encouraged when a person achieves for himself. Also, poverty, alcoholism and so on are quite typical here, quite close and understandable. Do you remember the scene in the Brothers Karamazov, where Ivan tells Alyosha about the suffering of children (the chapter before the Grand Inquisitor), when I first read it, I thought that the author had such a good imagination that he came up with so vividly, and then I found out that the author did not come up with anything, these cases were taken from newspaper notes. Many people are now trying to put some of the responsibility for modern Russian nationalism on Dostoevsky, I don't like it at all, but, you must admit, people who say that have reasons.

God, I envy you so much that when you first began to read Dostoevsky, you didn't know either the plot or the problems of the works. Since Dostoevsky is included in our school curriculum, literally everyone knows who Rodion Raskolnikov is, and we simply cannot have a pure unbiased opinion. I am incredibly interested in how Dostoevsky's work is perceived by people who are in a different historical and cultural context.


And my part too . The scene where the author describes his memories of how he was almost hanged made a very strong impression on me, until now, when I reread it, it becomes creepy

someday I will collect all his books in a collector's edition, but for now I have only this. The Demons are the only paperback book, because I could not find this hardcover novel anywhere, wher the chapter "At Tikhon's" was not cut out of it
View attachment 58745

Sorry, I got carried away

 

[Outlier]

I read a lot (don't have TV) so I couldn't specify an overall favourite because I cross so many genres and usually have at least 2 books on the go at once, so I can pick what suits my mood at the time. Among serious favourites are any of the Mary Renault stories set in ancient Greece, most work by Frederick Forsyth, Stephen Leather, Gerald Seymour, Lee Child, Vince Flynn, Alistair Maclean, the Bangkok series by John Burdett, Agatha Christie, many but not all of the Classic Crime series, any of the poetry by Kipling, Will Ogilvie and Adam Lyndsey Gordon.

 

[JAT1]

Sorry, I got carried away

Absolutely no problem - I enjoy your ideas about Dostoyevski. When I first read his books (I read The Idiot and then binged on the rest I could get a hold of) I had never heard of him. The ideas he writes about, particularly about forgiveness, being truthful to oneself and the redeeming, psychological value of suffering, gave me an understanding that made sense of my experience. No other author has ever come close to him for me.

 

[Zhnyaka]

I enjoy your ideas about Dostoyevski.

To be honest, I'm not even sure if these are my ideas. For example, the fact that the voices of Dostoevsky's heroes are too independent is the idea of Mikhail Bakhtin, one of the best researchers of Dostoevsky's work. The problem of being inside the cultural environment is that you know the criticism before you get acquainted with the work and you cannot perceive the book without context. I knew the phrase "Dostoevsky is the creator of the polyphonic novel" long before I first picked up this "polyphonic novel".
Therefore, your opinion is extremely interesting. Thank you very much!

 

[Grant_Vicat]

To be honest, I'm not even sure if these are my ideas. For example, the fact that the voices of Dostoevsky's heroes are too independent is the idea of Mikhail Bakhtin, one of the best researchers of Dostoevsky's work. The problem of being inside the cultural environment is that you know the criticism before you get acquainted with the work and you cannot perceive the book without context. I knew the phrase "Dostoevsky is the creator of the polyphonic novel" long before I first picked up this "polyphonic novel".
Therefore, your opinion is extremely interesting. Thank you very much!

It would be interesting to find out what your reaction to Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow would be. Towles is an American , but the main character in this book is Count Rostov, from St Petersburg. In 1917 he is put under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. Although the book is fictional, it is powerfully alive and I was transported into a miniature world (because Rostov has the relative freedom of the hotel) which has vivid atmosphere and characterisations. The precariousness of his existence is always close at hand. Is it an American perspective only? Or is it realistically Russian? Is it even translated into Russian? I enjoyed it either way!

 

[Zhnyaka]

It would be interesting to find out what your reaction to Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow would be. Towles is an American , but the main character in this book is Count Rostov, from St Petersburg. In 1917 he is put under house arrest in the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. Although the book is fictional, it is powerfully alive and I was transported into a miniature world (because Rostov has the relative freedom of the hotel) which has vivid atmosphere and characterisations. The precariousness of his existence is always close at hand. Is it an American perspective only? Or is it realistically Russian? Is it even translated into Russian? I enjoyed it either way!

This is the first time I've heard about A Gentleman in Moscow, but Google found it in Russian. I hope there are no bears walking down the street

 

[JAT1]

Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow

I just started reading it, thanks to your recommendation to Zynyaka. I like it very much. I am also reading Brothers Karamasov for the fourth time as a consequence to earlier posts on this thread, in French for the first time.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

This is the first time I've heard about A Gentleman in Moscow, but Google found it in Russian. I hope there are no bears walking down the street

Not in the hotel streets!

I just started reading it, thanks to your recommendation to Zynyaka. I like it very much. I am also reading Brothers Karamasov for the fourth time as a consequence to earlier posts on this thread, in French for the first time.

It really is a great read and seems completely plausible. I must admit that I have yet to read Dostoevsky, even in English! I ought to give him a try.
Glad you are enjoying reading A Gentleman in Moscow.