The Possessed By Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Translated By CONS… (original) (raw)
The Possessed By Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Translated By CONSTANCE GARNETT) [Annotated]
The Possessed - Dostoevsky - in a slipcase (hardcover)
Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2020
About the author
Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.
Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons (1872).
Many literary critics rate him of the greatest of world literature and consider multiple highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He also well acts as a philosopher and theologian.
(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
I was thoroughly confused after reading this book. I did not understand it at all.
This book has been recommended by Robert Greene as one of his must-read books, so I decided to start reading this book with high expectations. When I finished the first part of this novel, I was confused about what the story was really all about. There were so many characters to remember that I couldn't keep track of their roles in the story so I ended up forgetting their personalities. I was starting to feel bored and thought about giving it up but instead, I took a break, read and watched some reviews about the book, and decided to "trust the author" as what some reviewer says. So I eventually finished the book by reading it on and off during the process.
Although I ended up even more confused when I finished reading, just these deaths in the last chapter did start to stir my curiosity about the enigma in the story. So I decided to watch and finish its movie series adaptation to become more familiar with the various characters and their personalities, aiming to have a better mental representation of them when I began to reread the book. The peculiarities of various personalities were reaffirming to me by this movie representation that it drove me to plan to reread the book as I realized that there was so much to ponder about relating to not only the psychology behind the various personalities but also concerning sociological appearance of Russia in the particular time period in history. As well as the philosophical discussion, the exploration and the power struggle of various characters about different kinds of ideological inclinations such as Nihilism, Liberalism, Atheism, Sadism and Orthodox Christianity.
The translation I got contains French language without an English equivalent so I missed probably 20% of the conversation. I will be picking up the recent translation titled "Demons" this time hoping my second reading experience will be more revealing and meaningful.
19 reviews
this is not the translation i actually read (can’t find it) but okay. first dostoyevsky ive ever dipped into. i definitely took it slowly: over the course of 4 months. Stepan’s frequent frenchisms were tedious (google translate ever at hand) but i took it all on vigilantly. someone describes dostoyevsky’s clanging together of big characters as a chaotic percussive orchestra; i like this metaphor. tho that narrative bustle didn’t jell with my coincidental slow read— t’was tough to keep up with so many fully developed persons. the political critique central to this narrative can’t be ignored, especially in its perhaps predictions of the russian soviet revolution ~60 years later. i know very little about mid 19th century russian society, but now i can infer a modicum or two. Kirilov is an awesome hilarious character. I felt love for Shatov & his ephemera of a family 3. im interested in more Dostoyevsky.
30 reviews
My first Dostoevsky. Probably not the best one to start with. It was challenging and long-winded. Much I'm still confused about, but nevertheless a great work. What I missed in enjoyment I gained in accomplishment.
303 reviews11 followers
Lesser Dostoevsky. The plot sags under the weight of so many characters, with so little characterization. The scene of the ball the evening of the fete, wherein masked dancers were supposed to play the parts of various ideas in Russian society, which actually devolves into chaos. This ball dance is a kind of self-critique - the master Fyodor knows that his own novel of ideas descends into violence, madness, and incoherence, as the character of Pyotr Stepanovich emerges as the demonic prime mover.
200 reviews
I read this 700 page novel of fine print over 2 weeks and at this moment having just finished it, I count it the finest piece of fiction I’ve ever read.
If you choose it, choose this edition, the translation by Andrew R. MacAndrew, A Signet Classic from the New American Library, which insets Stavrogin’s Confession (At Tikhon’s) as chapter 9
257 reviews3 followers
This book is a good read. I read it a long time ago on iBooks. I give it four stars.
564 reviews6 followers
I was caught in Peter Verkhovensky's icy web - truth telling from the wounded sage
530 reviews2 followers
I keep trying, and failing, to get into Dostoevsky.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews