(warning ramblings of a person who studied russlit in uni ahead) a little bit on the naming structure you pointed out: dostoevsky actually changes the way the narrative addresses a person depending on how the person the story is focusing on feels about the person! for example if raskolnikov is thinking of his sister through the narrative (i.e. his thoughts appear outside of the confines of quotation marks) the diminunitive "dunya" is used, whereas if razumikhin is thinking of her the name "avdotya romanova" is used because he respects her a lot, so he uses the more formal name/patronymic structure. all this to say dostoevsky's exploration of the human psyche as you noted is even embedded in the semantics of the story! so cool! anyway loved the review, definitely a fun first read of your page!^^
I’ve started reading your posts recently. I’m glad I discovered you. I get the experience of talking to someone who is really different from me, but whose take, point-of-view, and insights lead me to rethink my own. You also make me laugh at myself which is a good thing. I read Crime and Punishment the first time a zillion years ago when I was nineteen. I’ve since read it a couple more times—once in my late 40s and once more in my mid-fifties. The first time I read it, I read it shortly after Jude the Obscure. Those two books, taken together, really convinced me that I was not the only person ever to feel what I felt. There is nothing lonelier than that kind of novelty, like you minted your own special misery.
Hey Neil! thank you so much for your kind comment. i’m so glad you enjoy reading from a different perspective (it isn’t always the case so yay) i’ve never heard of that other book you mention so i’ll have to check it out! but yes crime and punishment is a mental trip and very taxing mentally, as someone who has dealt with severe isolation i understood his feelings a bit too well myself and it felt a bit like coming back to an uncomfortable home where you didn’t feel at ease enough to put on the tv
I also read this recently and thoroughly enjoyed it between pages 200 and the epilogue. I thought I’d Google some book analysis vids to expand my horizons, and was alarmed to discover that many of them were about or by Jordan Peterson on ‘why you should be more like Raskolnikov’… turns out we have accidentally indoctrinated ourselves into the manosphere.
So my own Russian mother told me to stay away from Dostoevsky unless I want to willingly feel depressed (we were more of a Pushkin household), but you've convinced me to give him a shot.
well dosto defo makes you feel depressed but sometimes it’s necessary to work through whatever you’re going through so i’d recommend it ;) haven’t read pushkin yet and can’t wait thanks for reading as always maria <3
I finished reading it a couple of weeks ago and also really enjoyed it, for similar reasons. I still rate 'Dreams of a Ridiculous Man' and 'Notes from Underground' more than this, though. I also enjoyed the language more in 'The Idiot'. I have the rest of his work in my to-read pile (along with War and Peace!)
(warning ramblings of a person who studied russlit in uni ahead) a little bit on the naming structure you pointed out: dostoevsky actually changes the way the narrative addresses a person depending on how the person the story is focusing on feels about the person! for example if raskolnikov is thinking of his sister through the narrative (i.e. his thoughts appear outside of the confines of quotation marks) the diminunitive "dunya" is used, whereas if razumikhin is thinking of her the name "avdotya romanova" is used because he respects her a lot, so he uses the more formal name/patronymic structure. all this to say dostoevsky's exploration of the human psyche as you noted is even embedded in the semantics of the story! so cool! anyway loved the review, definitely a fun first read of your page!^^
THIS WAS SO USEFUL THANK YOU!!
I found the naming quite easy to follow in this one. Perhaps I've gotten used to it a little by now.
I’ve started reading your posts recently. I’m glad I discovered you. I get the experience of talking to someone who is really different from me, but whose take, point-of-view, and insights lead me to rethink my own. You also make me laugh at myself which is a good thing. I read Crime and Punishment the first time a zillion years ago when I was nineteen. I’ve since read it a couple more times—once in my late 40s and once more in my mid-fifties. The first time I read it, I read it shortly after Jude the Obscure. Those two books, taken together, really convinced me that I was not the only person ever to feel what I felt. There is nothing lonelier than that kind of novelty, like you minted your own special misery.
Hey Neil! thank you so much for your kind comment. i’m so glad you enjoy reading from a different perspective (it isn’t always the case so yay) i’ve never heard of that other book you mention so i’ll have to check it out! but yes crime and punishment is a mental trip and very taxing mentally, as someone who has dealt with severe isolation i understood his feelings a bit too well myself and it felt a bit like coming back to an uncomfortable home where you didn’t feel at ease enough to put on the tv
I also read this recently and thoroughly enjoyed it between pages 200 and the epilogue. I thought I’d Google some book analysis vids to expand my horizons, and was alarmed to discover that many of them were about or by Jordan Peterson on ‘why you should be more like Raskolnikov’… turns out we have accidentally indoctrinated ourselves into the manosphere.
oh gods that’s terrifying! i was reading analysis on different websites and didn’t stumble upon any of the manosphere themes and such but yikes
Am now concerned what this says about me and my browser history! They were like the top 6 videos on YouTube!
well people clearly don’t understand the book
loved this review!!! he’s my favourite classics author so im so happy you picked it up again <3 hopefully youll explore more of his work
yes it’s only the beginning! i have two other books of his on my shelves that i can’t wait to read
Loved the drinking vodka bit the most :)
So my own Russian mother told me to stay away from Dostoevsky unless I want to willingly feel depressed (we were more of a Pushkin household), but you've convinced me to give him a shot.
well dosto defo makes you feel depressed but sometimes it’s necessary to work through whatever you’re going through so i’d recommend it ;) haven’t read pushkin yet and can’t wait thanks for reading as always maria <3
Okaaaaaay then *pulls the dusty secondhand copy out of the shelf*
bahaha now’s the time to get dirty and freaky with this book
So slutty of me 🙂↕️
I finished reading it a couple of weeks ago and also really enjoyed it, for similar reasons. I still rate 'Dreams of a Ridiculous Man' and 'Notes from Underground' more than this, though. I also enjoyed the language more in 'The Idiot'. I have the rest of his work in my to-read pile (along with War and Peace!)