Fyodor Dostoevsky

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imhopref
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Post by imhopref »

Crime & Punishment is a great book, but, honestly, it should be better read in original - I've read it in English and Russian, and must say it lost a lot in translation.
Belenus
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Post by Belenus »

sweetos wrote:i just finished dostoevsky's book, "the idiot". it's amazing. it's just disappointing that not a lot of people have read this book. and it's even less popular than dostoevsky's other work, "crime and punishment". i haven't read that one but i'm sure that if people recognize c&p as one of the best classics, the idiot should receive the same recognition.
I agree with you about "the idiot" and extend it to include "the gambler" as well.
blue_diamond21
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Post by blue_diamond21 »

I've jsut finished part I and am really looking forward to finishing the book. I'll also be picking up his others now they've been so greatly recommended :D
Don't judge a book by it's cover - not always good advice
Amy
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Post by Amy »

Hi!

Wow you are so lucky to be reading Crime and Punishment at the moment. I absolutely fell in love with that book. I loved the monologue style and the exploration of the protagonist's psychological state.

where are you in it now?
blue_diamond21
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Post by blue_diamond21 »

Still at the end of part 1 :oops: I get very easily distracted and have read about 3 other books since finishing the first part! I just bought The Kite Runner but have left it at my other half's house so I can finish Crime and Punishment!
Don't judge a book by it's cover - not always good advice
Brenna Erin
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Post by Brenna Erin »

Dostoevsky creeps me out a little bit. I've done Crime and Punishment, and the Brothers Karamazov. He worries me a little, because I get so twisted up in everything, my head goes in circles, and I'm not sure whether or not the murderer is guilty anymore. Or, if I believe he's guilty, I don't want him to be punished, because I feel bad for him.

That's why Dostoevsky's writing is famous: these days, it takes an "amazing" writer to get their readers to side with the protagonist and hate the antagonist. Dostoevsky makes me like the antagonist. These days, he'd make a great lawyer or politician. Does my head in, but i love it.
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LawnTamer
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Post by LawnTamer »

KaeMartyndale wrote:I just finished his short story "The Little Orphan". It was well written, but incredibly depressing. But, that's his thing, right?
I don't think that is his thing. I haven't read all his works, but I have read the Brothers Karamazov and C&P and am reading The Idiot. I think his novels speak to me of hope and redemption. Look at C&P, an Axe Murderer is the main character, and he eventually finds... perhaps not redemption, but hope. I think the scene where he kneels before Dunya is one of the most moving in literature. Dunya is a prostitute, yet she is free of moral offense, she has retained her innocence, this instills guilt, but also hope in Raskolnikov.

I love the Brothers K. Alyosha (Alexi)is certainly one of the greatest characters ever. As I read, I realized that Alyosha could have been like either of his brothers. He has had the same doubts as his brother Ivan concerning the justice of God and life. He has fought the same passions that rule and destroy Dimitri. Yet, he becomes someone totally different. He has reason to doubt, passion to battle, yet he becomes who he wants to become, exercising hope and faith in the face of controversy.

When Dostoevsky was in a prison camp in Siberia, he had only a Bible. With a mind as voracious as his, he must have devoured it. I think hope and faith ring through in his writing.

So, what say ye?
blueangel
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Post by blueangel »

I have Dostoevsky's crime and punishment but i haven't read it yet because of my pending books to read.
david paul
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Post by david paul »

Crime and Punishment was my first Dos. read. I found it engrossing. I then, years later, read Brothers Karamazof (sp?). I found it even better!!!
Then, with such a great feeling about Dos. I turned to Notes from Underground. Yuck!!! I did not like this little book at all. It was depressing and unredeeming i felt. So, I have taken a holiday from Dos. for a while.
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j2page1
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Post by j2page1 »

I read Dostoevsky's "Notes from the Underground" a few years ago and I liked the darker undertones of the book and the anti-hero protagonist.

I've always wanted to pick up C&P because I've heard such amazing things about it.
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Dori
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Post by Dori »

LawnTamer wrote:I don't think that is his thing. I haven't read all his works, but I have read the Brothers Karamazov and C&P and am reading The Idiot. I think his novels speak to me of hope and redemption. Look at C&P, an Axe Murderer is the main character, and he eventually finds... perhaps not redemption, but hope. I think the scene where he kneels before Dunya is one of the most moving in literature. Dunya is a prostitute, yet she is free of moral offense, she has retained her innocence, this instills guilt, but also hope in Raskolnikov.
I'm pretty sure it was Sonya who was the harlot, not Dunya (Rodya's sister).
"Fine words will butter no parsnips."
flashgordon
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Post by flashgordon »

Boy, I need to go back and re-read this book. It was/is one of my all-time favorites, but it has been too long...
sharon.gmc
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Post by sharon.gmc »

I read it once and I want to read it again. Preferably in a quite place and when I am not always in a hurry.
TeddyP
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Post by TeddyP »

Crime and Punishment is my favourite book ever I think. It took me ages to get used to all the Russian names, but after that it was completely engrossing.
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Pigs on the Wing
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Post by Pigs on the Wing »

I'm going to pick up a copy of Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot soon, cannot wait to read them!
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