# Dostoyevsky **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2008, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908 "2008-04-04T11:57:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/1 "2008-04-04T11:57:45Z")
How many have actually read his works? I have most of them but have finished few- they are pretty tough going. I wish I could write like him though. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/2 "2008-04-04T12:04:34Z")
I read Crime and Punishment. Didn’t have any problem going straight through, and if his other books are similar I wouldn’t be worried about going through them. I always prefered reading a sample of books when it came to classics, so even authors I particularly liked like Honore De Balzac, I’ve never read more than one work of. ---
**Author:** ![chocolatefrog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/41988e/32.png) [@chocolatefrog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chocolatefrog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/3 "2008-04-04T12:28:31Z")
Read Crime and Punishment and liked it, but that was really long ago. Then I stole a copy (or borrowed and never returned) of The Brothers Karamazov from my local library and it seems like the punishment for my crime is that I’ll never finish the damn thing. Coming to think of it it’s probably time again for my yearly attempt at it. The book has great parts but somehow it just doesn’t hold me all the way to the end. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/4 "2008-04-04T12:33:12Z")
[QUOTE=Cicero] How many have actually read his works? I have most of them but have finished few- they are pretty tough going. I wish I could write like him though. [/QUOTE] I read _The Brothers Karamazov_ in high school about 30 years ago; not that I can remember any of it, other than it had nothing to do with juggling 😃 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/5 "2008-04-04T12:34:52Z")
I’ve read both _Crime and Punishment_\* and \*_The Brothers Karamazov_ in high school and college, respectively. Yeah, tough going, but some scenes have stayed with me (and it’s 40 years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/6 "2008-04-04T12:42:45Z")
I was supposed to have read Crime and Punishment for school. I skimmed it. If I had read it, I might have a more positive view of the work. OTOH, I was assigned it about three months after I had to give up on the _other_ great work of Russian Literature: I had tried War and Peace on my own and found it thoroughly unreadable, even though I made it through about 300 pages before raising the white flag. With that experience I was far less willing to give Dostoyevsky an honest chance. I really should try it again sometime. (But I doubt I will.) ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/7 "2008-04-04T13:00:47Z")
I have read major parts of _Crime and Punishment,_ and _The Idiot_. Whenever I found them getting too long winded, I skipped pages. Often, lots of pages. 🙂 The shorter novel, _the Gambler_, I read entirely. For those of you who couldn’t get through the book _Crime and Punishment_, I recommend watching the remake of the book as a [miniseries](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307734/#comment) from 2002, starring John Simm (From Life on Mars). Very true to the book, in getting the spirit and the central theme of it just right, fastpaced, dramatic, and beautifully filmed. A recommendation from IMDB, that I fully agree with: > [@](#): > > The film makes great use of its St Petersburg location, brilliantly recreating the poverty stricken Russian streets of the 1860’s. The camerawork is bold and imaginative - this would be impressive at the cinema - on BBC2 it was an unexpected bonus. The viewer experiences the main character’s disorientated point of view. It is especially memorable in the frenetic, panic-stricken robbery, which makes you sweat and those bizarre dream sequences. > As a “period drama” (although that phrase seems strangely inappropriate for this production) this is obviously nothing like the usual Austen, Lawrence, Trollope et al but something far superior. One warning - the murder scene is HORRIBLE but if you think that that is a fault then blame Dostoevsky alone, for everyone involved has stuck so closely to the details and spirit of his novel. Personally, I found it necessary because of the initial impact it has on you, which becomes inexplicably diminished in memory as the film progresses and our sympathy with the murderer, grows. > The whole cast is impressive, especially Ian McDiamid (as the wily, cunning detective - Porfiry), Nigel Terry (as Raskolnikov’s “evil double” Svidrigaïlov) and (my favourite) the ever-improving John Simm as the main character himself. John Simm is an actor I have always admired but one can’t help but associate him with a contemporary setting. However, casting him as Raskolnikov was inspired and it is, to my mind, his best performance to date. Its astonishing how his rendition of the character is so immediately recognizable as the Raskolnikov from the novel (although you don’t need to have read the book to appreciate his excellent performance). Handsome, bedraggled, intelligent, ailing, arrogant, benevolent, confused, likeable, troubled, regretful, - this is one of the most complex of characters but Simm pulls it off, making Crime and Punishment the most impressive drama to be shown on T.V. in some time. Highly recommended ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/8 "2008-04-04T13:06:17Z")
I’ve read _Crime and Punishment_, and I really enjoyed the first half or so. I found it Macbeth-like. But when the focus of the book turned to redemption, I thought it rang false. ---
**Author:** ![Kuboydal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@Kuboydal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuboydal)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/9 "2008-04-04T13:09:58Z")
I’ve read the Brothers, idiot, Notes from Underground, the Gambler, the possessed, and Crime and Punishment (3-4 times). C+P is best during the winter in an underheated and squalid house whilst cooking your own soups made from whatever is at hand. I’ve always enjoyed the Russians. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/10 "2008-04-04T13:32:00Z")
I’ve read most of his stuff as a young man, surely the best time to read him 🙂 I’ve always found him to be very readable - he’s a special writer for me because it was the first serious literature I picked up that I actually enjoyed. I just read fantasy and SF as a teenager, and thought an ancient writer with a long Russian name would be a nightmare. To discover that it was actually exciting, tightly plotted stuff was very de-mystifying for me and opened up a world of writing. It’s all good stuff, but I’d go with Notes from the underground and Karamazov as the two real masterpieces. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/11 "2008-04-04T13:56:27Z")
I have read, and enjoyed, _Crime and Punishment_ and _The Brothers Karamazov_ (both when I was in my 20’s, after having heard about them often enough to think, “I really ought to read that.”) _Crime and Punishment_, in many ways, reads like a modern suspense thriller or murder mystery, only more intense, more real, and more philosophical. Raskolnikov is one of the very few characters in literature I have found myself both identifying with and loathing. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/12 "2008-04-04T14:30:49Z")
[QUOTE=Kuboydal] I’ve read the Brothers, idiot, Notes from Underground, the Gambler, the possessed, and Crime and Punishment (3-4 times). C+P is best during the winter in an underheated and squalid house whilst cooking your own soups made from whatever is at hand. I’ve always enjoyed the Russians. [/QUOTE] I read Crime and Punishment while backpacking through Poland during the winter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/13 "2008-04-04T15:06:34Z")
I’ve read _Crime and Punishment_. I can’t say I found it pleasant, but I nonetheless consider it one of the best books I’ve ever read. Raskolnikov is a character that really sticks with you. I’ve tried to read _The Brothers Karamazov_ and _The Idiot_, but never could make it very far in. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/14 "2008-04-04T16:21:16Z")
I read Crime and Punishment in high school, and liked it quite a bit. I read The Brothers Karamazov one summer in college, mostly I think because I wanted to prove to myself that even though I was majoring in physics and math I was still capable of reading “great literature”. I enjoyed parts of it a great deal, but it definitely took more effort to get through. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/15 "2008-04-04T16:54:09Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] For those of you who couldn’t get through the book _Crime and Punishment_, I recommend watching the remake of the book as a [miniseries](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307734/#comment) from 2002, starring John Simm (From Life on Mars). Very true to the book, in getting the spirit and the central theme of it just right, fastpaced, dramatic, and beautifully filmed. [/QUOTE] Do you happen to know where I can purchase that? 'Cause I’ve been wanting to see it for ages. . . . . .as to the question. . .I’ve read _Crime and Punishment_, _Notes from Underground_, a lot of _The Idiot_, and a fair chunk of _The Brothers Karamazov_. I think there might’ve been some smaller pieces that I’ve read, too, though I can’t think of any off the top of my head. I love _Crime and Punishment_. Love love love. It’s my favorite bok ever. I about cried when the copy I brought everywhere with me was destroyed due to a basement leak (about two months ago), because it had all of my highlights and notes. I’ve been looking for a replacement, but the current editions that I’ve found that use the Garnett translation (which is what that one was) aren’t really to my liking, dimensions-wise. Have a couple of other translations, too. Liked the shorter stuff I read, and _Notes from Underground_, too. The part of _The Brothers Karamazov_ I read wasn’t bad, either. _The Idiot_, I had a LOT of problems getting into, and I pretty much abandoned it about 2/3 of the way through. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/16 "2008-04-04T17:07:34Z")
\*\*Crime and Punishment \*\* was assigned reading for my HS senior English class. In fact it was the first book we read that year. I \*really \* liked it. So much so that when it came time to choose a topic for a term paper, I chose a comparison/contrast study of the religious themes in **C+P** to those in The **Brothers Karamazov**. So I read that one also. Got an A- on the paper. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/17 "2008-04-04T17:22:50Z")
So much is dependent on the translation. Constance Garnett basically brought Dostoyevsky to the English-speaking world, and her translations are still often read today. They are Victorian in the extreme, and they cleave very closely to the original Russian. I know maybe five words of Russian so I really cannot comment on her technique, per se, but personally, I find them unbearable. For the longest time I thought I did not really like Dostoyevsky, despite my best efforts. I thought there was something wrong with me. Then I read something _not_ translated by Garnett and my opinion did a 180. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/18 "2008-04-04T17:29:11Z")
I read at least parts of Crime and Punishment and Brothers in high school, ages ago. The details are too fuzzy for me to have a comment. Right now, the thing I’m wondering is: why can’t I read the word Raskolnikov without hearing Boris Badinov saying it? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/19 "2008-04-04T17:59:23Z")
I tried to read Crime and Punishment last fall. I was somewhere between 100-150 pages and absolutely nothing interesting had happened yet, so I gave up. ---
**Author:** ![Humble\_Servant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/47e85d/32.png) [@Humble\_Servant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Humble_Servant)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908/20 "2008-04-04T18:08:53Z")
Vladimir Nabokov is notorious both for thinking Dostoyevsky “third-rate” and for being an extreme literalist in matters of translation. There are a buncha tribute books out there written by Nabokov’s former students and admirers–it is funny to see them all sort of sadly apologize for this failing of their master–along the lines of “of course it must be admitted that he was wrong about Dostoyevsky.” I can see Nabokov’s point–he thought Dostoyevsky wrote sentimental melodramatic mystery stories with improbable characters. He thought Dostoyevsky was a bad psychologist–that his characters were one-offs, not everymen. And, he’s right–the characters in Karamazov, for instance, are all bizarro beings, and simplistic peasant Christian love is not going to solve the world’s problems. Nonetheless, that’s not enough to put me off Dostoyevsky because I don’t need all my lit to be realistic. Nabokov’s big project was a translation of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin. Onegin is poetry, and Nabokov’s overly-literal handling of it killed any music it may have in the Russian. One of the fun parts though is that Nabokov uses the notes, preface, etc. to eviscerate previous translators, including particularly Constance Garnett–he shows that she both mangled and omitted important parts of the work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dostoyevsky/443908.md?page=2)