# Which Dostoevsky novel should I read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201 "2003-04-25T21:41:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/1 "2003-04-25T21:41:44Z")
I am just finishing up Notes from the Underground and have enjoyed it. I haven’t quite gotten my fill. Should I read The Brothers Karamazov or Crime and Punishment or some third, less well known, choice? To keep this from being just a poll, tell me why you liked/hated any of his writing. Also, should I be aware of any translational issues? I am certainly not a literary critic and do not intend to read the books as such. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/2 "2003-04-25T22:21:54Z")
The esy answer is “all of them” because for my money old Fyodor was the preeminent 19th century novelist, surpassing even Dickens, Trollope, and the Brontes. Whatever you do, avoid the Constance Garnett translations-they’re not accurate and the text is written in an unnaturally stilted prose that is not at all like Dostoyevsky’s style in Russian. Besides _The Brothers Karamazov_ and _Crime and Punishment_, you should read _The Idiot_, about the damage a Christlike figure can get into in a sinful world, and _The Possessed_ (also known as \* The Devils\*), a denunciation of godless nihilism. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/3 "2003-04-25T22:21:55Z")
I’d say, read “Crime and Punishment” first, “The Brothers Karamazov” second… and if you’re not burned out, go on to “The Idiot.” ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/4 "2003-04-25T22:30:27Z")
Oh yes Notes from the underground, a fantastic little story. I do so love the intro 🙂 Check out **“Idiot”** I liked it well enough. Other russians you might find and intrest in. Gorky **"life of a useless man"** Gogol\*\* “dead souls”\*\* Bulgakov **“master and Margarita”** and **“Heart of a dog”** (my personal favorite) If your still in a russian lit kick there are the poets Achmatova, Yevtushenko, Mayakovsky, Mandelstam and Blok. ---
**Author:** ![knock\_knock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@knock\_knock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knock_knock)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/5 "2003-04-25T22:33:52Z")
I’d recommend Crime and Punishment first. Compared with The Brothers K, it’s shorter, more closely related to Notes from the Underground, and (I think) better. Then you can move on to Brothers K and all the rest. ---
**Author:** ![jack\_ss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c77e96/32.png) [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/6 "2003-04-25T22:44:35Z")
I’d read something else by Dostyevski between **Crime & Punishment** and **The Brothers K**. The ‘redemption by sacrifice’ theme gets a little threadbare if you read them back-to-back. ---
**Author:** ![Dumbguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dumbguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dumbguy)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/7 "2003-04-25T22:45:23Z")
I hated Crime and Punishment. Couldn’t finish it. I recommend Nabakov. ---
**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 25, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/8 "2003-04-25T22:47:24Z")
Read **Crime and Punishment**. I think that, in some ways, it’s more similar to **Notes from the Underground** , and it’s definately a less irritating read. Additionally, it’s one of my favorite books :). Read some Checkov, too. His short story “Misery” is just wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/9 "2003-04-25T23:39:48Z")
Thanks for the responses thus far. It looks like I will give Crime and Punishment a shot. My American public school education hasn’t left me feeling remarkably well read. In high school, English I-IV roughly went Grammar, Writing, American Literature, British Literature. As a technical major in college, I didn’t bother with literature classes, so wide swathes of world literature are, ahem, foreign to me. Now I am beginning an attempt to “make up for lost time.” I enjoy the simultaneous contradictory thought patterns embraced by the underground man; it rings so true to real life. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/10 "2003-04-25T23:44:38Z")
I vote for **Crime and Punishment** too for the same reasons cited by **knock knock**. List of his books I’ve read in the order I read them (and my ranking of them): 1. **Ijit** (3) 2. **Bros. K** (2) 3. **C&P** (1) 4. **NFTU** (5) 5. **Possessed** (4) 6. **Adolescent** (6) **Osip** , don’t forget Turgenev’s **Fathers and Sons** 😉 ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/11 "2003-04-26T00:24:50Z")
I read Dostoevsky’s books as a teen–one thing that appealed to me was that he seemed to maintain an optimistic outlook throughout the novels while at the same time realizing that life is often unfair, nasty, and violent. I also liked the fact that he had sympathy for many of his “misfit” characters such as Rogozhin in_The Idiot_–he portrayed them as flawed or disturbed but not evil. When you’re 19 and you feel that you are at odds with the world and no one understands you, that means a lot. That said, I’d go with _Crime and Punishment_ first, then maybe _The Brothers Karamazov_. _The Idiot_ and _The Possessed_ get a bit bogged down by his tendency to spend pages obsessively describing minor characters (although if you like Dostoevsky they are worth your time.) Pointless aside: one year a group at my university had a book drive for female prisoners. I gave them a copy of _Crime and Punishment._ ---
**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 26, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/12 "2003-04-26T01:34:11Z")
Another vote for _Crime and Punishment_ first, then _Brothers Karamazov_. In _C&P_ Dostoevsky did something I don’t think any other author has ever done: based a story around a main character whom I simultaneously despised and identified with. Dostoevsky does a pretty good job of keeping up the suspense throughout the novel, so that it’s something of a page-turner, a la Stephen King maybe, but more intense and deep, with some serious psychological and philosophical and spiritual meat to it. _The Brothers Karamazov_ is probably his greatest work—at least that seems to be the critical consensus, and I think I agree. But it’s less focussed, less unified, more all-over-the-place, so that it’s harder to fully appreciate after a single reading. It’s a basic murder mystery with all sorts of other stuff thrown in too. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/13 "2003-04-26T02:16:40Z")
Crime & Punishment. The Brothers Karamazov. The Gambler (the light side of Dostoevsky) Tertius01: I cannot praise the man enough. I agree with everything gobear said except the remarks about Constance Garnett’s translations, and that’s because I haven’t read those. Dostovesky is a genius, and I think Crime & Punishment is the best novel ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/14 "2003-04-26T02:25:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Banger \* > **Osip** , don’t forget Turgenev’s **Fathers and Sons** 😉 Forget? FOOL! You cannot hand a man everything at once… he will try to absorb it all at once! THAT COULD KILL HIM! Just dish it out to him bit by bit… Think of it as getting the kids at the playground hooked on smack the first few times your all helpful and giving advice away free… then BAM! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tertius01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tertius01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tertius01)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/15 "2003-04-26T02:35:19Z")
Progress report: A copy of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Crime and Punishment has been purchased. It was generally acclaimed on Amazon as being the best available translation. Now I just can’t let reading it interfere with my upcoming finals. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/16 "2003-04-26T06:44:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Osip \* > \*\*Forget? > FOOL! You cannot hand a man everything at once… he will try to absorb it all at once! THAT COULD KILL HIM! > > Just dish it out to him bit by bit… > > Think of it as getting the kids at the playground hooked on smack > > the first few times your all helpful and giving advice away free… then BAM! > 😃 \*\* :smack: I guess I shouldn’t mention Tolstoy then… D’OH!!! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/17 "2003-04-26T06:54:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tertius01 \* > \*\*Progress report: > > A copy of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of Crime and Punishment has been purchased. It was generally acclaimed on Amazon as being the best available translation. Now I just can’t let reading it interfere with my upcoming finals. \*\* [sub]I swear this isn’t an attempt at bumping up a post count. I’m just too dumb to have included this in the last post.[/sub] The version of **C&P** I read was the [Sidney Monas](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=6BKMVNEMW8&isbn=0451527232&itm=3) translation. I have not read any other translations of **C&P** , but a couple of months ago I asked about the best translation of [Don Quixote](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=167373&highlight=quixote) and got helpful input, so I felt it necessary to mention the translation of **C&P** that I read. Although I haven’t read any other translations, I definitely enjoyed this one, as it ranks as my favorite Dostoevsky novel. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/18 "2003-04-26T12:07:29Z")
I’m inclined to agree with **The Peyote Coyote**. _The Gambler_ is a must read. But so is _The Idiot_. And after that, you should swap over to someone else, like Gogol. _Diary of a Madman_ is well worth the read. ---
**Author:** ![RadioWave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/91b2a8/32.png) [@RadioWave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadioWave)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/19 "2003-04-26T18:46:03Z")
Just agreeing with everyone on _Crime and Punishment_ and _The Idiot_. _The Brothers Karamazov_ is probably the greatest of his novels but reading it can be an excruciating mental ordeal as you really must focus intensely on every scene, character and motivation. Make sure you have plenty of time to read before entering into that book. Also important, before reading any more of his books, make sure you read at least a summary of Dostoevski’s life. Learn about his early existentialism, his time in prison, his gambling, his disease and his own personal coming to religion. It might help you understand the themes that run through his novels. ---
**Author:** ![plastic\_conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@plastic\_conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plastic_conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201/20 "2003-04-26T22:21:13Z")
I guess I’m in the minority, since I recommend reading _Karamazov_ first. I actually got a little bored with _C&P_ and put it down about halfway through. That was about 13 years ago, when I was 16. I’ll definitely give it another shot. A year later, when I was 17, I read _Karamazov_ and it blew me away. I haven’t read a better novel before or since. So, if you have trouble finishing _C&P_, go directly to _Karamazov_. Do not pass go and do not collect 200 dollars. Dostoevsky thought his best novel was _The Idiot_. I thought it was a little unfocused. I had a hard time getting through the middle of the book, but it was ultimately satisfying. Still, I wouldn’t put it in the same league as _Karamazov_. Not even close. I have no idea why Dostoevsky thought so highly of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-dostoevsky-novel-should-i-read/171201.md?page=2)