This page is a work in progress.
What are you writing about?
I’ve written a lot about Fyodor Dostoevsky’s works in various places, and I’ll slowly assemble those pieces here. Admittedly, I’m mostly writing for myself, followed by those who’ve read his novels, then others who nevertheless would find his themes intriguing.
What exactly are those themes? It’s hard to say since they’re so broad they seemingly cover everything. Perhaps the most succinct way I can put it is this: Dostoevsky explores how certain rationalist ideologies driving the Westernization of Russia lead to moral degeneration and corruption of faith, but they’re not only a necessary evil in accepting the psychology of desire, they paradoxically cannot be reconciled with free will, only the lack of it - and yet, a solution exists. Though we are still far from discussing this, each post brings us a step closer.
In the short-term, my posts will mostly be answering FAQs about his works.
Do I need to worry about spoilers?
I’ll always avoid spoilers in titles. Posts about a particular book may include spoilers for it, but almost never spoilers to other referenced works.
That being said, I think I was spoiled on every book while reading it, but it truly didn’t lessen my enjoyment: his works are amazing for the insightful discussions and rich internal psychology of characters, not really the plot, but of course to each their own.
Why subscribe?
You don’t have to. This is a place for me to collect and share my personal notes reading through Dostoevsky’s works. Feel free to subscribe if you find them interesting!
Which translation should I get?
P&V (Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky) is widely regarded to prioritize fidelity to the original text, whereas others compromise nuance for ease of reading — neither is wrong, of course. I recommend P&V because I compared translator's notes and thought Pevear gave by far the best discussion of English/Russian nuances in translations. The downside is that P&V can be very academic-sounding, which can make the more philosophical parts harder to read.
I’d recommend P&V for anyone who loves Dostoevsky and wants to read with rigor. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who either English isn't their first language (if for whatever reason they're looking for an English translation) or for anyone who only has a slight to moderate interest in reading for the first time, meaning they'll be less motivated to work through the tough passages.
I’m pretty sure nobody would ever recommend Constance Garnett. Her translations are outdated but public domain, which is why you’ll see them more often such as in cool alternative hardcover editions at Barnes and Nobles.
Where are the images from?
The cover and profile images are awesome album art by the band Motherfolk! Other cat images are just pulled from the web since I don’t know what else to show. Please contact me if you’d like me to remove an image.
