El Idiota / The Idiot | 
pickThis was very strange, and so very Russian. It contains almost every Russian trope and is full of allegory, including a modern Christ figure. Most of it is dialogue and digression, and almost every character has episodes of mania, delirium, or hysteria. It wore me out a bit by the end, and I had a lot of "wth is going on?!?" moments, but it's still a pick.
Two bingos, thanks to strategic “Free“ space reading 😉
The library took Hood Feminism before I finished and it'll be weeks to get it again. I enjoyed the tagged enough to finish well-ahead of schedule. Discomfort was the most felt-in-the-body read and Skylark was hopeful-poignant-then sad. The two main characters in Night Boat had a rhythm to their conversation that reminds me of Godot (also because Irish and because waiting)
#BookSpinBingo
so-soMamma mi una pesata paurosa. Però sicuramente un libro che ti lascia qualcosa. Un gran classico. Non lo rileggerò mai
#OnThisDay in 1849 members of the Petrashevsky Circle were arrested due to their "spirit of opposition to the government, and…desire to alter the existing state of things." Of the 60 members arrested, 23 were sentenced to execution, including Dostoevsky. The Tsar agreed to commute the sentences, but prisoners were not informed until the first three prisoners had been blindfolded and tied to stakes and the order to fire was given ? #HistoryGetsLIT
I‘m reading these books right now. One originally published in 1869, the other in 2020. The main character in each suffers from epilepsy. I didn‘t know that about either book when I chose them. I‘m about 3/4 done with each and would recommend them both.
Spending labour day (and national read a book day!) with Dostoevsky. 80% through, hoping to finish today. Trying to enjoy that sunshine 🌞🤓
Finally reached Part II of The Idiot by Dostoevsky
About 29%, 110 pages in
So many characters...
Giving Dostoevsky another go with The Idiot! I rather enjoyed C&P and I must say, though slow going (as I expected) I am enjoying being able to read this on my Kindle and tapping definitions (as I am doing frequently), rather than having to flip thru to the end of the book, as I did with C&P & the endless footnotes.
I am rather enjoying this idiot prince.
“He stopped for a moment. This sometimes happens with people: unbearable, unexpected memories, especially in connection with shame, ordinarily stop one on the spot for a moment.”
I freaking love Dostoevsky! 😍 don‘t know why I saw some bad reviews about this book, half way through and it‘s brilliant
so-soThe way the author uses his characters is fascinating. He uses them, particularly Myshkin, to critique societal flaws while also suggesting that Myshkin's goodness & desire to help everyone is doomed to failure. For the most part I found it plodded too slowly towards inevitability, and is repetitive in unnecessary ways. It could have been compelling, but didn't quite get there. I may try another of his novels instead, but this one was just okay.
Homemade cinnamon latte and my book. It does wonders for my nerves.
Slowly making progress with this one but I'm loving it so far.
#ABookAndCoffee #MarchReads
Hello my friends, I hope you're good.
The world is crazy right now. Try to remain positive and surround yourself with something familiar and a couple of good books if possible.
Since we've switched to online classes, I'm at home with my mum and our lovely plants reading amazing Russian literature.
Stay safe, stay home. ❤️
panWhen I read Crime And Punishment I was hooked from the start. The opposite happened here: I never got into the story. I don't know why, but I was bored from the start and just did not care about the characters or what's happening to them.
Weird, how an author can write such different books. Still, I'm somewhat sad and disappointed... 😰
#9 of my year. Gonna start off with an intimidating book that I have been wanting to read. I‘m pretty sure this is the first book that I will be reading by him.
My Christmas presents from myself lol every time I ask family/friends for books I get other random things and so I took matters into my own hands hehehe These will be part of my 2020 TBR piles 😅
A day off well spent in bookstores ... pile of possibilities for 2020 reading challenges. Some of those books are suitable for #ReadingEurope2020
J. Banville, The Newton Letter (Ireland)
H. Soderberg, The Serious Game (Sweden)
S. Marai, Esther's Inheritance (Hungary)
A.Carter, Nights at the Circus (United Kingdom)
S.Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
J.C.Oates, Jack of Spades
G.Saunders, Tenth of December
C.Keegan, Foster (Ireland)
👇
#friyayintro @howjessreads
1. On it 😊
2. Hmmm... I saw my aunty and cousin again, so thats awesome.
3. Help my mom sew some babyclothes and reeeaaaad!
4. 5... I think 😅
5. Okay doke!!! ❤
Good morning. We're up since 5.30am... Ducklings are fed, time for mommy to read. Let's see how I like my second Dosto...
#readingmom #russiannovember #novembertbr #morningvibes
“These Mr. Know-it-alls are occasionally, even quite frequently, to be met with in a certain social stratum. They know everything, all the restless inquisitiveness of their minds and all their abilities are turned irresistibly in one direction, certainly for lack of more important life interests and perspectives, as a modern thinker would say.”
A little mystery behind old books I found at one of my favorite haunts in Maine. They were in different sections of this labyrinthine store but seem to have been gifted between the same friends with hand written notes inside. According to their response, David and Jane didn‘t enjoy The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I may never know if they read the love stories by Ivan Turgenev out loud as suggested by Sveta (friend? teacher? doting aunt?). Sigh...
#poormisguidedfool
#redroseseptember
Not read yet....
Barnes and Noble has tables and tables of 50% off books for the next three days, and it includes a lot of titles from their classics series. Y'all, this was the first book that woke up my brain to the sorts of layered meaning literature is capable of. I was 16. It is still at the top of my list. It only cost me $5 and is the translation from the brilliant Constance Garnett. I can't even right now. ♥️😭♥️😭♥️😭
April Stats as I don't think I'll get any more read today! Have tagged the 1 ⭐.
#wontgetfooledagain
#MarchIntoThe70s
This is on my TBR shelf and I *will* get round to reading it (one day!)
I‘d like to just make a small complaint though @Lizpixie and @Cinfhen - I‘ve STILL got You‘re So Vain buzzing around in my head! 🤣🤣
so-soI wrote a pretty long (for me) review of this on Goodreads, but since Litsy for some lack of reason doesn‘t allow nearly the word count Goodreads does, I can‘t get it out at all the way I‘d like to.
Thus, I‘ll put it this way: “The Idiot” is Dostoevsky trying to write a Charles Dickens novel. That‘s what it is basically. And because he‘s really doing a Dickens thing instead of his own thing is why I feel it doesn‘t work.
I saw there was nothing there, an empty and smooth space, like the palm of my hand, and I went on feeling all the same. Such faintheartedness always repeats itself with a man when he wants very much to find something...in the case of a considerable and sad loss: one sees that there‘s nothing there, an empty space, and yet one looks fifteen times over.
Started one of my 2019 reads early as I'm doing it on @SerialReader app & it's 100 issues!
"In a word, the world spoke well of the girls; but they were not without their enemies, and occasionally people talked with horror of the number of books they had read."
