[No spoilers] I am reading The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor dostoevsky

Eq0, 10 months ago

I loved that book! It was my introduction to Russian literature. I found the naming of characters confusing at first, but after a bit I got used to every character having at least three different calling names.

At some point, there is a quite long-winded philosophical chapter, don’t get discouraged!

Bebo, 9 months ago

That was me. I am now more than 80% through and don’t want to finish it because I am loving it so much. I don’t mind the philosophical stuff, some of it is quite interesting and thought provoking. Anyways, now I don’t know what to read next. And yes, the main confusing thing I find with Russian literature is the names. Every character I would be reading of would have at least 3-4 versions of their name.

Eq0, 9 months ago

Personally, my advice would be: don’t go to Tolstoj expecting something similar! He is so preachy compared to Dostoyevski, the characters don’t ring nearly as human and interesting.

On the other hand, everything I read of Dostoyevski is great, with Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov being at the top. I also find Victor Hugo to be similar (minus the weird naming conventions).

I got advised to read Master and Margherita, but I couldn’t get over the first dizen pages, but maybe it does it for you.

Bebo, 9 months ago

Years ago I read Anna Karenina and from what I vaguely remember, there was some amount of moralising; what you say kind of confirms that for me. Someone suggested Fathers and Sons by Turganev. What do you think about that? I have also heard about Master and Margherita. I can give it a try. I have already read and enjoyed Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment and Demons. Demons was slightly disturbing from what I remember. There’s still The Idiot and Notes from the Underground that I have still to read.

Eq0, 9 months ago

I know nothing of Turganev, honestly. I have read The Idiot and felt it was a little “less” than usual Dostoyevski, but I can highly recommend White Nights, a collection of short stories. I usually think of Dostoyevski as shining in long descriptions, but in White Nights he goes the other way and etches scenes with a minimal amount of details and still hitting the nail on the head. Notes from the Underground doesn’t have a good translation in my mother tongue, so I did not read it yet. Now that my English knowledge is good enough, I could look for a good English translation, but there are just too many books to read… what to read next is always a tough choice.

Bebo, 9 months ago

I will look into white nights. I am thinking of giving Turganev a try later. Let’s see how I like it. If it’s good I’ll probably share about it here.

Eq0, 9 months ago

I’ll look forward to your comments, positive and negative!

Bebo, 9 months ago

Sure thing!

Pissnpink, 10 months ago

This has been in my stack forever and I need to get to it. I’ve read The Idiot and loved it. It’s so ridiculous at times it gave me Arrested Development vibes. It was unexpectedly funny.

Eq0, 10 months ago

I think the translation I had wasn’t great, I did but find it funny but just boring. Only Dostojevski book I didn’t particularly like