The Idiot

English language

Published Nov. 22, 2016

ISBN:
978-1-5405-7043-7
Copied ISBN!

View on Inventaire

4 stars (57 reviews)

The Idiot (pre-reform Russian: Идіотъ; post-reform Russian: Идиот, tr. Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal The Russian Messenger in 1868–69. The title is an ironic reference to the central character of the novel, Prince (Knyaz) Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, a young man whose goodness, open-hearted simplicity and guilelessness lead many of the more worldly characters he encounters to mistakenly assume that he lacks intelligence and insight. In the character of Prince Myshkin, Dostoevsky set himself the task of depicting "the positively good and beautiful man." The novel examines the consequences of placing such a singular individual at the centre of the conflicts, desires, passions and egoism of worldly society, both for the man himself and for those with whom he becomes involved. Joseph Frank describes The Idiot as "the most personal of all Dostoevsky's major works, the book …

15 editions

Review of 'The idiot' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Fuck me, I am so tired of these Christ-like characters such as Prinz Myschkin. Dostoevsky's conservatism never irritates me as much as it bores me. Find redemption in Christ or be damned, and so on. Good people are treated poorly but they endure for they are Orthodox Christians, and bad people treat others poorly but eventually go mad or die terribly or suffer ineffably or kill someone, for they are atheist nihilists. Seriously, Dostoevsky's 3 most distinguished novels are more or less the same bland of moralizing drivel. I am truly perplexed that the very same man is responsible for such works as Notes from Underground and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. Those works are something to be marveled at, yet somehow, everyone ends up reading poorly disguised Christian fan fiction.

Review of 'The Idiot' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I re-read this because I remember really enjoying it as a teen and thinking it was quite funny at points. I sure didn't find that this time and I was frustrated by the pacing. I found the last half interminable and felt like I was missing something. I tried to read it with great attention to make sure I didn't miss some detail but still found little of importance. The contradictions and inconsistencies of the characters were confusing. It seemed not that the characters themselves were variable but that Dostoevsky had an inconsistent idea of what the character's roles.

avatar for Nr616

rated it

5 stars
avatar for flimflam

rated it

4 stars
avatar for illusions_perdues

rated it

5 stars
avatar for SobiX

rated it

3 stars
avatar for FeloDeSe

rated it

3 stars
avatar for wetdryvac

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Jotizf

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Elspeth

rated it

4 stars
avatar for writh

rated it

5 stars
avatar for stim

rated it

5 stars
avatar for ngs

rated it

4 stars
avatar for crates

rated it

5 stars
avatar for elunedli

rated it

4 stars
avatar for mjmenger

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Enric

rated it

4 stars
avatar for fabriek

rated it

3 stars
avatar for joaotrindade

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Gerry

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jayemar

rated it

2 stars
avatar for emarsh

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Rigo

rated it

5 stars
avatar for wzhkevin

rated it

4 stars
avatar for lmgenealogy

rated it

5 stars
avatar for dragna

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ichebi

rated it

2 stars
avatar for gregorsamsa

rated it

5 stars
avatar for gamer

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Sarja

rated it

4 stars
avatar for facundo

rated it

4 stars
avatar for alexmu

rated it

4 stars
avatar for piotr

rated it

5 stars
avatar for ChadGayle

rated it

4 stars
avatar for snigor

rated it

5 stars
avatar for UdeRecife

rated it

3 stars
avatar for CuriousLibrarian

rated it

3 stars
avatar for nclandrei

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Noida

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Shtakser

rated it

4 stars
avatar for dhcmrlchtdj

rated it

5 stars
avatar for pd-bomber

rated it

3 stars
avatar for torin

rated it

4 stars
avatar for js

rated it

4 stars
avatar for erinlcrane

rated it

5 stars