The Idiot
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
List Price:
Our Price: $7.97
You Save: $5.98 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Fyodor DostoevskyTranslator: Richard Pevear
Translator: Larissa Volokhonsky
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2003-07-08
ISBN: 0375702245
Number of pages: 656
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of The Idiot
Book Review: A revealing classic
Summary: 5 Stars
The Idiot is one of the finest novels in history, perhaps the finest. In this novel, the enigma that is often referred to as "THE RUSSIAN SOUL" is variously dissected through the different characters and more so by the hero of the story Prince Myshkin. In its simplest explanation, it is a soul with good intentions but faulty in executing the intentions. It is a soul in conflict, driven by the zest for life and a search of its meaning. Certainly the most Christian of Dostoyevsky's novels, THE IDIOT portrays how disastrous a good life can be. Rich in characters, this classic centers mostly on the good Prince Myshkin, a recovering epileptic with a rich soul who is easily perceived as an 'idiot' by the casual observer who focuses on his childlike manners especially in expressing himself and his naivety in dealing with people. But then a closer look reveals that his manners are the reflections of his honest soul, the wealth of his big heart and the broadness of his mind.
And only in deeper engagements does it become evident that Myshkin however has superior understanding and expression, which makes him modest and intelligent rather than stupid. His simple, honest and decent life is succinctly conveyed in his interactions, generating both love and resentment. The saintly Myshkin however struggles to deal with a materialistic world which has no place for the virtuous, and to reconcile his passionate and compassionate love for two women. But the love of the women corrupt and drives men out of their minds. Nastasia Filipovna whom Myshkin has compassionate love for is a tormented soul that can only love Christ and in Myshkin she found that Christ-like figure. Her rival Aglia has Myshkin's heart but failed to understand Myshkin's serene love for her and abandons him to the destructive love of Nastasia.
This is great intellectual work that we should to take seriously in general, a book to read with a serious mindset. Then you will understand the unique nature of Russia which our western minds have difficulties to comprehend. This strange land called Russia that has a bigger soul than any other is explored here in this story in a way that only Dostoyevsky unveils. Read it and you will finish it enriched. The Idiot is a thoroughly enjoyable novel of ideas that explores the nature of man and society and gives you a better idea of man and his actions. You shouldn't find it strange that the characters are philosophical, impulsive, introspective, energetic, colorful, and extreme in their passions. That is Russia, a land of extremes. This book is likely to impact you. It is one of the few of our times. I highly recommend it along with THE UNION MOUJIK.Also recommended: THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV,THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books I Own but Have Not Read
Captains Courageousby Rudyard Kipling
1st World Library - Literary Society; Published: 2006-02-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.36
Price in other shops:
Notes From Undergroundby Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Signet Classics; Published: 2004-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.86
Price in other shops:
Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 1993-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.01
Price in other shops:
The Idiotby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 2003-07-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.88
Price in other shops:
Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View (Perennial Classics)by Stanley Milgram
Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Published: 2004-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.44
Price in other shops:
Nineteen Eighty-Fourby George Orwell
Plume; Published: 2003-05-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.11
Price in other shops:
Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics)by Charlotte Bront?
Penguin Classics; Published: 2006-08-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.42
Price in other shops:
Republicby Plato
Hackett Publishing Company; Published: 2004-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.00
Price in other shops:
Atlas Shruggedby Ayn Rand
Plume; Published: 1999-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.36
Price in other shops:
Don Quixoteby Miguel De Cervantes
Harper Perennial; Published: 2005-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club)by Leo Tolstoy
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops:
The Double and The Gamblerby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 2007-01-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.82
Price in other shops:
Dead Souls: A Novelby Nikolai Gogol
Vintage; Published: 1997-03-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops:
The Adolescentby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 2004-12-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.43
Price in other shops:
War and Peaceby Leo Tolstoy
Knopf; Published: 2007-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.49
Price in other shops:
Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 1993-03-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.49
Price in other shops:
Crime and Punishment (Enriched Classics)by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Pocket; Published: 2004-04-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.75
Price in other shops:
Notes From Undergroundby Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Signet Classics; Published: 2004-11-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.86
Price in other shops:
Demonsby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Vintage; Published: 1995-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.88
Price in other shops:
The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky
Farrar, Straus and Giroux; Published: 2002-06-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.15
Price in other shops: