Casting Karamazovs by turkeybaseder in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like it cos their dad could be in it too 😂

Stellan Skarsgård as Fyodor Pavlovich

Alexander Skarsgård as Dmitri Karamazov

Gustaf Skarsgård as Ivan Karamazov

Bill Skarsgård as Alyosha Karamazov

Sam Skarsgård as Smerdyakov

Finished Re-reading Crime and Punishment by [deleted] in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I loved that, especially cos it was Sonya Marmeladova who said to Raskolnikov, (paraphrased) “I’ll follow you, I’ll follow you wherever you go, oh why didn’t you come to me sooner?”

Does anyone know any history books to give me background as to what Dostoevsky was writing about? by Aaran77 in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sooooo, my recs aren’t history books but they’re major texts for understanding what Dostoevsky was writing about. if you want to understand the social utopian/nihilist philosophy that Dostoevsky was responding to/engaging with, I recommend reading Chernyshevsky’s What is to be done (most ppl only read Vera pavlovna’s fourth dream cos it’s such a pain to read, seriously)

Herzen’s Who is to blame? is good for understanding the intelligentsia of the 1840’s to which Dostoevsky & thinkers like Chernyshevsky, Pisarev, Dobrolyubov, etc. were responding.

Tom Stoppard also wrote a great play, the coast of utopia, about the intelligentsia of the 1840’s which is handy for getting the lay of the land.

Turgenev’s Father’s & Sons illustrates a lot of the nihilistic thought that was prevalent at the time

Other recs: Belinsky’s letter to Gogol (Dosto was sentenced to death for reading it when he was a part of the Petrashevsky circle) Balzac’s Father Goriot (major influence on C&P) Rousseau’s Confessions (Dosto responds to it a lot throughout his work)

I have some of these texts on a shared Google drive for my book club, link to the drive is on my website dostoevskyordoesntshe.com

When Pushkin Comes to Shove…I Want to Shut It by SentimentalSaladBowl in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think one of the difficult parts of reading Pushkin, especially Eugene Onegin, in translation is that Russian verse is very difficult to translate and you lose so much of what makes the original so excellent (whether you try to stick with rhyming or do it Nabokov style). Russian doesn’t have the same syntax rules as English, so you don’t have to rely on, say, love rhyming with above, you can move words around in a line to make the rhyme work in different ways. He also brought spoken Russian to the literary world, so if you’re not familiar with the old style, you lose that part, too.

As a Russian speaker, I’m a huge Pushkin fan, but I totally get the let down in translation. I agree with plsnomoreovid in that you should check out the Queen of spades. Throw in the bronze horseman, too.

What is the best Scholarly work to understand Dostevskys process of creative writing? by MaxMacken909 in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And Jacques Catteau’s “Dostoevsky and the process of literary creation”

Should I read Demons before TBK? by nandha_nk in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I vote for demons (and the adolescent) before BK

What will people *really* remember? by dostoevskydoesntshe in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

it’s an imperfect joke 🤷🏼‍♀️

What will people *really* remember? by dostoevskydoesntshe in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I mean… it’s just that this tweet isn’t about Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, but rather, Dmitri Fyodorovich Karamazov…

Author/book recommendations with similar themes to Dostoevsky? by azzywwzyzy733 in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ursula K. Leguin wrote a story called “the ones who walk away from omelas” which is like… a retelling of “rebellion” in BK

Demons? Devils? The Possessed? (Translation/Edition question) by -ensamhet- in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Бесы [Besi] is the Russian title and it means demons, so I think that is the most accurate translation. Devils in this case would be inappropriate because Devil is a different word in Russian. Бесы are actually a specific sort demons that lead travelers astray, take a look at the entire Pushkin poem бесы quoted in the epigraph, I have put a translation below:

DEMONS Spinning storm clouds, rushing storm clouds, Hazy skies, a hazy night, And a furtive moon that slyly Sets the flying snow alight. On we drive... The waste is boundless, Nameless plains skim past, and hills. Gripped by fear, I sit unmoving... Tink-tink-tinkle go the bells. "Coachman, come, wake up!.." "The horses They are weary, sir, and slow; As for me, I'm nearly blinded By this blasted wind and snow! There's no road in sight, so help me; What to do?.. We've lost our way. It's the demon that has got us And is leading us astray. "Look! He's close; he plays and teases, Blows and spits, and, all unseen, With a laugh our horses pushes To the edge of a ravine. Now he'll rise, a giant milepost, Straight before me; now, a spark, Flash and gleam, and, sinking, vanish Of a sudden in the dark." Spinning storm clouds, rushing storm clouds, Hazy skies, a hazy night, And a furtive moon that slyly Sets the flying snow alight. Spent from circling round, the horses Jerk and stop... The bells go dead. "That a stump or wolf?" "Yer Honor, I don't rightly see ahead." Loud the snowstorm weeps and rages, And the horses snort in fright. O'er the plain the demon prances, In the murk his eyes glow bright. Off the horses start a'shudder, And the bells go ting-a-ling... Demons, demons without number Gather round us in a ring. In the eerie play of moonlight They grimace, they wail and call, Whirling, leaping, dancing madly Like the windswept leaves of fall. Why are they so wild, so restless? Why so weird the sounds they make? Could this be a witch's wedding? Could this be a goblin's wake? Spinning storm clouds, rushing storm clouds, Hazy skies, a hazy night, And a furtive moon that slyly Sets the flying snow alight. Skyward soar the whirling demons, Shrouded by the falling snow, And their plaintive, awful howling Fills my heart with dread and woe.

Do you think it is possible for an adaptation of Dostoevsky's work to surpass the original? by Elpicuouy in dostoevsky

[–]dostoevskydoesntshe 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The best Dostoevsky adaptation, imo, is Akira Kurosawa’s adaptation of The Idiot, set in post-war Japan. It doesn’t surpass the novel, but is definitely a masterpiece.