Intense and painfully sad

I avoided this book for a long time: who wants to read a book about a person who's so good everyone around him thinks he's an idiot?

Boy, was I wrong. This is an intense and brooding novel, filled with Dostoevsky's usual array of deeply conflicted characters and blistering monologues. The idiot himself, Prince Myshkin, is no pushover: maybe he's a bit naive at times, but he insists on treating people as equals and assuming their good intentions until contrary evidence is overwhelming. He suffers from epilepsy, and in the course of the novel has a couple of seizures that dramatically alter the direction of the story.

Superficially, the novel is about Myshkin's conflicted relationships with two women: Aglaya, the youngest daughter of a distant relative, with whom he is in love; and Anastassya Filippovna, a "fallen woman" who's been fobbed off by her former lover and who seems to be drifting from one self-destructive relationship to another. Myshkin may have loved her once, but now he mainly pities her. Aglaya, who at one point seems willing to marry Myshkin, ultimately breaks off because of his obsession with Anastassya.

But that's only one small facet of this complex, teeming book. The characters are captivating, the scenes at times almost hypnotic in their intensity. I've only read a few of Dostoevsky's novels, but so far I'm inclined to say this is probably my favorite.

Robert Whitfield (=Simon Vance) gives a stellar reading. Of particular note is his ability to distinguish the voices of the many women in the book: sometimes the shading is subtle, but I always knew instantly who was talking. Well done, highly recommended.

103 people found this helpful

Salvation under the weight of our own humanity.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if a person as selfless and beautiful as the Jesus portrayed in the bible? Someone so in tune with humanity so aware of its horrors and imperfections, yet so wholly consumed by his love of humanity that he would destroy himself just for the chance of allowing you to save yourself?

That was what Dostoevsky was attempting to do, and by the gods, he did it. The story may not be for everyone, but if you stick with it you will be amazed. This is far and away my favorite Dostoevsky novel, and I have read all of them.

Considering how difficult it is to find a decent reading of any of Dostoevsky's longer works Robert Whitfield is incredible. Every character has a voice that you can recollect instantly when it hits your ears. He engages the writing and manages to bring life to it even with this dated translation. You will find no better on Audible, and you would do you well to treat your soul to this difficult, but compelling novel.

The novel itself starts with figures of Christ, the Anti-Christ, and the False Prophet conversing together on a train, and from there things proceed until both Myshkin and Rogozhin stand at opposite ends as Nastassya Filippovna fights between salvation and damnation even as the sins of her humanity where down on her conscience and soul.

There are of course, more characters, more events. A Dostoevsky novel could never be otherwise, and by the end of the novel you will see yourself in one of the characters. You have to, the whole of humanity is on display here through the interactions his characters. They are all simultaneously real and unreal. Like Shakespeare, Dostoevsky creates characters that turn their humanity to 11 and engage your very soul with their complexity and utter irrationality.

Dostoevsky is attempting to show us the truth that Christ offered us: no one can save us, nor can He cannot save, He can only open the door. Only we ourselves can choose to enter that door through which salvation is attainable. It is hard, no, impossible, and Dostoevsky, like the his Christ knew this and the book conveys this understanding with an undeniable beauty. We are evil, we are kind, we are a paradox capable of the most horrendous acts of selfishness and kindness, often within quick succession. This is what it is to be human, and Dostoevsky relishes it and rejects any and all ideas that would take away our free will in deciding how to live our lives.

You will not feel clean after reading this novel, it will sting, it will pull and eat at you for days after the final words has crept through your headphones and left you in silence. But there is beauty in it. A poetic perfection that makes itself more and more manifest with every listen. Though written in the mid-19th century, we are no different than the world Dostoevsky knew and loved. Buy this or don't, it your choice. Just know that as of right now, you are 650 pages away from growing a soul.

65 people found this helpful

good audio

While this has not been my favourite Dostoevsky, (brother's karamazov was better), it remains on my 'must-read' list for Russian authors. The characters were very vivid, and the good narration made it easy to distinguish characters. Did I say 'good' narration? Actually, it was marveleous. Some of the voices were quite comical when they suited the characters, and I have to credit this narrator (robert whitfield) with making this book truly enjoyable. I would recommend this book to any Russian literature fan. It's an integral part of the 'Russian Canon'.

41 people found this helpful

Excellent, but a bit trying

An amazing conglameration of characters interact in wild, passionate and complex arragements and operatic-like scenes that display Dostoyevsky's depth and mad brilliance as psychology, religion, pre-revolutionary society, action and inaction!, suspense, amazing dialogue and the issues of love, death, chance and the meaning (or lack of meaning) of life swirl all around and eventually coalese, perhaps!.

The translation seems somewhat dated and stilted, and the voices, which really do help differentiate the characters (often an issue when 'listening' to classic Russian novels), sometimes seem inappropriately, annoyingly inflected. Also, drags on in parts. Abridgement tries to get around theses problems, but (this) unabridged rendition is 'the only way to go' to get the real experience.

Unexpectedly easy to follow, but I still would not recommend this to someone unfamiliar with Russian literature. Certainly, not for all tastes.

Overall, a great undertaking with fabulous highs and a blessing for non-Russian readers.

34 people found this helpful

Intense and painfully sad

I avoided this book for a long time: who wants to read a book about a person who's so good everyone around him thinks he's an idiot?

Boy, was I wrong. This is an intense and brooding novel, filled with Dostoevsky's usual array of deeply conflicted characters and blistering monologues. The idiot himself, Prince Myshkin, is no pushover: maybe he's a bit naive at times, but he insists on treating people as equals and assuming their good intentions until contrary evidence is overwhelming. He suffers from epilepsy, and in the course of the novel has a couple of seizures that dramatically alter the direction of the story.

Superficially, the novel is about Myshkin's conflicted relationships with two women: Aglaya, the youngest daughter of a distant relative, with whom he is in love; and Anastassya Filippovna, a "fallen woman" who's been fobbed off by her former lover and who seems to be drifting from one self-destructive relationship to another. Myshkin may have loved her once, but now he mainly pities her. Aglaya, who at one point seems willing to marry Myshkin, ultimately breaks off because of his obsession with Anastassya.

But that's only one small facet of this complex, teeming book. The characters are captivating, the scenes at times almost hypnotic in their intensity. I've only read a few of Dostoevsky's novels, but so far I'm inclined to say this is probably my favorite.

Robert Whitfield (=Simon Vance) gives a stellar reading. Of particular note is his ability to distinguish the voices of the many women in the book: sometimes the shading is subtle, but I always knew instantly who was talking. Well done, highly recommended.

23 people found this helpful

Wonderful

To me, The Idiot stands out in Russian literature. I can appreciate other great Russian novels like Anna Karenina for their structure, their symbolism, their genius, but this book has all that and something more, which I would call _life_. I loved everything about the story and the characters, and would highly recommend it to anyone.

It is almost needless to say that Robert Whitfield delivers yet another impeccable performance in this audiobook.

9 people found this helpful

Great book, good narration, poor transcription

The audible transcription cuts off 30-60 seconds from the end of each part. Very disconcerting. The book and narrator, however, are worth every minute. (I do think Crime and Punishment was more engaging, though.)

7 people found this helpful

Well Read

The reading of this book made the whole thing easier.

6 people found this helpful

Pretty darn Russian

What made the experience of listening to The Idiot [Blackstone] the most enjoyable?

The title "The Idiot" is enjoyably ironic.

What did you like best about this story?

The matriarch of one of the families is, as we probably still are, consumed with how her family appears to society. It gnaws her. The narrator casually tosses off a comment that describes her. "If you have wart on forehead or nose, you always fancy no one has anything else to do than stare at your wart , make fun of it, despise you for it, even though you have discovered America."

What does Robert Whitfield bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I could not have sounded out the legion of Russian names. The narrator easily navigates through them.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The character with "consumption" is compelling. If I wasn't sure before, I am now. I don't want consumption. Also a cautionary tale to beware when the fiendish coquette and/or loose woman is around. Does it take a woman to be able to see from a mile away that things will go south with her around?

Any additional comments?

When the society discussion turns to self-preservation, self-destruction, nihilism, etc., I was glad the author had one of the characters tell his co-horts they were boring. They moved on and the pace picked up.
I liked Crime and Punishment and the Brothers Karamazov better, but this was also good.

5 people found this helpful

A Real Prince

On a quick research, I couldn't find the origin of the idiom, "Prince among men." Prince Myshkin in Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" is who immediately came to mind when I recently heard that phrase, well after having read and listened to this book several months ago.

What happens when you drop into higher society a man with a title but an illness that took him away to Switzerland for all his youth? Dostoevsky wanted to write a novel that answered the question of how society of the day would treat a true innocent, an unmarried man in his mid-20s who does not sin and only has love to give (in Christianity, only One fits that description). To me, this was Dostoevsky's sad, but hopeful parabolic answer. While published in 1869, "The Idiot" is essentially timeless and one of the best 100 novels of all time.

The narration was perfect.

I highly recommend this audiobook.

5 people found this helpful