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The Idiot (Modern Library Classics)
 

The Idiot (Modern Library Classics)

by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Anna Brailovsky

Returning to Russia from a sanitarium in Switzerland, the Christ-like epileptic Prince Myshkin finds himself enmeshed in a tangle of love, torn between two women—the notorious kept woman Nastasya and the pure Aglaia—both involved, in turn, with the corrupt, money-hungry Ganya. In the end, Myshkin’s honesty, goodness, and integrity are shown to be unequal to the moral emptiness... (read more)

Top tags: fiction,  literature,  russian,  classic,  dostoevsky (all tags)

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Other Reviews

Amazon Reviews (5)
 

Most Helpful Reviews

Liked It

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.
Aobozu
  • Rated 4 stars

“In this first Dostoevsky novel I've ever read, subtext is often more important than text as characters' thoughts and motivations are unsaid, setting a mystery for the reader to try to figure out what is really going on. The Idiot is quite possibly the most character-driven book I have ever read, filled with many fascinating and unrelentingly consistent people such as the wise fool Prince Lev Myshkin, the tragic madwoman Nastasya Filippovna, the proud and yet insecure Aglaya Epanchin,...”

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Didn’t Like It

Jen S.
  • Rated 2 stars

“so wanted to love because i love his other works but did NOT like. hard to follow, understand or get into. finished b/c i wanted to know ending - depressing.”

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Community:
  • Rated 4.205 stars
Amazon:
  • Rated 4.40625 stars
  

Newest Comments

  • caught to seek freedom

    caught to seek freedom said:

    “I could not think of a better place than this to raise a question of mine. Its about one of the assertions Myshkin(its not hard to say,Dostoevsky through Myshkin) makes, that is.."catholicism is anti-christian". What is the background of that assertion?!. Sorry,if that sounds too ignorant.”

    posted Tuesday, July 29 2008
  • Gigi d

    gigi d said:

    “I should re read this book...it's been ages since ”

    posted Sunday, December 2 2007
  • david b

    david b said:

    “I agree with fatherofhollywood. I first read this book almost 20 years ago, and it still resonates with me today. Few writers can capture the inner psychological workings of the human condition better than Dostoevsky, and while it sometimes seems a bit like an overwraught soap opera, the incredible talent of the writer makes is so much more than that . . .”

    posted Tuesday, October 30 2007
  • FatherOfHollywood

    fatherofhollywood said:

    “The beauty, terror, and despair in this book is so genuine that it's impossible not to be swept into Dostoevsky's world. So, would I recommend it? Of course, but not to someone unacquainted with Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment is a much better place to start. But once you're acquainted with Dostoevsky's writings dive into this book, and you'll find yourself longing to help the poor Prince Myshkin, the idiot.”

    posted Monday, October 29 2007
  • Mani Ghaemmaghami

    mani ghaemmaghami said:

    “Almost 500 papers of this book can be skipped.It's a dull phonebook full of useless characters.”

    posted Monday, October 29 2007 ( | view 3 replies )
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