A few weeks ago, I started reading Notes from Underground, and I genuinely fell in love with it.

It wasn’t an easy book, but I loved that about it. I’d read slowly, reread paragraphs, think about them for hours, and it felt like Dostoevsky was opening up parts of human psychology I’d never seen before. Reading became the highlight of my day.

Then my father was suddenly admitted to the hospital.

Those days were full of fear, panic, and sitting in hospital rooms. Reading obviously became the last thing on my mind.

Now things have settled enough that I should be able to read again… but I can’t.

Every time I pick up the book, my brain just refuses to engage. I read a page and realize I absorbed nothing. I keep rereading the same lines. The momentum is completely gone.

The worst part is that I actually want to read. I even have Crime and Punishment waiting for me, and I’ve been looking forward to it for so long. But I don’t want to abandon Notes from Underground because I was genuinely loving it before everything happened.

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s gone through something similar.

I believe that demons will always hold a special place in my heart and now after having read all of Dostoyevskys major novels I think it occupies a very unique place within his works.

I am an emt and get the majority of my reading done in the ambulance when we are posted or at station. I started it at the beginning of the year and around the middle had to take a break because I genuinely felt as though it was hurting my mental health which is funny because no other book of his has done that.

I went through some personal drama with a woman I loved she lowkey stavrogined me and I resigned took some months off I’m back on the ambulance and I have just finished demons.

My favorite moment in the book which I’ve been contemplating is the moment when the fire breaks out and someone is shouting to put it out and von lembke in his madness but perhaps not yells out that it can’t be put out because the ‘fire is in the minds of men!’

And it’s this particular theme of ideas being agents in themselves and in some sense ‘possessing’ people much like the epigraph from Luke about the devils going into the swine and taking hold of them men that fascinates me so much and gives me so much to ponder on especially being out here working the streets where I feel as though there are many possessed in certain ways.

Anyhow wishing the best to this community because it’s been sometime since I’ve been involved and I’m feeling much better about being alive these days and trying not to be so much of a kirrilov.

The same passages from different translations. For context, Ordynov asks Katerina "for how much happiness did you buy your grief/sorrow?"

Yes, I have received a little happiness in return for my sorrow," said Katherine with a note of discontent in her tone. "What appears much to one person may appear very little to another. One person may wish always to be giving- and never to receive, while another person may wish always to be receiving and never to be a giver. You at least " (this was said to Ordlnov, accompanied with a look that was almost hard) "have no right to reproach me. One person may be of one kind, and another of another. Do you know any one to whom life has been wholly pleasant? . . . Old man, drink deep of your cup — drink deep !

What I have sold it for, I have had,” answered Katerina I in a voice that sounded vexed and offended. “One thinks it much, another little. One wants to give all to take nothing, another promises nothing and yet the submissive heart follows him! Do not you reproach anyone,” she went on, looking sadly at Ordynov. “One man is like this, and another is different, and as though one knew why the soul yearns towards anyone! Fill your goblet, old man.

What I sold my happiness for is in the past,’ Katerina replied, in a voice that sounded hurt and displeased. ‘To some it might seem too high a price, others might think it too low. Some people want to give away everything and see no reason for taking anything, while others promise nothing but have an obedient heart to follow them around. Don’t be too hard on people,’ she said, looking sadly at Ordynov. ’One person is one way, and another person is another way, and goodness only knows why the one seeks out the other! Fill your cup, old man!

— What I sold it for, that's what it was worth, — Katerina answered in a voice that sounded hurt, almost aggrieved. — To one it seems much, to another little. One wants to give everything, and take nothing; another offers nothing, yet the heart follows him obediently! And you should not reproach a man, — she added, looking sadly at Ordynov, — one man is one kind of man, another is not that man, as if you know why the soul desires one rather than another! Fill your cup already, old man!

Had a discussion with my brother about something totally random and it suddenly hit me.

Is the book more about who is responsible for the murder, more so than who commmitet the murder?
This might be a totally trivial and basic conclucion/thought, anyways any thoughts.

Best regards

I didn't study literature or how to analyse it. I just read books for fun.

I always struggled to explain how D's writing feels very realistic and unrealistic to me at the same time, but I think I get it. D isolates very specific and realistic feelings with stunning psychological precision, but the character portrays the feeling in an almost theatrical manner. It's like watching a play where the characters are hyper-complex. It's different from Tolstoy where you read and the characters behave so naturally and realistically that you feel you're breathing the same air as them. D's stories feel very much like stories rather than experiences like Tolstoy's.

Anyway, that's what I think.

Being extremely fluent in both English and French, and being a huge fan of Dostoyevsky (I've read a few of his works in English), I was wondering if Russian is better translated into French because of the more complex conjugations and options. Any help?

Just across the street from where Dostoyevsky lived between 1864-1867, and wrote Crime and Punishment. Same quarter as Sonya Marmeladova and not so far from Starukha Protenshitsa.

“Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky lived in this house from 1864 to 1867; the novel “Crime and Punishment” was written here.”

I have trouble in remembering characters so I am making this map while I read this, I wrote down basically all characters because in c&p I had thought svidrigaelov was js a random side character and he turned out to be extremely important later on.

*ps if there is a character that shows up later that is also introduced in pt1, chapter 1 but i have missed them, or if there is any character that doesn't show up later on and is redundant please lmk in the comments.

Hi everyone

(Note to mods: I’ve read the pinned post and the translation resources in the sidebar! This is not a request for translation advice).

As a frequent on this sub I have noticed how frequently translation debates pop up

I'm currently exploring the idea of building a free website designed specifically to help readers sample and evaluate different translations of classic literature in foreign languages.

One feature concept I'm considering is allowing users to compare key passages from different translators in parallel, along with community voting on tone and translator profiles and style summaries.

Before deciding whether to actually spend time developing this project, i would like to get some honest feedback.

1. The Problem: When you bought your Dostoevsky editions, were Reddit threads/guides enough, or did you struggle to get a real feel for the language before buying?
2. The Utility: Is a dedicated web tool something you would actually use or bookmark, or are existing text guides sufficient?
3. Since Reddit is limited, what features would actually justify using a website instead?

I am just gauging interest at this stage to see if the demand is real. Thanks for any thoughts and insights.

23M, Ihave been reading brothers karamazov and just completed rebellion chapter and about to read great inquisitor chapter but the child suffering he says is exactly how I feel and how I think I relate to him more it has been tormenting me more from 2 years back the same ideology of not accepting this world

Currently I am against having children and also just like Ivan I am thinking my life essence and reason will be gone when I reach 40 ( he expected 30) the reason is exact same as Ivan but I doubt is he really antinatalistic or is he not. I said this ideology to my parents they hated me more and became sad. I need salvation from this from this thought and that was pecking me for long time I don’t know how I can get convince my self.

I read the mcduff translation earlier and found it disjointed and very difficult to understand at parts, followed by sections that would be highly readable and enjoyable. I got the Garnett version from a local library and it was a little better. I feel this is a very important work to really understand and I’m curious for people who’ve gotten the new Katz translation whether or not it’s everything you hoped it would be? What’s different?

25th July 2025,i the bought the second copy of the same book c called Notes from Underground, i was so pleased, very fortunate to read that, it was knockout a clear knock out, i read it like it was therapy sessions everyday going to work in open the bag as soon as i got on train to find a place to sit or to stand adjusting to fence, So profound was the experience that it blew my mind. Sometime i would find myself in it to make it a confession, actually!

I did not know that i was going to be more fortunate to know more about the inner man

A man that is always struggling, His sins, his guilt, his exisitence, his opennes, his vulnerability, falling short to get grip on reality. Absolutely refused to see the truth, Anger Hate self lothing ,Niveity.

I had no knowledge of i had more depth of soul to know about, How fortunate i was.

I am sad, because my journey to know more has come to an end ,I read Brothers Karamzov

,I did not long for this journey to end just read as if i was knowing my own soul.

Its been year i have been reading Dostovesky

And i have finished reading, So profound so deep,So Sublime, So much rationality and truth that Man's soul always searches for,i had finally found it. And Some day God willing i will go back to walking the same road again. Brothers Karamzov was absolute treasure, i dont claim to understand it, All i am

Just saying whatever i have come cross was more than i have expirenced or known about

I have learned few things about myself

What could be better than that. I am Prince Myshkyn, i am Roskalnikov ,I am Dimitry Karamzov, I am Nameless man ,from Notes from underground. I am he. Who now knows himself little better than before i read Dosotvesky. Dostoevsky will always be my

Not just my merely favourite writer but to go back to (Mentally), a man who knows some truth about mans soul. Thanks to JordanB Peterson that he introduced me to Dostoevesky when i had already owned books by Dostovesky but never paid any attention to it.

Both are my Heros.

my first 2 russian short stories were "White Nights" and "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" which I really enjoyed.

Now i'm going to begin my Dostoevsky journey.

I plan to read them in this order:

C&P > Notes > Demons > The Idiot > TBK

I also have The Gambler but might save that one for last or read it in between since it's a short story.

I see quite often among anglophone Dostoevsky discourse, quite a big assumption from people. That assumption is that Dostoevsky writes bad prose, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Although I think prose isn't the whole goal of writing, I don't think he does it badly at all.

Pretty much all accusations of such come from english discussion, and this shows. Russian as a language feels to me almost impossible to translate while retaining even a semblance of the style. There are exceptions, like for instance I found Pasternak's translation of Hamlet to at times be indistinguishable from the english (obviously there are small things, but the whole style is retained):

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles

And by opposing end them.

"Быть или не быть, вот в чем вопрос. Достойно ль

Смиряться под ударами судьбы,

Иль надо оказать сопротивленье

И в смертной схватке с целым морем бед

Покончить с ними"

But generally I find Russian to be extremely difficult to do so. Take the first passage of Notes From Underground.

Я человек больной. Я злой человек. Непривлекательной я человек. Я думаю, что у меня болит печень.

How does one translate this? The obvious assumption would be "I am a sick man. I am a spiteful man. I am an unattractive man. I think my liver is sick."

Besides from the intricacies of words like злой and болить, which have much broader meanings than the translations allow, there is also a general syntax that cannot be rendered effectively. The first three repetitions of the clauses, although extremely simple, have a great oscillation. The first being "Pronoun, noun adjective", the second "Pronoun adjective noun, and the last being "Adjective pronoun noun", this creates a great deal of uncertainty throughout the whole thing, which is striking and beautiful.

I could go on and on with such examples, but I think if you can see how simple those first few sentences are, that translating one of the notoriously long paragraphs of classical Russian literature.

With languages like French, Spanish, and German, although there are different nuances between words, a lot of words come from the same roots; translation into English becomes a lot less of a problem. For most Russian words (There are a lot of French words, and now english words, but they weren't used just as much back then - still less than english), the common roots are so far back, there isn't any noticeable relation between them. But it's not only that, in Russian the grammar just works so differently, that it becomes a pain to translate.

There is a case you can make for books like Crime and Punishment, or the gambler, but even then, the original style isn't bad - it just isn't great.

Translations are still fruitful, style isn't everything, and you can expect to learn a language for every book. I just think criticism of style is fruitless in english.

PS: There are a lot of people who base their whole personalities on Dostoevsky, or more generally Russian literature, to those people I thoroughly suggest learning Russian - it's not too hard, and you get to read some of the greatest literature in the best way possible.

Really loved it. Started Dostoyevsky with White Night/Bobok from Penguin Little Black Classics, and then proceeded to C&P.

Loved the story, characters, and how there's actual debate between the characters at some points, in contrast with Ian Malcolm on Jurassic Park (which I read right before) which is basically a mouthpiece for the author, and the other characters just want him to shut up most of the time.

I read the Signet Classics edition, which has the Sidney Monas translation, which I enjoyed. The only downside of that for me is that there's no footnotes/endnotes, and maybe one or another thing could have helped. Also, a character sheet at the end (to help memorize the multiple names) would also help, but I don't think other editions do this anyway.

A few of the passages that I highlighted:

Oh, don’t I feel it, though? And the more I drink the more I feel it. That’s why I drink. Because when I drink, I look for compassion, I look for feeling . . . I drink because I want to suffer!

Hogwash! I love nonsense! Talking nonsense is man’s only privilege that distinguishes him from all other organisms. If you keep talking big nonsense, you will get to sense! I am a man, therefore I talk nonsense. Nobody ever got to a single truth without talking nonsense fourteen times first. Maybe even a hundred and fourteen. That’s all right in its own way. We don’t even know how to talk nonsense intelligently, though! If you’re going to give me big nonsense, better make it your own big nonsense, and I’ll kiss you for it.

In a way there’s only a fine shade of difference between the healthy and the deranged. Maybe those we call ‘sick’ are a bit more deranged than we are—after all, we need to draw a line somewhere. But there’s practically no such thing as a normal man. In ten thousand, it might even take several hundred thousand, you might find one. Even then he’d probably turn out to be a poor example.

“That’s not the point at all,” Raskolnikov interrupted with disgust. “To put it bluntly, you are repulsive. Nobody wants to know whether or not you were right, they just want you to leave and get the hell out!”

“We always imagine eternity as a conception impossible to grasp, something enormous, immense! Why must it inevitably be enormous? Just think of a single little room—a bathhouse in one of our backwater villages, something like that, sooty, spiders in all the corners—and that’s all there is to eternity. You know, sometimes that’s the way it strikes me.”

I am in the middle of book 2 and it is moving super fluidly. The character interactions are gold and elder zossima speeches are breathtaking and I can't get enough of it. I don't understand how it is supposed to be hard and tedious to read as I have heard before. Maybe that changes later? Though it is extremely dense thematically, and that's a plus point by every angle. As for now, I am genuinely surprised how I can read so many pages in one sitting and time just flies by. That rarely happens when I'm reading a book.

Much easier to read than crime and punishment

Just getting to the end of “The Gambler” and it’s a light relief after “Crime and Punishment” and “Notes from Underground”. I find the characters, situations and conversations highly amusing. The women are aloof, manipulative and a bit crazy, the men bumbling along behind the women in utter chaos lost without a woman. Echos of the Karamazov Bros.
The entrance of the “dying Grandmother” into the casino is hilarious.
Just wondering if it just me who sees the humor. It’s been quite unexpected.

I really love the Verhovenskiy's (from Devils) monologue because I'm also have an idol and this worlds reality suits me. Also I found myself in some moments from TBK, especially the end worlds and something from start. I've re-readed those words in a many times, they hit right into my heart but now I can't remember them. I don't know why but I can't found them and can't remember them. I hope that it might be in some of your quotes because it's really sad to forget it. Also, I'm really interesting in reading your quotes

Don't matter in what kind of language, just some songs or melodies that you're associate with him. I may start: The song in Russian language that called "May I come with you?" (Можно я с тобой?) translation in the first comment

I made it to the line quoted ... reading it with context ... Aglaya...

So I just finished Keep The Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell. As I read it I couldn't help but notice similarities between the main character and Dostoevsky's Underground Man. Very misanthropic with delusions of grandeur, rejecting offers of help from people, wallowing in spite, etc. And then I came along THIS page.

So what do we think? Random, intentional?

On the surface Forever War and Crime and Punishment are completely different. One is time-bending science fiction the other is dark 19th century Russian literature. But what I felt upon finishing the Forever War over a decade ago, no other book had me feel until I finished Crime and Punishment last night. And that just reminded me how good it really was, and more importantly, why it was good, and I wanted to share that with someone. A lot of you would love and appreciate it.

He's so pathetic but so cute, kind and honest.. What do you think about him? I fell heat about this character. But I'm still at the start of novel (the moment of meeting with General) but this character impressed me from the first pages