The Idiot (Oxford World's Classics)

Beyond compare, this is high art.

The Idiot is not really an Idiot at all (I've met my fair share of real idiots). The man in question is Prince Myshkin who because of his epilepsy has spent time in a Swiss clinic and the start of the novel sees Myshkin return to Russia after many years. His sheltered upbringing abroad means that he doesn't understand how to truly behave in the society he finds himself in and he has a naivety and willingness to do the right thing for which he is ridiculed and labelled as an Idiot.The main story is the competition between various suitors vying for the attentions of one Nastasya Fillipovna, a troubled beauty who has been cast off as a fallen women through no fault of her own. But that's summarising the plot in very simple terms as there are an abundance of characters, themes and general philosophising throughout.Its a packed book and I didn't always remember which character was which (thank goodness for the character list at the front of my edition!) Sometimes while reading it I got a bit lost and became confused by some of the characters behaviour. This wasn't because it was a dense or difficult read, there was just a lot going on and lots of different characters that would suddenly appear. Sometimes a character would suddenly declare they hated another character before suddenly changing their mind again, they all seemed to be very fiery, there was a lot of people throwing their arms up in the air and I just couldn't keep up.But I kept on with it and it all made sense in the end plot wise but really its not the story arch here that's so important but the conclusions brought up throughout during the dialogue and how characters react to the Prince's behaviour or philosophising. Pure Goodness does not always prevail it seems and the world cannot always accommodate the virtuous and what does that say?I would recommend The Idiot but its one to take your time over due to the large amount of dialogue which tends to take centre stage over the plot elements (not a criticism)

Having read Crime and Punishment last year, I was looking forward to plunging back into some Dostoyevsky. Crime and Punishment is an awsome novel, and a pleasure to read. It is the work of a true genius writing at his best. Perhaps the first 'Modernist' novel.Unfortunately, this book does fall some way short of his earlier effort. The first two hundred pages are well written, and the story is intriguing. Prince Myshkin is introduced and set against the demonic Rogozhin for the affections pf Natasya Fillipovna. Fillipovna, loves the Prince but believes herself worthy only Rogozhin (who will most probably kill her). Then, quite inexplicably, Rogozhin and Natasya take their leave from the book and the story becomes confused, disorganised and aimless. Prince Myshkin, rather than being a Christian spirit in the modern world, is merely a "good egg" - who would rather lie than upset anyone - not the true Christian, who would battle with money lenders in the Temple. In this way, he comes across as being rather feeble, and although he doesn't really do much to warrant those about him to freely call him an idiot - one imagines that he probably deserves it for being such a sap.As the story progresses, numerous minor characters seep into and out of the story, with little or no direction - adding to the confusion. In the end, it is difficult to maintain interest, although by about page 500 the increasing eccentricity of the General does become more entertaining, although by that time, one is already lost to whatever Dostoyevsky was meaning to say.Perhaps the biggest clues to this novels failure lie in the details that accompany the Penguin edition. This work was written whilst the author was suffering from intense bouts of epilepsy, and the work under went many many redrafts. The result is as confused as it should be.Undaunted, I shall read the Brothers Karamazov next year in the hope Crime and Punishment was not a one off.

Worth the purchase, good printing and book quality

Dostoyevsky renders a brilliant portrait of the hypersensitive Prince Myshkin, the "idiot" referred to in the title. It's impossible not to pity the poor guy. The Prince is intelligent, well-meaning, and honest; certainly not an idiot and in fact seemingly normal much of the time. But he doesn't fit in with any of the several social circles he encounters because he's overly naive, sensitive, excitable, and serious. In addition, the Prince has passionate views on religion and politics and espouses them at the most inopportune moments. What happens is that virtually everyone who meets the prince considers him to be very socially inept and makes fun of him behind his back or sometimes to his face. What's worse is that the Prince to a large degree understands his own faults but doesn't try to improve himself.Dostoyevsky does such a marvelous job of characterizing the prince that I found myself thinking of other people I know that are similarly inept when dealing with others. I also thought about myself and times that I'd said the wrong things in front of others. Let's face it, conversing with one or two people is completely different from saying something in front of an audience or in a group / party discussion, even if its a group you know very well. The whole atmosphere changes and you have to be a bit more careful in your choice of words so that everyone understands what you're saying and also so that their attention doesn't wander. Many of us know someone who never fails to make a fool of himself / herself in these kinds of social situations, from being perhaps too talkative, too nervous, taking friendly jibes seriously, drinking too much, or what have you. The Prince is one of those people that can be completely likable as a friend, but a total embarrassment at a party or in a group discussion.I read somewhere that Dostoyevsky was describing himself in many ways while writing about the Prince. No wonder the Prince is so astonishingly rendered; the author already knew him intimately. Dostoyevsky does an excellent job with the other characters too, though none are masterpieces like Myshkin. I particularly enjoyed reading about the hilariously different personalities within the Yepanchin family, level-headed Mr. Radomsky, pathetic Lebedev, the sinister Rogozhin, and others.The story is great, a real page turner. A few other reviews state that the narrative starts out well and then bogs down into disappointment. I didn't think so, I was interested right up to the surprising ending (poor Prince!). I do think that Dostoyevsky need not have concocted the bizarre love triangle that he did; the novel would have been just as effective with a more conventional plot and some other focus for the Prince's compassion and pity, say a family stricken with poverty. It's the characterization of the Prince that makes "The Idiot" what it is.Btw, I read David Magershack's translation (Penguin Classics). I can't imagine the translation being much better, it flowed so well that I could easily have been fooled into believing that it was originally written in English.

One of the best editions out there. The translation is superb. It has a good introduction by a renowned scholar, explanatory notes, and a map. Only downside is the explanatory notes be more extensive.

Good paperback edition, economical price, text size could have been bigger but not a huge issue for me.

Everyone should read this.