On my journey to finish off all Dostoevsky's works, I picked this up today, which became my 11th novel/novella out of the 16 which he wrote in his lifetime.
I was aware of the fact that this is perhaps his least celebrated works and is normally criticised. This made it difficult for me personally as I did not want to read anything by him which I might end up not liking. Most importantly, I pondered, will I be able to admit to myself that I did not like it?
That means, would I eventually lie to myself? After all he himself has famously quoted 'Above all do not lie to yourself!' (Apologies for my tedious sense of humour)
Any case, sorry for my delirious ramblings (sometimes I wonder whether this overthinking paranoia is why I feel so connected with Dostoevsky's characters or reading too much of his works has turned me into this), I did read it (listened to it) and found it extremely unique and thrilling.
There was an air of mystery throughout this short work which made me restless to unravel the truth, which as expected was obscure and subjective to the reader's purview.
I think it is a very misunderstood work of his genius. I normally relate to Nietzsche's quote which goes Every deep thinker is more afraid of being understood than of being misunderstood.
And I think this goes a long way for Dostoevsky, not just for this novella but also in general.
In particular to this novella, with context to both my personal and the public opinion, I might say it is a successful failed experiment .
Also, I might add, this presumably was Nietzsche's first acquaintance with Dostoevsky and his reaction was positive.
It deals with gothic elements, mysterious psychological behaviour, the forever battle between the weak and the strong, and (surprise) a delirious protagonist. It ends with many, supposedly, unanswered questions which leaves the reader wondering and pondering for more.
There are obviously two reactions to open endings, it might leave the reader in awe or it might make him/her frustrated for the obscurity of the text.
I think most readers fall in the latter while I found myself in the former. There are no explanations given for the mystic elements involved which makes it gothic, but if you are fluent (an exaggeration) with his later works, I think you might be able to get the meaning of it (existential reminder: Is there any meaning to anything though?)
The writing specially was extremely beautiful and some of the lines, as expected in any Dostoevsky novel, would remain imprinted forever, for instance,
'Give a weak man his freedom, he will bind it himself and give it back to you. To a foolish heart, freedom is of no use.'
Grand Inquisitor much?
Here I must add, I did not own the physical copy and hence listened to this story narrated by a YouTube channel, called Hippias Minor, the narrator's reading skills were amazing accompanied by insights on the chapters as well as the novella (some of which I have even related in this review). This really enhanced the understanding of the various remarks which would have been otherwise missed.
Yes, if Dostoevsky wouldn't have written what he wrote later, the meaning wouldn't be that coherent. I think once you become acquainted with an author, your subjectivity resonates with their view point. This subjectivity resonates differently with everyone, and the more you read him, the more you understand from the narrow context of your own comprehension. In this subjective approach, you tend to absorb the various intricacies of a misunderstood work in a much better way. For instance, reading the same book for the second time might completely change your view of the book, based on your own thoughts and the increased acquaintance with the author. This in turn definitely helped me appreciate it more.
What makes this stand out would be its uniqueness compared to Dostoevsky's other works. I wish it was longer though, the length did not let the work to be fleshed out as much as it could have. It is promising, but perhaps a hundred more pages would have worked better.
Dostoevsky was in his mid-twenties when he wrote this and it is quite apparent in this as well as his other earlier works, how the mature and post-Siberia Dostoevsky is waiting to spring out through the incoherence of the inexplicable parts. It feels as if he wanted to convey so much more but was unable to do so. But we, the future amateurs, who are aware of the later works, could easily comprehend which complements his earlier works much more. Obviously, if not for his later works, these pre-Siberia works would have been lost in the midst of the unknown by now, which compels me to quote Bukowski,
against the wall, the firing squad ready.
then he got a reprieve.
suppose they had shot Dostoevsky?
before he wrote all that?
I suppose it wouldn't have
mattered
not directly.
there are billions of people who have
never read him and never
will.
but as a young man I know that he
got me through the factories,
past the ******,
lifted me high through the night
and put me down
in a better
place.
even while in the bar
drinking with the other
derelicts,
I was glad they gave Dostoevsky a
reprieve,
it gave me one,
allowed me to look directly at those
rancid faces
in my world,
death pointing its finger,
I held fast,
an immaculate drunk
sharing the stinking dark with
my
brothers.
It is obviously not his best work, but an unpolished unique portrayal of the genius waiting to come through.