Bobok

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Bobok" (Russian: Бобок, Bobok) is a short story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky that first appeared in 1873. The title can be translated from the Russian as meaning "little bean" and in the context of the story is taken to be synonymous with gibberish or nonsense.

Genres: Classics, Short Stories, Fiction, Russian Literature, Russia, Literature, Fantasy

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1873

About the author

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский (Russian)

Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.

Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .

Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

im 100% convinced that dostoyevsky was drunk while writing this

[هدى يحيى · Rating 5 out of 5]

بوبوك... بوبوك
لا تحاول فهم هذه الكلمة
فيمكن ببساطة استبدالها ب"هراء" أو "جنون" أو أي كلمة تريد

إنها نداء الموت بكل بساطة

هيا معا نتخيل قامة مثل دوستويفسكي تكتب قصة أبطالها موتى..
كيف ستكون هذه القصة برأيك..؟
بديعة .. مدهشة .. ممتعة ..؟
هي كل ذلك وأكثر

ستجد جنرال يلعب الورق مع جاره
وسيدة مجتمع تتشاجر مع جارها الحانوتي لكلماته النابية
طفلة شقية تصر على التدخل في أي حوار
أناس يتعارفون ويمرحون ويتجادلون بشأن رائحتهم الكريهة بينما يتفسخون ويتحللون
!
عالم بأكلمه يحيا فيه الموتى على ما يبدو بطريقة جديدة
!!

لقد أحببت هذه القصة حقا فكرتها وأحداثها ونهايتها والطريقة التي كتبت بها والروح الساخرة التي تلبست صاحبها
أحببت كل شيء فيها

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smelly Souls


What a delicious witty tale 👍
Is this the Dostoyevsky we all know?!... The one from Crime and Punishment?!... Or a shrewdly disguised Gogol?! 😉
It seems to me that our usually so dramatic Fyodor is sounding much more like the sarcastic Nicolai in this one! ...

Bobok is somewhere between a cartoon and a classical short story. Dostoyevsky makes fun of the russian society, comparing it with a bunch of smelly souls! 🤪

I always thought of humour and Dostoyevsky as oil and water, but... literature is full of pleasant surprises and Bobok, joshing Bobok, is definitely one of those!

---------------------------------------

Almas que Fedem


Delicioso, este Bobok 👍

Uma caricatura surreal e divertida da sociedade russa, retratada como um grupo de Almas Fedorentas! 😉

Sempre imaginei que Dostoyevsky e humor fossem tipo azeite e água!
Foi uma surpresa daquelas!!!🥰

[BookHunter M ُH َM َD · Rating 3 out of 5]

احنا ميتين و بنتحاسب و الا ميتين بس و الا عايشين؟

فانتازيا غريبة على دوستويفسكي. و كأنها مكتوبة بعد عصره بعشرات السنين. حوار بين مجموعة من الأموات في مقابرهم بعد أن اكتشفوا عالما آخر يتاح للميت فيه كل شيء لمدة شهرين فقط و بعدها لا يصدر عنه إلا نغمة رتيبة متكررة (بوبوك بوبوك). لا يعدم هذا العالم أن يصنع السيد و الخادم. الساخر و الساذج. المتذمر و المهادن و المشاكس و الجامح و كل ألوان البشر.
قصة قصيرة جدا و مختلفة جدا لن تمر عليك مرور الكرام.

واحدة من القصص القصيرة في الجزء الثاني من رواية المراهق

[Mark André · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird. Fun. Just gets going and it ends. Silly?
9.29.25
Just reread. Same review. Silly Dostoyevsky. Hmm.

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

* This review may have a little spoiler *

I love short stories and novellas. It's fascinating how a writer can say so much in a few pages. Bobok is another excellent example of this writer's talent to describe people's virtues and miseries. He wrote major works concerning the human condition, and they all seem to have been written yesterday.

The wisest of all, in my opinion, is he who can, if only once a month, call himself a fool — a faculty unheard of nowadays. In old days, once a year at any rate a fool would recognize that he was a fool, but nowadays not a bit of it.

Timeless! And kind of funny.

So, this book is about Ivan Ivanovitch, a frustrated writer that went to a funeral of some distant relative. He complained about the cemetery, the smell, green water, the smiles of the dead that haunt his dreams. Well, It's a cemetery... not a place you'd go to have a picnic, I'm guessing.

Then, he sat on a tombstone and started to think about random stuff. Deep reflections about little details, I love that. Suddenly, he began to hear a conversation. He was all alone and he heard a conversation. In the cemetery. ALONE. I'd drop dead and end up under some tombstone in a heartbeat. (The last heartbeat, I guess.)

These dead people were not quite dead. They were aware of everything that surrounded them. They played cards, they discussed among each other, they even shared anecdotes. An active conscience after death is a theme I already saw in The Dream of a Ridiculous Man. It's an interesting yet disturbing theme. However, we can't help to ask ourselves, during several moments of our lives, if death really is the final step or not. Personally, I wish it was. I don't like some people here; I can't imagine what it would be like to be in some cemetery, stuck with annoying people for three or four months and not being able to go away!

Back to the book. Yes, their consciousness was active for about three, even six months until they decomposed. That's why these dead-not-so-dead people decided to spend those months as agreeable as possible. In order to do so, they were determined to cast aside all shame and be brutally honest. Because lying is needed on Earth; when you're dead, why would you care, right? Anyway, their crazy conversations were a delight to read.

What this short story is trying to tell us—in my humble opinion—is that even dead, human beings are capable of depravity. These guys were willing to waste those months that were given to them, probably to think about their existence on Earth and find some sort of redemption. Instead, they wanted to keep partying. A party of shameless degradation they started while living! The lowness of human condition appears even after death. Or not... I mean, meditation would be the right thing to do. But these people were freaking dead. Actually, they were about to be completely dead. So, it's a tough call.



May 03, 14
* Also on my blog.

[Sidharth Vardhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title means 'little bean' and it is to be understood as 'nothing'. The premise which sounds more Gogol with its supernaturality than Dostoevsky is that recently dead and buried don't lose their consciousness but talk to each other lying in their graves during nights. What will they talk about? I guess different authors will have them behave in different ways - some will have them repent. But Dostoevsky will have them talk about their sins and take pride in their base acts, all the more now that they don't have to fear the law.

I guess there is a very profound psychological observation in it. We often say that respect is due to dead. But if such a thing as a soul, or some other form of consciousness exists, it must have the same desires as the living do, minus the ability to fulfil it. I'm pretty sure there must exist some kind of theory that what we call consciousness is nothing but awareness of our needs and desires. So, if some kind of consciousness was to survive death, it must have all those base desires as well. Why respect the dead then? If you are able to follow this reasoning till the end, than you are as insane as I am.

[Micah Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

16th book of 2022

I would like to start off by saying that great things can come in small packages.

Bobok by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a short story, (my edition falls right at 24 pages.) Dostoevsky brings much to the table, writing part comedy, part philosophical work in Bobok. Our protagonist, Ivan Ivanovich is sick and tired of the rejection he has been receiving from publishing houses regarding his writing. He has been trying for years and no one has yet seen his potential, at least, that is the situation through Ivan's eyes.

In order to distract himself, Ivan Ivanovich decides to join a funeral procession of a distant relation. Following the group of mourners to the cemetery, making many silent observation to himself along the way.

Finally, Ivan Ivanovich decides to stay back at the cemetery rather than attend the indoor service. While sitting and observing the graves, he hears the voice of a man in an argument with another. There is no one around, and it only takes a moment for Ivan Ivanovich realizes that the voices are coming up from under the tombstones.

It is through these conversations with the dead that Ivan Ivanovich comes to realize many things about his own life that had been hidden from him, and gives him a clearer perspective.

The story ends with the voices of the dead being interrupted by all things, a sneeze.

Witty, heartfelt, and incredible easy to read, I highly recommend Bobok to anyone looking for a half hour read that comes along with quite a lot to think about. Five stars.

[Renée Paule · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those who like to reflect on what happens to our consciousness after we die - Dostoyevsky gives us a lot to think about in this lovely short story.

[Fernando · Rating 3 out of 5]

¡Es muy interesante y divertido este desconocido cuento de Dostoievski! Esa desopilante charla de muertos que dialogan con el narrador (en una sutil forma que Dostoievski tenía de hablar sobre la disparidad de las clases sociales de la Rusia zarista) me hace acordar al cuento "Un sueño extraño" de Mark Twain, protagonizado por esqueletos.

[Marianna Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

When your soul stinks even the dead can hear it ))

[yara ❦ · Rating 3 out of 5]

in what world is "oh ho ho ho" hiccups?..

[paula can read · Rating 4 out of 5]

loggin two dostoevsky short stories separately so they both count towards my reading goal? yes

[Carmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quando Dostoyevsky publicou Os Demónios, foi crucificado pelos críticos que o acusaram de haver criado um romance que lembrava um manicómio povoado de gente excêntrica e delirante que só articulava enxurradas de asneiras.
Nesse período, Dostoyevsky era chefe de redação do semanário Grajdanin e podia ter dado resposta a estas pérolas por meio de alguma publicação, mas tal não fez. Em vez disso, respondeu com a arma que melhor dominava e em que era, claramente, superior a quem o acusava: a ficção.
Assim nasceu Bobok. Bobok é um pequeno conto desenvolvido a partir dos moldes de quem lhe apontava o dedo e aos quais dá uma resposta a preceito.

Não se passa num manicómio mas num cemitério, e as personagens estão mortas e enterradas. Todavia, oscilam no fio da navalha, numa espécie de antecâmera da morte, um período em que ainda estão conscientes e se manifestam embora já não dominem o corpo.
E o que vão fazer? Vão entrar numa pandega desavergonhada, perfeita metáfora da conduta imoral de uma certa aristocracia decadente na Rússia da época, e onde se incluíam muitos dos seus delatores.
Em meio a esta turba de devassos, Dostoyevsky realça o único comportamento que se destaca pela positiva: o homem simples; o homem pobre mas de firmes valores morais, que vivia num ambiente afetivo bem estruturado e que, nem aqui onde já ninguém o pode julgar, se deixa corromper.
Já o narrador desta história deliciosa podia muito bem ser o próprio autor.

[Tasnim · Rating 5 out of 5]

kind of reminded me of that jean paul sartre play where everyone is waiting to go to hell and discuss all the things they feel guilty for and then realise that the waiting and discussion itself is actually hell.

its a very small story about how moral corruption exists even after death.

[Farya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Depravity exists even when you are dead.

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brief tale that is not worth retaining. The narrative centers on Ivan Ivanovitch, who hears the voices of the newly buried and deceased while attending a funeral. While they wait for whatever is going to happen to them, the dead amuse themselves by chatting about various topics. If there was a point, I believe I missed it. It was devoid of the depth that I've grown accustomed to reading Dostoevsky, and I don't believe that the story's extremely little running time is the only factor in this. This is a short story that can be finished in less an hour, therefore I think it deserves another opportunity, so I will be returning to it.

[Hon Lady Selene · Rating 4 out of 5]

'What I want, first of all, is to feel respect. I long to feel respect,' an acquaintance of mine once said to me, not so long ago. He longs to feel respect! Good God, I thought, what would happen to you if you dared print that nowadays?

[Jonfaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Fyodor, you are such a bird.
So complicated. I know you'd be on Fox News for sincere, even holy reasons. Yet, your imagination is one for the ages.

An addled, disagreeable writer helps out at a family funeral. He isn't welcome there, just needed. He hangs out afterwards amongst the tombstones and begins to overhear the conversations of the recently deceased. The ensuing banter skewers all sections of society and it becomes clear that wretched souls are smelly and the dead can recognize another's depravity.

I wasn't expecting this story to be intact within The Writer's Diary but there it was.

[Piero Marmanillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un magnífico relato publicado en la revista El Ciudadano en 1873.
La trama se centra en el inesperado suceso ocurrido a un escritor poco exitoso: cuando visita un cementerio escucha de pronto unos diálogos procedentes de las tumbas!
En ese momento él permanecerá en silencio para enterarse de las cosas que tienen que decir aquellos difuntos.

Es considerado uno de los mejores relatos de Dostoievski según Bajtín.

[Rania · Rating 2 out of 5]

OKAY WELL I understood absolutely NOTHING but it had me giggling and smiling like an idiot as I finished it 20 minutes after finishing white nights and sobbing over it

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wth was this....

[ivana · Rating 5 out of 5]

ko prizna pola idiotizma mu se prašta.

[Roya · Rating 3 out of 5]

خیلی شبیه به کتاب "نازنین" بود و یجورایی دلم برای این روی داستایفسکی تنگ شده بود :")

[Sergio R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bobok by Fyodor Dostoevsky

When it comes to discussing truly great writers, one of the first names that inevitably come to my mind is Fyodor Dostoevsky. His extraordinary acumen of human nature and his wondrous ability to discern and vividly depict the psychological traits in human behavior are epitomized in his two best novels: Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov. Nevertheless, many of his other less known works are just as insightful, poignant and more often than not, extremely engrossing.

Such is the case of his short story Bobok. In this brief anecdote we find ourselves with what it might appear, at first, as the incoherent ramblings of a feverish man. Eventually the story acquires strength and once it gets hold of your mind it never lets go of it until the very last page, leaving you with an unquenchable thirst for more.

Bobok is the story of a man that, while attending the funeral of a distant relative of his, he happens to eavesdrop on a peculiar conversation. It is the people interred in the cemetery that begin to acquaint themselves with the “newly arrived”, discuss over a game of cards certain topics regarding those that live no more and eventually try to discern the nature of their condition. At first, social rank and decorum prevail in the interaction between the non-living, until a certain Baron decides to stir things up and proposes a change of things for the sake of enjoying the time they have left, before leaving our world for good.

Through this witty anecdote, Dostoevsky concocts an utterly tantalizing idea, the notion that after death there is not precisely death, but a brief span of time in which consciousness dwells still and is fully aware of its environment.

There is a certain detail in the story that I found extremely interesting:

While the story develops, both the narrator and the interred constantly complain of a redolent, foul smell that infects the whole cemetery. Although the dead have no sense of smell anymore, yet they claim to feel the stench; the possible explanation given to the reader is that the stench is a moral one, that is, the stench of the soul. Here we have a clear purgatory allusion, the notion that the remnant consciousness of oneself, still has to own up to the sins and shortcomings of its previous life.

Through its various characters, Bobok contains social criticism and satire, indicts several roles within the Russian society and touches upon the question that at least once has popped up in our minds: ¿Is there an afterlife? ¿And if so, what if..?

[Andrei Vasilachi · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On earth it's impossible to live and not to lie, for life and lying are synonymous"

[Connie Ashpole · Rating 2 out of 5]

maybe i’m stupid but i didn’t find this witty or clever

[nasti · Rating 3 out of 5]

the ramblings of dead people... enjoyed this more than white nights. i should try reading his novels i think i'd love them way more as i generally am not a fan of short stories

[Farimah · Rating 3 out of 5]

"وقتی فرانسوی‌ها دو قرن و نیم پیش برای خودشان دیوانه‌خانه ساختند، اسپانیایی‌ها گفتند : این فرانسوی‌ها همه‌ی دیوانه‌های‌شان را گرفته‌اند و یک‌جا انداخته‌اند تا ثابت کنند خودشان عاقل‌اند.!
کاملا هم درست است. اگر یکی دیگر را بیندازی توی دیوانه‌خانه، ثابت نمی‌کند که خودت عاقلی. "فلانی دیوانه شده، پس یعنی ما عاقلیم."

گفت‌وگوهایی که بین مردگانِ دفن شده رد و بدل می‌شد، یا به قول نویسنده، همان بوبوک.
خوندنش ساعت دو صبح، توی تنهایی، سکوت و تاریکی رو دوست داشتم. D=

[Osore Misanthrope · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Главно је, значи, два или три месеца живота и, на крају крајева... бобац!
(...)
Доле конопци, и хајде да проживимо ова два месеца у најбестиднијој истини! Обнажимо се и будимо голи!"