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The Idiot & The Possessed

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Two full Length novels collected in one edition formatted for te Kindle. FYODOR MIKHAILOVICH DOSTOYEVSKY [1821-1881] was a Russian writer of novels and short stories .In 1841, he graduated from Saint Petersburg Academy of Military Engineering. In 1845, he published his first novel Poor Folk in the magazine Sovremennik. The poet Nikolai Nekrasov, editor of the magazine, said of Dostoyevsky, "a new Gogol has arisen!" In 1846, he published The Double. It was received with dissaponting reaction. In 1849, he was arrested and sentenced to death for being a member of the Petrashevsky Circle. The sentence was reduced to four years hard labor at a prison camp in Omsk, Siberia. Of the experience he wrote, "In summer, intolerable closeness; in winter, unendurable cold. All the floors were rotten. Filth on the floors an inch thick; one could slip and fall... We were packed like herrings in a barrel...There was no room to turn around. From dusk to dawn it was impossible not to behave like pigs... Fleas, lice, and black beetles by the bushel..." In 1854, and was required to serve five years in the Russian army at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan. In 1866, he published Crime and Punishment which made him one of Russia's most popular authors. In 1867, he published The Gambler. He had become a frequent visitor to casinos and wrote the book to pay debts. From 1873 to 1881, he published the Writer's Diary, a magazine of short stories and articles on current events.Many leading authors have been influenced by him including Proust, Faulkner, Camus, Kafka, Kerouac, and Salinger. Hemingway cited his influence in A Moveable Feast. James Joyce said of him, "...he is the man more than any other who has created modern prose ..."

1357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2009

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651 people want to read

About the author

Fyodor Dostoevsky

3,267 books73.2k followers
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)

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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Danny.
169 reviews
December 2, 2010
The Idiot only: This book is more Russian than any of my friends, and they're all Russian. I was recommended this book when I first came into contact with my lover Aleksandra. Since, I have learned to read and write an acceptable level of Russian in an effort to have the opportunity to read their books in the manner in which they were originally written. This is a wonderful book that I will never read again. It was quite a complex journey that underscores some of the true chords connected to the Russian soul. Their prideful and frivolous nature will confuse, delight, and astound. It truly is worth the learning of the language; for, beyond the spoken language of another people lies the language that cannot be spoken but only understood.
Profile Image for Wendy Janett.
19 reviews1 follower
June 7, 2013
Review for The Possessed only. I loved this book. It is a classic Russian novel, yet is action-packed and contains astute observations about politics and human nature that transcend the times and political climate in which it was written. Engaging and chock full of characters both lovable and odious. Highly recommended and a less demanding read than some of Dostoyevsky's works, such as Crime and Punishment or The Idiot.
Profile Image for Arbab Taimoor.
62 reviews3 followers
August 20, 2023
Dostoevsky's novel "The Idiot" has a great landscape behind it, the person with extra-sharp instinct and intelligence contrasting with the world, with their abstract practices and superstitions.

He showed the clash between the good man and the world. How does the world usually use or take advantage of a good demeanor person?

Prince Myshkin, the man who came to Russia for their treatment of the ellipse, and while got trapped in the web of the social structure, where in the last the end was very tragic and awful. The good had nothing but to take him to the dark part of his goodness.

The writer had shown that some of the times the very clever person even couldn't make their selves keep out of these things. The consequences of his decisions and feelings would make them collapse.

The person who came to Russia after having the great suffering of insanity would have been unfortunate to go back into the same dungeon, but this time with no cure and convalescence.

You can enjoy the tragedy, drama, sadness, mysteries, causes of self-introspection, religion, hate, love trio, and many more within this novel.
Profile Image for Barb.
8 reviews1 follower
Read
July 6, 2013
In my opinion, the Possessed is the best Dostoevsky novel.
Profile Image for Ed Burns.
Author 19 books4 followers
July 24, 2015
I am writing this review on my handy, so I will be brief. I read this book on a hunch that the main character had Aspergers before there was such a diagnosis. In my opinipn, the hunch was correct. Case in point: Myshkin is depicted as mostly blind to the emotional layer of interaction.

My favorite scene was Myshkin's birthday party. The characters were so vivid, I felt like I was there.
7 reviews
May 29, 2025
My boy Fyodor strikes again x
After reading some of his shorter works, I started with The Idiot - a work that seemed light enough at first glance - with the hope to build myself up to reading Crime and Punishment one day.
Little words can describe how fantastic The Idiot is but if I could use any they would be: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, sh't on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it.
Profile Image for Yoselin.
4 reviews
July 25, 2024
Increíble lo que desentraña del psiquismo humano.
Profile Image for Alina.
111 reviews6 followers
July 16, 2010
Read only The Idiot!! And loved it!
Profile Image for Rhonda.
236 reviews
May 22, 2014
OK so I tried to read this. I just couldn't do it perhaps another time.
Profile Image for Heidi Becker.
19 reviews1 follower
May 26, 2015
Loved both books (perhaps one slightly more than the other).. In the days of electronic everything, there are fewer books I would like to have these near me on a shelf, and these count among them.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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