Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Demons by Fyodor Dostoevsky sometimes also called The Possessed or The Devils.

A fictional town descends into chaos as it becomes the focal point of an attempted revolution, orchestrated by master conspirator Pyotr Verkhovensky. The mysterious aristocratic figure of Nikolai Stavrogin—Verkhovensky's counterpart in the moral sphere—dominates the book, exercising an extraordinary influence over the hearts and minds of almost all the other characters.

At 733 pages, Demons is an allegory of the potentially catastrophic consequences of the political and moral nihilism that were becoming prevalent in Russia in the 1860s.

I know some of our Members are reading or have already read this one. Please share your thoughts here and let us know if you are still planning on reading this one.

It seems to me almost sure that the doubts, the wanderings of all these characters are none other than the doubts and wanderings of Dostoyevsky himself in the face of a situation whose historical importance, in real-time, we measure without knowing too much where it will lead or in which camp we should engage when we want to engage concretely. It's the same everywhere as long as there is a political wavering, a transition not yet completed.

Reading this as well as the hefty, Clarissa.
Up to Part1, chapter 5. Interesting so far.

Two large reads Gilbert!

Glad to have Luis and Gilbert join in for this one.

I've got the time and I usually have six titles going at any given moment anyway.

I'm still in chapter 2 but I'm really liking it. This one is said to be one of the four masterpieces Dostoevsky has written, the others being Crime and Punishment, The Karamazov Brothers, and The Idiot.

I've read Crime and Punishment and The Karamazov Brothers this year. Mighty good writing. Looking forward to Demons.

I’ll pick this one up when I finish the Tolstoy that I’m currently reading. I’m like you Gilbert, I’m always reading a number of things at once. Bit by bit.

May I ask: which Tolstoy?
For another group read I'm also rereading Anna Karenina.

Gilbert wrote: "May I ask: which Tolstoy?
For another group read I'm also rereading Anna Karenina."

Also reading Anna Karenina!
I actually just posted to a buddy read thread for it in this group. Join the discussion, Gilbert. Would love to hear how you’re getting on with it.

I'm nearing the end of part 2. My edition has the censored chapter "At Tikhon's". I wonder why it was censored. I thought it gives a good insight into Stavrogin.

I finished part 2. It is getting more and more interesting.

I'm nearing the end. I think this is the most brutally written work of Dostoevsky.

I haven't read it for awhile, but I agree with you, Piyangie.

I finished. It is yet another masterpiece by Dostoevsky, my most favorite Russian author. :) It was brutal and beautiful if that makes any sense.

I had a tough time reading it, Rosemarie. But Dostoevsky can hold you firm even with his brutality. I was fascinated as well as shocked at the same time.

This seems to be his most cynical book.
I feel the same way about Dostoevsky as you do, Piyangie.
He's so good!

I agree, Rosemarie. It is his most cynical book. He hasn't spared any.

I'm up to part 3, chapter 7.
Having just finished chapter 6, I must say I've never read anything quite so good as this. To make sure that I understood it, I'm going to reread it again tomorrow. I've never reread a chapter of a novel.
Just something about Dostoyevsky's writing makes it so remarkable.

He is a remarkable writer. Glad you're enjoying his writing, Gilbert.

Finished. Very happy with his writing from a psychological viewpoint.
This has been a very good year for Dostoyevsky and me. I've now read, besides Demons, Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov. On to The Idiot.

Gilbert wrote: "Finished. Very happy with his writing from a psychological viewpoint.
This has been a very good year for Dostoyevsky and me. I've now read, besides Demons, [book:Crime and Punishment..."

That's great, Gilbert. I'm glad you've enjoyed Demons. Demons, Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov are all my favourites with 5 star rating. It's only with The Idiot that I had poor luck. I hope you'll have better luck than me.

Piyangie wrote: "Gilbert wrote: "Finished. Very happy with his writing from a psychological viewpoint.
This has been a very good year for Dostoyevsky and me. I've now read, besides Demons, [book:Crim..."

The Idiot was the least rated of Dostoevsky's books for me, too.

I liked The Idiot, but my favourite is The Brothers Karamazov.

I'm only about eighty pages in so far.
It's pretty funny how Varvara Petrovna mothers Stepan. Now she's just arranged a marriage for him.

Gilbert wrote: "Finished. Very happy with his writing from a psychological viewpoint.
This has been a very good year for Dostoyevsky and me. I've now read, besides Demons, Crime and Punishment}, and The Brothers Karamazov. On to The Idiot."</i>
You should read [book:Notes from the Underground. I also liked House of the Dead.

Gilbert wrote: "I'm up to part 3, chapter 7.
Having just finished chapter 6, I must say I've never read anything quite so good as this. To make sure that I understood it, I'm going to reread it again tomorrow. I'v..."

You are getting me excited. I am 40 percent into the book. Part 2 Chapter VI. I stopped because it reminded me of another book that I had started this year and planned to finish before the end of the year. It is called Pawns in the Game. It is really helping fill in all the historical material around this book. I thought I would get to the 40 % of this book and switch back and forth between The Possessed and The Pawn. The Pawn in the Game is non fiction and is about the illuminati and revolutions and spies.

One thing that I think that I really like about this book is that Fyodor Dostoevsky doesn't spend a lot of time describing the house or the weather or his clothes. The story is primarily carried on through dialogue and action. In some ways this makes the story timeless...because we can see these same interactions today between women and men.

We live in a society of men who don't really know who they are in a world where women have become more dominant, or have been the bread winner and head of the home, rather than just passive house keeper. So it is interesting how weak some of the men are ...how arrogant others are. Whether they were raised with a father or just a mother as their primary parent. It is interesting that this is even an issue. But it reminds me of Fathers and Sons which I thought that this was Fyodor Dostoevsky answer to that book. That one is also interesting in the role of men and their identity.

I think of Anna Karenina who explored all kinds of families to discover the healthy one. It was also interesting the children that came out of single parent families or were orphaned.

I was reading Lectures on Russian Literature and what he said about Fyodor Dostoevsky. He wasn't a huge fan. He didn't like it that Fyodor Dostoevsky did not make more of the weather and the scenery. Vladimir Nabokov described Dostoevsky writing as more like writing for the theater. I can totally see that when I read it. The props are there but the dialog and people are central to the story. Also the women are hysterical. I don't remember what he said about the men. He did mention his epilepsy. I think about this when I am reading the Possessed. Does his epilepsy add something to his characters and story that without this infirmary his gift would be missing.

I read The Gambler before reading this book. This is my second reading of Demons Demons. (same books as The Possessed)

Luís wrote: "Piyangie wrote: "Gilbert wrote: "Finished. Very happy with his writing from a psychological viewpoint.
This has been a very good year for Dostoyevsky and me. I've now read, besides [book:Demons|227..."

The one thing that I got out of the Idiot was the "value" people put on owning "property or land." I think I read this book right around the housing bubble of 2008. It made me see that being a homeowner gave you a certain psychology. You were more likely to fight for it.

I only read it once. It wasn't my favorite, but a lot of times it is because I haven't read it more than once.

I think Dostoevsky was more interested in the psychological portrayal of his characters than indulging in the surrounding scenery. Dostoevsky can certainly create a proper atmosphere in every scene of the story producing a sort of cinematic quality that may be more appropriate for the theatre. Yet, his writing has also the power to produce vivid images in readers' minds of the thoughts and actions of the characters. I have always enjoyed that. (Defending Dostoevsky against Nabakov. 😄)

Piyangie wrote: "I think Dostoevsky was more interested in the psychological portrayal of his characters than indulging in the surrounding scenery. Dostoevsky can certainly create a proper atmosphere in every scene..."

I might have liked this book a lot if it hadn't taken me 460 pages to figure out that the ten main characters each had two surnames, a diminutive and a nickname.
(I thought that was a lot of main characters.)

I'm about halfway through. The chapter "With Our People" is the funniest thing I've seen from Dostoyevsky. Obviously he thought people who want to start revolutions like this are mostly a bunch of clowns.

Book Nerd wrote: "I'm about halfway through. The chapter "With Our People" is the funniest thing I've seen from Dostoyevsky. Obviously he thought people who want to start revolutions like this are mostly a bunch of ..."

I think that's slightly simplistic, and Dostoyevsky's views always struck me as darker. Early on in his own career he was involved with nihilists and socialists (although at a personal level he never liked their atheism) and was arrested and sent to Siberia for his troubles - and almost executed. Probably naturally enough, that caused a change of heart, and he became something of a reactionary - and also seemed to develop the view that pain was some sort of purifying experience.

John wrote: "Book Nerd wrote: "I'm about halfway through. The chapter "With Our People" is the funniest thing I've seen from Dostoyevsky. Obviously he thought people who want to start revolutions like this are ..."
Their conversation is really absurd. These particular people are a bunch of posers.

Since the thread has been silent for a while, I assume that all of you, who joined in with this read, have passed the finishing line. So, I thought of sharing my review which includes a detailed account of my thoughts. :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Yeah, I finished a while ago. I liked it pretty well but not as much as some Dostoyevsky.

It doesn’t look like I’ll get to this one this year unfortunately. I’m just reading too many other things right now. I did just finish Crime and Punishment and loved it.