Dane Stewart > Recent Status Updates

I wish I could have read this before I watched the movie. The movie followed the plot fairly well, so I always know what’s coming next, but wow this is so much better than the movie. I loved the movie and what Villanueve did with it; his style was perfect to fit the theme and feel of the story. But Herbert makes every relation and interaction so much more intricate and gives the characters so much more depth.

I love it

It’s interesting. This book is written in such a simplistic style, reflecting the narrators disinterest in life. He seems to live a life everyone dreams of, by the beach with a beautiful girl that wants to marry him, but he couldn’t be more indifferent. The monotone story telling plays into that indifference.

After losing Sonya and possibly dealing with the guilt of killing Marfa, Svid is tormented beyond belief, wandering the cold rainy streets in the middle of the night, paying visits to give away all his money to others. This is a strong parallel to Rodya’s insanity. Earlier, someone mentioned that Rodya will either “put a bullet in his head or hard labor” Here, Svid does the former, so will Rodya do the latter?

Svidrigailov gives us the first, full examination of Rodya from a third person perspective. Dostoevsky basically lays it all out, saying this is objectively Rodya. This is how other people see him without knowing the ins and outs of his mind. Up until this point we all have our own view of Rodya because the whole book has been from his perspective. Now we can compare our idea of Rodya to a third party’s.

So we finally get an official accusation from Porfiry. Rodya’s reaction isn’t what I expected. He just sits there and takes it on the chin, as opposed to freaking out and playing mad. Perhaps his recent confession to Sonya has changed how he feels about it. I’m wondering if Porfiry is yet still playing mind games, or if he actually found the stone that Rodya buried the loot under

Katerina has officially lost her mind and dies. This whole situation is awful. The children are dressed in heinous costumes, dancing and singing while crying. Sonya, having just suffered the loss of her father and recently acquiring Rodya’s burden of guilt, now has to witness the chaotic final moments of her step-mother’s life. That’s rough. With Svidrigailov here, the stage is now set for the finale.