The Idiot (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Alan Myers (Translator), William Leatherbarrow (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: July 9, 1998

The Idiot (1868), written under the appalling personal circumstances Dostoevsky endured while travelling in Europe, not only reveals the author's acute artistic sense and penetrating psychological insight, but also affords his most powerful indictment of a Russia struggling to emulate contemporary Europe while sinking under the weight of Western materialism. It is the portrait of nineteenth-century Russian society in which a "positively good man" clashes with the emptiness of a society that cannot accommodate his moral idealism. Meticulously faithful to the original, this new translation includes explanatory notes and a critical introduction by W.J. Leatherbarrow.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fine new translation that retains the flavor and vigor of the original. The ghost of Dostoevsky must be laughing with pleasure: at least we have his linguistic humor, solecisms and all. In short, a fine new edition."--Clifford Hardie, Wilmington College

"Myers translation is much more readable than the Garnett one."--Sr. Anna M. Conklin, Spalding University

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192834118
• ISBN-13: 978-0192834119
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark, tumultuous, complex work--one of D's greatest., March 16, 2000

By 

William Errickson Jr. (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Idiot (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Dostoevsky, that great tortured and feverish soul, wrote this novel after the onslaught of the Nihilists in Russian arts and letters. He felt he was waging a war against the crude and unfeeling Western materialism of the day; he was battling what he saw as a holy war. While authors like Turgenev and Tolstoy regarded the expanding West with (fairly) open arms, Dostoevsky feared it would cause a religious crisis, where faith in Christ was extinguished and ignorance, vanity, and greed would overcome.

This is a towering, exciting novel--perhaps not as great as "Crime & Punishment" or "Brothers Karamazov"--it contains some of his most penetrating insights into religious faith, human compassion, despair, and insanity. Prince Myshkin is of course one of literature's great characters, a Christ-like young man caught up in the treachery of the aristocratic lives of the Yepanchins. The other two main characters, Rogozhin and Nastasya Filippovna, along with Myshkin, form a powerful triangle that, despite their being "off-stage" for much of the novel, drive this novel to its tragic, unavoidable climax.

I do not, however, recommend this book to first time Dostoevsky readers; that should be "Notes from Underground" or "Crime and Punishment." The ideas Dostoevsky explores here need some context and understanding; they may leave the inexperienced reader a bit confused. At least that was my experience! After understanding him and his concerns, this novel cracked wide open. It is a darkly spiritual work, as are all of his; it is also quite disturbing. When young Ippolit describes the Hans Holbein painting "Christ in the Tomb" that adorns the cover of the Oxford edition, we see into the darkest reaches of despair and hopelessness. Indeed, the painting is a Christ that is unresurrected, one that is rotting flesh and cannot, in Dostoevsky's scenario, save humankind. This thought terrifies Rogozhin, Myshkin... and Dostoevsky himself.

What a stunning achievement this work is. I am in awe of it. Simply: Read it.

48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite book by my favorite author!, August 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Idiot (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This is the novel where Dostoevsky's ability as an artist to create fascinating characters reach it's pinnacle. How can you read this novel and not love the Prince Myshkin, with his childlike innocence juxtaposed against his complete mastery into the inner psychologies of people, or not fall in love with Aglaia, the sensitive and mercurial soul that protects herself behind a wall of cynicism and pride? Dostoevsky somehow casts his spell, whereby the the reader is lead into another world populated with seemingly fantastic and insane characters, who nevertheless seem absolutely real. His uncanny insights into the depths of psychology are incredibly trenchant and almost super-human. Nietschze said of Dostoevsky that he is the only psychologist whom he ever learned anything from. So absolutely true! Who else wrote with such insight about people with self destructive tendencies(Natashya), subconscious desires, and the irrational contradictions of the conscious and subconscious. If you read this novel and do not come away with new insight and a better understanding of the psychological workings of others around you, either you are Freud come back from the dead or incredibly dense!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Russian Master's Better Novels, February 15, 2006

By 

C. Middleton (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Idiot (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

It should be known to most students and readers of Dostoyevsky that he suffered most of his adult life from a severe condition of epilepsy. The seizures from this disease can vary in intensity from the mild to the point where it is so intense, that the individual's heart will simply stop from the violent convulsions. Those afflicted with this condition have commented that after an attack, calmness washes over them and a feeling of deep clarity prevades. A few individuals, including the great Russian writer have claimed that they experienced something akin to a spiritual awakening, only lasting a few moments and sometimes a few hours. The protagonist in The Idiot, Prince Myshkin, also suffers from epilepsy, and therefore has earned the cruel nickname of `Idiot' from his circle of friends and acquaintances. The novel centres on this man and the profound affects he has on those he comes in contact. The Idiot is a nineteenth century thriller, an exposé of Russian aristocracy, intense, unrequited love and spiritual redemption. A semi-autobiographical piece that is one of Dostoyevsky's better novels.

Prince Myshkin's simpleton demeanour, his almost child-like view of the world - naïve, terribly honest and soft good looks - projects to other characters in the novel as someone with saintly qualities, an almost Christ-like aura surrounds him that most perceive when they first meet the man. Having had epilepsy from birth, he has been raised under very controlled circumstances, to finally move into the world without societies basic prejudices and biases. The Prince lacks because of his innocence, the decorum of the then Russian aristocracy. He also has a gift. The Prince has great intuitive insight into the souls of the people he meets. And because he lacks in the social graces, he more often than not will blurt out what he feels with uncanny accuracy, embarrassing the people present. Although he has great insight, there is a dark side, and a price he will eventually have to pay.

The female protagonist is a fascinating woman. Nastasya Filippovna is a person with an incredible strength of will that she uses for her tacit manipulations of the numerous fawning, stumbling men that constantly grovel around her. This woman's mere presence, her stunning beauty all combine to make a very powerful woman. However, below this persona of strength, is an extremely insecure little girl, who only requires love.

Rogozhin is the novel's psychopath, a rogue and scoundrel of the first order. Everything that we could possibly mistrust in a person, Rogozhin personifies as he, without conscience, hurts and manipulates those around him with adept skill.

This is a beautiful novel as it communicates our spiritual concerns though represents our darker natures in insightful ways. The Idiot is a dramatic tragedy, a satire on Russia's aristocracy and a reflection about our dual natures, possessing the capacity for so much good, but also capable of so much evil.

This is a novel written with vividness and extreme passion as only this Russian master can give us. Excellent.