The Idiot (Penguin Classics) and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more



or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering
Sell Us Your Item
For a $0.88 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading The Idiot (Penguin Classics) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

The Idiot (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoyevsky , David McDuff , William Mills Todd
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.00
Price: $12.60 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $1.40 (10%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 7 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Thursday, May 23? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $11.50  
Hardcover --  
Paperback $12.60  
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

August 31, 2004 Penguin Classics
Inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Fyodor Dostoyevsky set out to portray "a truly beautiful soul" colliding with the brutal reality of contemporary society. Returning to St. Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium, the gentle and naive Prince Myshkin—known as "the idiot"—pays a visit to his distant relative General Yepanchin and proceeds to charm the General and his circle. But after becoming infatuated with the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna, Myshkin finds himself caught up in a love triangle and drawn into a web of blackmail, betrayal, and, ultimately, murder. This new translation by David McDuff is sensitive to the shifting registers of the original Russian, capturing the nervous, elliptic flow of the narrative for a new generation of readers.
 

Frequently Bought Together

The Idiot (Penguin Classics) + The Brothers Karamazov: A Novel in Four Parts and an Epilogue (Penguin Classics) + Crime and Punishment (Penguin Classics)
Price for all three: $33.95

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881), one of nineteenth-century Russia’s greatest novelists, spent four years in a convict prison in Siberia, after which he was obliged to enlist in the army. In later years his penchant for gambling sent him deeply into debt. Most of his important works were written after 1864, including Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov, all available from Penguin Classics.


David McDuff was educated at the University of Edinburgh and has translated a number of works for Penguin Classics, including Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov.


William Mills Todd III is a professor of Slavic languages at Harvard.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 768 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (August 31, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 014044792X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140447927
  • Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1.3 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #415,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Dead Souls June 9, 2007
Format:Paperback
Dostoevsky's "The Idiot" is a work with which the author himself was never truly satisfied, but even in its 'unrefined state' it is complete, masterful, and deeply moving. It vies with "The Brothers Karamazov" in my mind for the title of greatest novel ever written, and is in my mind a must-read. The depth and insight into the human soul is a fascinating product genius.

The pace of classics is different from contemporary novels and takes some getting used to, and Dostoevsky is no exception. For people who wonder whether they will find the work tedious, Dostoevsky's works are long, but very rewarding.

The Penguin Classics edition has a helpful introduction and is less expensive than most other editions.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully depressing. July 28, 2006
Format:Paperback
I love this book, love it. Overall it's not as good as Crime and Punishment or Brothers Karamazov, but I think it offers something a little different, and worthwhile in it's own right.

C&P and Brothers, while dreary, have some sort of resolution to them, which leaves you feeling not cheerful, but if nothing else, a little satisfied. The Idiot on the other hand is straight up, unadulterated, depressing, tragedy. Prince Myshkin is so good, the women are so beautiful, and their lives are utterly twisted, ravaged, and destroyed. The end. I don't think another author has ever been so brutally cruel and merciless to his characters.

Only a God could save a world as terrible as the one that destroys Myshkin, and I think that's sort of the point of the book. This book is incredibly sad, and completely beautiful.

the four star rating is in comparison to other Dostoyevsky, but by other standards, this book would certainly be a five.
Was this review helpful to you?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Tedious but rewarding June 7, 2007
Format:Paperback
This book is a delightful read if you can last through it. Similar to a work out you must put a lot of effort to get results. The characters are delightful, and delightfully terrible depending on the character. The social interaction of 19th century Russia is exposed wonderfully in this book. The way people act, their cold secret desires, their quest for wealth and respect are all illustrated vividly.

Myshkin is a great man who is thrown into what we could today call "the real world". His kindness and polite behavior makes others think he is an idiot. I find this situation to be analogous to today's world. How often are we suspicious of people who are kind? How often are we conniving like Nastasya? I'm sure people have changed since the 19th century; however I am also sure they stayed the same. "The Idiot" is a vivid almost intoxicating portrayal of humanity with both its flaws and virtues. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who can last through the entire text. Also you may consider the Barnes and Noble classics edition which offers content that analyzes Dostoevsky's state of mind and motivations for writing certain passages in the novel.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A Nineteenth Century Seinfeld
Like many other readers, I felt disappointed in the end - though I enjoyed as always Dostoyevsky's madcap style, the action seesawed back-and-forth for 718 pages with an... Read more
Published 1 month ago by ArtichokeBethesda
1.0 out of 5 stars Incomprehensible tedium
The Brothers K was a masterpiece. The Idiot is a tedious Russian soap opera with a cast of thousands that
have three names for each member. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mark Buckley
5.0 out of 5 stars mcduff
Although I am usually enamored of Pevear for his translations of Dostoevsky, I have found the McDuff translation of the Idiot superior. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Conan
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Novel I've Ever Read
I ordered this book based on my desire for a Russian novel and the positive reviews here. I am an avid reader and literature lover, but I regard this as perhaps the worst, most... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Michael R. Francis
2.0 out of 5 stars Tedious, has lost relevance
I have read and enjoyed both "Crime and Punishment" and "Brothers Karamazov" some 20 years ago and would have rated them 4-5 stars easily had this system been in place then. Read more
Published 9 months ago by R. R. Costas Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars Who could deal with such a Christlike character?
The answer ,of course, is no one. Think of an innocent (the simple Prince Myshkin) sitting in the same compartment as the romantic wastrel, Roghozin on the Petersburg train. Read more
Published 12 months ago by chrisam
5.0 out of 5 stars Touchstone of Goodness
r Dostoyevsky, The Idiot

Dostoyevsky wrote The Idiot during his sojourn in Europe (1867-71) where he had fled to escape his creditors. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mr. D. James
5.0 out of 5 stars One of literature's greatest creations.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky's 'The Idiot' is - even with such classics as 'Crime and Punishment' and 'The Brothers Karamazov' - a stand-out and major work from his oeuvre. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Jose Antonio Area Portaba
5.0 out of 5 stars Pretty much the best book ever
This is an amazing work. I know The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment are considered his masterpieces, but on an emotional level this book is unmatched in what it evokes... Read more
Published 15 months ago by internationalcodes
4.0 out of 5 stars Issues with the Kindle edition
I'm a couple chapters in to "The Idiot" and am enjoying the David McDuff translation. I spent some time comparing it to the Eva Martin (1915) translation, which is freely available... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Tim Meneely
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews


Books on Related Topics (learn more)

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Forums

Topic From this Discussion
Why Pevear Translation for Hardcover... Are there other options.
You don't seem to have a good reason to avoid the Pevear translation. I think that if you read some quotes from the two, you would appreciate their work. I've linked to an article that may help you appreciate them a little more (or shy away from them). Anyways, if it's a simple issue of taste,... Read more
Jul 13, 2008 by Christopher R. Horenstein |  See all 5 posts
Have something you'd like to share about this product?
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions


So You'd Like to...



Look for Similar Items by Category