The Idiot (Signet Classics) [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Author), Henry Carlisle (Translator), Olga Carlisle (Translator), Harold Rosenberg (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2002

Written by one of the greatest literary minds the world has ever known, this ambitious novel is the story of Prince Myshkin, an almost comically innocent Christ-figure who is Dostoyevsky's vision of salvation for a cynical Russia.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

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.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: Signet Classics (June 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451528387
• ISBN-13: 978-0451528384
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,243,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By far, the best book I've read, November 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Idiot (Signet classic) (Paperback)

Dostoyevsky is the master of the art of creating the character. All his characters have a distinct personality, each of them behaving in a certain way, until you truly feel for those characters. But in The Idiot, things are different. You see the corruption of the people through the eyes of the innocent and loveable Prince Myshkin. But Myshkin is seen as an 'Idiot' because of his true kindness. Only the strong can survive in this world, or so it seems. The character of Hippolite is also a truly great character, as well as Rogozhin. Not a word should ever be changed from this awesome novel. Read it, change your view on life.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try to be like Prince Myshkin, July 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Idiot (Signet classic) (Paperback)

The book is the saddest of the great novels Dostoyevsky wrote. It also has the best character he created (Prince Myshkin). It's what happens to that great character that makes it the saddest book.

I've read _Karamazov_ more often and I feel it is the better work of art, but this one changed me more. It changed the way I deal with other people.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another classic, November 17, 2000

By 

Ben Goldberg (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Idiot (Signet classic) (Paperback)

Dostoyevsky wrote with an understanding of humans that is rarely seen from anyone. His characters might not all be realistic but you can always find truth in each one. This novel takes the completely moral man and contrasts him with characters of vice. Throughout the novel we see that good is never as good as it seems, while evil is simple never at it appears on face value. All I have left to say is that I imagine this novel has the most tragic ending anyone could ever come up with.