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Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Demons (Penguin Classics) Paperback – June 24, 2008

by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Ronald Meyer (Editor), Robert A. Maguire (Translator),

244 ratings

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A superb new translation of Dostoyevsky's chilling and prophetic novel of revolutionary fanaticism

Pyotr and Stavrogin are the leaders of a Russian revolutionary cell. Their aim is to overthrow the Tsar, destroy society, and seize power for themselves. Together they train terrorists who are willing to lay down their lives to accomplish their goals. But when the group is threatened with exposure, will their recruits be willing to kill one of their own to cover their tracks? Savage and powerful yet lively and often comic, Demons was inspired by a real-life political murder and is a scathing and eerily prescient indictment of those who use violence to serve their beliefs.

Print length

842 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Classics
Publication date

June 24, 2008
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

7.7 x 5.2 x 1.51 inches
ISBN-10

0141441410
ISBN-13

978-0141441412
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Editorial Reviews

Review

? Dostoyevsky was the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn: he belongs to the happiest windfalls of my life, happier even than the discovery of Stendhal.?
?Friedrich Nietzsche

Dostoyevsky was the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn: he belongs to the happiest windfalls of my life, happier even than the discovery of Stendhal.
Friedrich Nietzsche

a Dostoyevsky was the only psychologist from whom I had anything to learn: he belongs to the happiest windfalls of my life, happier even than the discovery of Stendhal.a
aFriedrich Nietzsche

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.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; New Ed. / edition (June 24, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 842 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0141441410
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0141441412
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.7 x 5.2 x 1.51 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #113,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #53 in Russian Literature (Books)
- #116 in Renaissance Literary Criticism (Books)
- #482 in Lawyers & Criminals Humor

Customer Reviews:
244 ratings

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NoName

Great Translation - (but avoid the back cover - and the Amazon description)

Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2018

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This concerns the Penguin Classics Robert Maguire translation:
The book is as gripping as anything FD ever wrote. It ranks just behind Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov. It is also VERY funny, which is a relief, because (of course) it is very dark. And yes, it's a soap-opera. Most of his books are. But he crams them full of political, secular and spiritual ideas, and has them do battle. His best books almost feel like living things, if that doesn't sound completely ridiculous. (Ok, it probably does.)

But two problems with this Penguin edition: One: it never occurred to me to read the back-cover until I was finished, and I'm happy I didn't. The silly, unnecessary synopsis is a bit of a spoiler, like most flap-copy and back-copy in the publishing world. There was nobody at Penguin who thought this was a bad idea? And, of course, Amazon puts that same description on this page!

Problem Two: the end-notes are fantastic, hats-off to editor Ronald Meyer. However: those end-notes are NOT keyed to the page numbers in the text. Penguin seems to do this a lot. And there are a TON of notes in this book. So if you read twenty-five pages without stopping, and you tell yourself you'll catch up on the notes later, good luck finding the origin-page for those notes. Outside these two not-so-small issues, it's a must-read.

26 people found this helpful

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What is to say?

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2020

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I have read many of Dostoevsky's books and short stories. In my opinion, he is easily the greatest author of all time. (Yes I have read Anna Karenina). His books have an insight I have never come across. His characters provide lessons through contrast. He stories are intricate. I cannot put into words how good he is and how good this book was. Do not be afraid of the lengths of his books. Consider it an honor that he has given so much to read.

4 people found this helpful

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James Ashley

An important novel of ideas

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2021

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I haven’t read this edition of THE POSSESSED yet, but it looks great.

The title is DEMONS because this new translation is said to be much more faithful to the original Russian. I read the novel about twenty-five years ago, and had some difficulty understanding certain things; maybe this new translation will help to make certain ideas more clear.

IDEAS are central to the story; it is ideas which cause the characters to do what they do, and most of the characters are evil. It is IDEAS which are the “demons” which those characters are “possessed” by.

One person found this helpful

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Ernie Kotsos

THIS IS THE BEST TRANSLATION FOR AMERICANS

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2014

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First of all, I recommend getting the Maguire translation from Penguin, it's quite a bit more fluid than the P&V translation (which I've also read side by side).
This is one of those books that you have to read twice.
This book is very complex, kind of a dark Vanity Fair, with lots of characters coming and going. I wouldn't say that the characters are as colorful or enjoyable as Vanity Fair, however. But I don't read Fyodor for entertainment, I read him because William Faulkner cited him as an influence, and I place Faulkner on a pedestal, and nobody writes "human thought" better than Fyodor..
What's interesting about this book is that the narrator starts out as someone who wants to write about "certain strange events that took place in our village..." yet he knows just a bit too much. In fact, there is no possible way that the young narrator could possibly know this much, which makes the narration "unreliable" and "unbelievable." As with other Dostoevsky novels, the story is uneasy and becomes more disturbing with each page turn. The theme appears to be that the members of this village become a herd of demonic swine, plunging into an abyss of hopelessness, suicidality, violence, lust... each person in their own way and with their own private pains and motivations. An excellent book. I think I'll have to read it again, because smarter people than I appear to be looking at this book as a kind of satire. I don't know. My interpretation of Dostoevsky is that he was fascinated with Christianity and trying to reconcile that despite observing criminal behavior. I have a feeling that every criminal psychologist needs to read his novels. In the end, if you are a bright, sunny person-- don't read this! This novel is a bummer and it is going to fill your head with some dark thoughts.
Thanks for reading the review, I hope you enjoy whatever book you decide to read next!

38 people found this helpful

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SArmst2547

This edition is very impressive.

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018

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Obviously a classic. Translation was easy to read, but of course this is not an easy book. There are 17 major characters to keep track of, usually but not necessarily by patronymic names. Some characters and scenes are outrageously funny. The class contrasts were quite interesting! Gender constrains the female characters to being reactive and receptive, except for the owner of the large estate.

I appreciated that all the French phrases were translated in the notes, which were quite carefully done.

5 people found this helpful

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GrinningSchoolBoy

A little confusing, but you'll be no more confused than the other characters in the book!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2020

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I went into this Dostoevsky blind, having never really read a 'Big Russian' book before. I always found them rather intimidating. However, Quarantine made a desperate man of me to find something to do, so here we go.

Demons is pretty easy to read language-wise, the translation does a great job to ease you in, but I had to get used to Dostoevsky's flippant switching of first name and patronymic with the surname. Learning who is who is arguably the greatest challenge in the book.

Rule of thumb? Nikolay Vselovodovich is Stavrogin. Pyotr Stepanovich is Verkhovensky. It legit took me half the book to realise that these names were connected to each other. To those of you who have read it, I'm thick, I know.

Don't let this confusion fool you into thinking this is a frustrating read though. I enjoyed myself despite the fact that I was confused with who's who. And I believe that confusion was intentional because Demons still manages to be extremely enjoyable, funny and gasp-inducing/shocking even without me entirely sure what's doing who is doing what.

Indeed, the plot seems to revolve around people not having a full grasp of what's going on, and before long it blows up in their faces, so, like I said, the confusion adds to the flavour. There are even many characters who don't know what's going on but pretend/act as if they do, slyly pointed out by the narrator; acting in some romantic OTT way as if they were in some desperate over-worked Hollywood movie, when they're not. They just want to establish their social position in their society, and not to be judged completely, (although it is the only thing with which they can be judged, lol), by their good looks, money and methods of becoming impassioned and angry... Varvara Petrovna is a GODDESS!!!

These are the scenes I enjoyed the most.

And the ball at Yulia Mikhailovna's which is just a crackling firework display of black comedy and chaos.

Yes! Give it a go! Enjoy yourself. Involve yourself in the social life around Skvoreshniki, and get to know the people. Before the end, you'll have a thorough grasp as to what's happening, I promise. I literally gasped in shock at the 2nd to last paragraph, and then chuckled darkly at the last sentence. Humdinger ending.

Brilliant.

23 people found this helpful

Mark Falcoff

There are many editions of this novel, this one is far the best

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2020

Verified Purchase

One of the difficulties of reading this novel, and presumably others by Dostoyevsky, is that without a college course in nineteenth century Russian history one needs a bit of background and many references to persons or events need to be clarified. This is done very well in the notes to this edition. I personally like the way this translation uses the first name and patrinomic of each character, Stepan Trofimovich rather than "Mr. Verhovensky, Varvara Petrovna rather than Mrs. Stavrogin and so forth. It gives the text a more authentic feel, making it seem closer to the original Russian. But very helpfully, a full list of characters is given in the back to avoid confusion. The French phrases are also translated in the notes, although anyone with one semester of French could easily do without them. The introduction is very informative.. In short, much the best edition of this novel.

4 people found this helpful

Patrick Wilson

Magnificent.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 3, 2021

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One of Dostoyevsky's four masterpieces. A brilliant prediction and indictment of the nihilism that led to communism in Russia. The level understanding that Dostoyevsky possessed about human society and psychology was truly incredible.

3 people found this helpful

Chris X

You cannot go wrong with Dostoevsky

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

Comparing this to the way the Bolsheviks acted later on is a true testament to his genius.

2 people found this helpful

Andrew C.

Whoop whoop

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

Obviously a great book
This version brings lots of helpful and interesting footnotes which I haven't encountered in non-penguin editions

5 people found this helpful

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