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The Idiot (Vintage Classics) Paperback – July 8, 2003

by Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Richard Pevear (Translator), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translator)
4.1 out of 5 stars 448 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Series: Vintage Classics
  • Paperback: 656 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (July 8, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375702245
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375702242
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (448 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,445 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsDoestoevsky's Master Work
By Sean O'Neill on June 30, 2007
Format: Paperback
What could have prompted me to first read "The Idiot" at age 13 on a beach vacation with my family I can not recall. What I do recall, however, is that I was fully engrossed day after day in a world of ideas, people and places far beyond my experience. Having now just "re-read" it 39 years later (following Crime and Punishment and Brothers Karamazov), I know I couldn't possibly have digested all of its ideas at that age: atheism vs. Christianity; nihilism vs. a dying social order; Eros vs. charity; truth vs. artifice; id vs.ego and superego. And yet, I also sense I know what captivated me even then.

The characters in this novel, though usually explained as symbolic of the ideas they represent, are yet the most vividly realized characters I had ever "read" then, and still. The real-time manner in which they are drawn and followed is as if the author simply recorded their actions and conversations as and where they happened. We get to know who these people are, not through narrative description, but, as if by "candid camera", observing what they say, withhold, do, and fail to do. What emerges are fascinating, at times frightening and at times affectionate portraits of real and troubled humans: Lizaveta, the flighty, but loving society mother; General Epanchin, the successful but utterly conventional man of the house; Aglaya, the childish but delightful beauty who resents her sister's and parents' expectation for her; Ganya, who wants money and love, but plays the wounded martyr while more obviously blaming his father for his failures at both; Ivolgin, the pathetic figure of an aging man who aches for dignity and respect but who's former glory is long gone and mostly imagined; and Lebedev, the likeable sycophant and name-dropper.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starssublimely inaccessible
By Michael Fridman on July 25, 2004
Format: Paperback
This is one of the more famous of Dostoyevsky's novels, and quite rightly so as it has his very-unique blend of psychology, philosophy and an unrelenting view of the bleakest recesses of the soul.

I read the novel in the original Russian, so this isn't a review of any particular translation but the work itself.

In brief, the book centres around a Prince who has returned to Russia after being treated for mental illness in Switzerland since his childhood (hence the idiot). He quickly becomes involved within the upper-middle eschellons of St Petersburgian society, as people become fascinated by his direct honesty, simplicity and compassion. He becomes emotionally involved with a Fallen Woman, and this develops into a love triangle with another woman, ultimately ending in --- you guessed it! - tragedy. The Idiot is portrayed as the symbol of a child-like innocence: he genuinely wants everyone to live in harmony and love. However, the falseness, politics and backstabbing of the world of Russian middle-nobility will have none of that.

The plot is quite complicated - but not in terms of twists. The story is quite simple in terms of what happened, however much of it is told inside-out, focusing on the internal world of the characters. So, if you feel like you've missed something - a reason for a character's comment, an event etc, chances are, this will be revealed later on.

Dostoyevsky dwells on the extreme minute aspects of the emotional lives of his charactes. This is the richest aspect of the novel - and these emotions possess all the contradiction and chaos that real people have.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsInnocence Lost?
By Nathan Knapp_Voronwë on February 21, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Having previously read my first Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment) I was literally chomping at the bit to start reading something else of his. I am not altogether sure as to why I found The Idiot to be the most appealing, it probably wasn't the synopsis, because I, in my ignorance, thought I was buying "The Possessed". I realized this as I pulled away from the book store, but didn't worry about it. Dostoevsky is Dostoevsky, right? Well, sort of. I was shocked when I did not find the anti-hero I expected, but Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, a pure and beautiful soul who I loved from the start. It was hard not to cheer for him throughout the course of the novel, and to feel his pain at the corrupt and confusing society that surrounded him. He is torn apart by his first love for the intriguing Nastasya Filippovna, and then later Aglaia Ivanovna, equally intriguing.

I'll be the first to admit that though I loved this book I struggled through certain portions of it, namely nearly every scene Lebedev is involved in, and Ippolit's letter. The book has a very 'meandering' quality to it, and you get the feeling at times that Dostoevsky didn't have the slightest clue how he would finish it, and so stalled for time in certain areas. This didn't really diminish the book's quality, it simply made it harder to follow. Also, towards the end it seems as if Dostoevsky finally knows, and he finally hurries off.

But, there is, perhaps, some of the greatest writing ever put on paper within these pages. Scenes such as Prince Myshkin's oratory on capital punishment, the party at Nastasya Fillippovna's, Prince Myshkin in the house of Rogozhin, and the most chilling scene in Rogozhin's bedroom.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starsComplicated - More interesting Than Enjoyable

If I were only going to read one novel by Dostoevsky this would NOT be the one. It is undeniably great writing and the talent, even genius is obvious, especially when viewed... Read more

Published 2 days ago by Francis C. Donnelly
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great Book as everyone knows !

Published 8 days ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsGroan

I bought this to revisit Dostoyevsky's exploration of the epileptic phenom, the loss of certain blocks of neuro-mind or whatever (after encountering some version myself), the... Read more

Published 9 days ago by T W Gulliver
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very good book

Published 19 days ago by Charles A Byrd
3.0 out of 5 starsFyodor the master

Aamazibgnz craft of storytelling, learnt the art if narration from.Fyodor. some stuff was dragged too much in the name.e of humour, but a good story. Read more

Published 1 month ago by KK
5.0 out of 5 starsYou discover that the personality of the characters other than ...

You discover that the personality of the characters other than the Prince fit yourself and others with which you share life experiences, attitudes, and
judgments.

Published 1 month ago by John Hulsizer
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat Read

This woman can really write. I picked up her book up at a yard sale. I figured for 50 cents how could I go wrong. I'll give it to my wife. She can read it at he beach this summer. Read more

Published 1 month ago by 1776freak
3.0 out of 5 starsClassic Russian Literature. Very descriptive, but not much action.

In part one of this story, we meet Myshkin, a prince, on a train to Petersburg, Russia. He is a prince by title, but does not possess the wealth you might expect from royalty. Read more

Published 1 month ago by JJohns
4.0 out of 5 starsA long, but worthwhile read.

I enjoyed the glimpse into Russian politics given the state of America now. Many ideas in the book are still true over a century later. Read more

Published 1 month ago by A M Boyers
4.0 out of 5 starsWorth your time.

Very interesting! A little difficult to follow all the names but worth the effort. I wish I had the time to read all the different translations.

Published 1 month ago by Becky

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