Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them leave. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. When the herdsmen saw … Continue reading The Freak Book
Tag: Dostoevsky
Roskolnikov’s Final Dream
Throughout Crime and Punishment, dream-sequences intermingle with reality. Roskolnikov especially has a handful fo dreams. Something in the quality of Dostoevsky's prose makes one miss the transitions, so you can read for several pages of what feels like reality before being pulled back by a character waking up. These dreams are used not just to … Continue reading Roskolnikov’s Final Dream
Crime and Punishment
[After a bit of a hiatus, I'll post a few more Dostoevsky Reading Project thoughts - this is hopefully 1/3 on Crime and Punishment, but I also have to start work again tomorrow...] I read Crime and Punishment once before, when I was a senior in college. I don’t remember why I decided to read … Continue reading Crime and Punishment
A totally absurd generalization I’d like to discuss
I was listening to the two guys from Sound Opinions talking about their new book, which is apparently a book-length conversation between the two of them about the relative merits of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. While listening to them talk about this for a little bit (it was during the recent WBEZ pledge … Continue reading A totally absurd generalization I’d like to discuss
The Crocodile
It struck me as strange that the author of Notes from Underground would next write "The Crocodile," an allegorical, theater-of-the-absurd type story to have been published in D's dying periodical Epoch. After all, Notes from Underground was an innovative exercise in narrative technique, with all sorts of interestingly problematic aspects. "The Crocodile", by contrast, is … Continue reading The Crocodile
Notes from Underground
“… my apartment was my mansion, my shell, my case, in which I hid from all mankind…” (Notes from Underground, trans. Pevear and Volokhonsky, 113) That is just one of the many expostulations I felt compelled to underline while re-reading Notes from Underground. And while I know this is one of those “great works of … Continue reading Notes from Underground
Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
In 1862, D. took his first trip to Europe. He had, however, dreamed of this day for many years, apparently since childhood, when he was enthralled with British and French novels, especially the Gothic tales of Anne Radcliffe. He had apparently planned and planned for this opportunity, probably to such an extent than his actual … Continue reading Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
The House of the Dead
My thoughts about D's prison/exile memoir, The House of the Dead, are somewhat vague and disjointed. This is mostly because while I'm working I just never seem to get around to reading anything. I started this book more than a month ago, and whenever things are spread over that wide a timeframe, I just lose … Continue reading The House of the Dead
Prison Ethics
I'm currently reading Dostoevsky's prison memoir, The House of the Dead. I'll have more to say about it when I finish (though my progress has slowed substantially since restarting gainful employment for the fall). So for now I'm just asking a question, one posed in the opening section of D's 1861 work. ... it seems … Continue reading Prison Ethics
A Nasty Anecdote
One of the most memorable episodes from Don Quixote, one which in fact I blogged about in this space a few years ago, involves Quixote’s visit to a farm. He and Sancho happen upon a peasant being abused by his overseer. The peasant describes a tale of woe to Quixote; Quixote in exchange offers to … Continue reading A Nasty Anecdote
Original Positions 