if you love dostoevsky and can’t handle a negative review, then skip this one, pal 💀

my parents got me this for my 18th birthday (i was in a very pretentious russian lit phase). i had fallen in love with “crime and punishment” months before my birthday and was excited to read “the idiot.” thus began a long journey. 

now matter what, i just couldn’t get into it. i’d been starting it and then dnfing it for YEARS, and never made it halfway through. for whatever reason, i just didn’t like it. “crime and punishment” instantly enthralled me but “the idiot” felt like torture. 

the writing style was more fantastical (like very dramatic, which i despise. i don’t care who the author is) and less engaging. none of the characters were remotely interesting or written well. they had a million different nicknames (which i know is very popular in a lot russian books & i normally don’t mind it), and it was hard to tell who was who and who was talking. as far as the philosophy aspect, i didn’t particularly care to delve into that or pay attention. just keeping track of the plot and the characters (which again, i didn’t care about) drained me. 

so why did i finish this? my parents gifted me a copy like 6 years ago and i didn’t have it in my heart to donate it. so i wanted to finish this and be done with it.

i think it’s worth a try, but i honestly would skip this one if you haven’t read something by dostoevsky before this. otherwise you might not try him again 💀 it’s very different from “crime and punishment.” like night and day.

overall i’m disappointed, but now i know to stick to his shorter works!