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Title: Poor Folk and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, David McDuff, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky ISBN: 0-14-044505-6 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1989 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Star Crossed Lovers...Or Not
Comment: As my introduction to Dostoyevsky, I chose his first novel, written at age 24, as the logical starting place. Poor Folk is a very compact, easy-to-read volume and is a fascinating work.
Dostoyevsky tantalizes the reader with his format. The entire book is a series of letters between 47 year-old Makar Alexievitch and the subject of his infatuation, a much younger Barbara Alexievna. As the two live within sight of each other and meet often, the letters leave an impression akin to that of seeing a series of snapshots from a movie rather than watching the entire production. Many details of their lives and particularly their pasts are alluded to but never fully divulged. The most powerful result is that the reader is left to grapple with the true nature of the relationship between the two fantastically poor correspondents.
The author does a wonderful job of relating the harsh reality of life in 19th-century St. Petersburg slums and the depersonalized, marginalized and tenuous existence of the working poor. This stark setting and the desperate circumstances of the protagonists provide the stage for one of the overarching themes of the book-the foundational source of self-esteem. When money, social stature and career success are completely lacking, is love from another the final refuge for salvaging a sense of self worth? To what lengths will one go to preserve this refuge and to where may one turn when abandoned by it are central questions weaved by Dostoyevsky.
The other subtle theme behind the story is the circumstances necessary for true character revelation. Irony abounds in Poor Folk, with Barbara's character being it primary vehicle. One might expect that harsh circumstances, bitter privation and abject poverty would shed the social covering to reveal one's disposition, but Barbara's unexpected financial good fortune reveals her true nature. Her reaction to sudden affluence reveals her relationship with Makar to have been driven wholly by a desperate need for a patron rather than genuine love and affection.
This is a great read and whets the appetite to tackle Dostoyevsky's more famous works.
Rating: 4
Summary: Poor Folk
Comment: _Poor Folk_ is Dost.'s first novel and it was a real success. On the basis of
this short novel (under 150 pp) a leading Russian literary critic at the time
(Belinsky) prophesied that Dost. would become a famous literary star. He
was certainly correct.
_Poor Folk_ is written in the form of letters between a middle aged man and
a girl/young woman (no ages are ever given). Both are very poor, simple folk.
The high degree of pathos, poverty and suffering make this a heart wrenching
read. Add to that Dost. high literary skill and you have a real classic. There
is a high degree of genuineness and hard hitting simplicity so characteristic
of Dost. But it goes beyond a mere tear jerker. The great themes of
forgiveness, human respect and dignity and relation to God are important
components of the novel. The relationship between the man and young
woman is exemplary in its love and devotion and pure chasteness (and a
testimony to the high morality of Dost., a real breath of fresh air in our
oversexed culture). It is truly that of a father and only daughter (though they
were not related at all; though never stated it was probably poverty which
prevented marriage).
Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:
"How we wept together, he and I. We thought about you. He's a very nice
man, a good, kind man with deep feelings. I am sensitive to it all myself,
dearest, that's why all this happens to me - because I am so sensitive to it
all. I know my debt to you, my pet. Once I had got to know you, I began, first
of all, to know myself better and to love you. Before I knew you, my angel, I
was lonely and spent my life asleep, as it were. These villians of mine said
that even my very person was repulsive, and held me in disdain and I began
to hold myself in disdain, they said I was stupid and I really thought I was
stupid, but when you appeared you lit up my whole dark life and my heart
and soul were lit up, and peace of mind was mine and I realized that I was no
worse than others, it was just that I didn't shine in any way, there was
nothing outstanding about me, no style, but I was still a man, my heart and
thoughts were a man's. Now that I feel persecuted and humiliated by fate, I
have given myself over to the denial of my own dignity, and weighed down by
my misfortunes I have lost heart. Now that you know everything, dearest, I
humbly beg you to take no further interest in these affairs, because my heart
is breaking, and I feel sorrowful and burdened."
"You and your sad thoughts make me so despondent, my dearest. I pray to
God for you, dearest, how I pray to him!"
"Yesterday I repented before the Lord God with tears in my eyes, begging
his forgiveness for all my sins during this unhappy time"
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent intro to Dostoevsky: a glimpse into a poor soul
Comment: "Poor Folk" is a brilliant piece, especially considering that it was written by a 22-year-old Dostoevsky. I don't know how he came up with such characters (none of them resemble himself, except, perhaps, Pokrovsky) or how such a young writer could possibly fathom the depths of the suffering souls he himself created. One will immediately sympathize with Makar Andreich Devushkin in his striving to please and serve his beloved Varenka and ... well I'd rather not tell you the end. The other heart-wrenching little story inside "Poor Folk" is Varenka writing about her past (it impressed me more than any other works by Dostoevsky, I have read almost all of them). Again, I won't go into details, but this very short story about Pokrovsky and his poor father will forever be embedded in my heart! I honestly couldn't contain my tears while reading it. It probably just reminded me so much of myself and my own father! But.. you will definitely enjoy the book and will become a better person, at least for a while! Also recommended: "C&P" and "The Brothers Karamazov" (both transalted by R.Pevear & L.Volokhonsky, NOT by C. Garnett!) by Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", "Master and Man", "Forged Coupon" and, of course, "War and Peace" (trnsl. by A. Maude or Leo Wiener, again, NOT by C. Garnett).
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Title: The House of the Dead (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, David McDuff ISBN: 0140444564 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: January, 1986 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: The Village of Stepanchikovo: And Its Inhabitants: From the Notes of an Unknown (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Ignat Avsey, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky ISBN: 0140446583 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: December, 1995 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Adolescent by LARISSA VOLOKHONSKY, RICHARD PEVEAR, FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY ISBN: 140004118X Publisher: Unknown Publisher - Being Researched Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky ISBN: 0486295729 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 12 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: Netochka Nezvanova (Penguin Classics) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, Jane Kentish ISBN: 0140444556 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: January, 1986 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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