Welcome to [Project D]
This blog is devoted to the reading, discussion and study of Dostoyevsky's last four novels: The Idiot, The Demons, Crime and Punishment, and The Brothers Karamazov.
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Dostoyevsky in 1872-
Recent Posts
- Final Thoughts
- “Father and son, fascinating monster and poignant poet, share in the one nature, villain and hero alike. This is the genius of Dostoevsky at full play, almost Shakespearean in its splendor.”
- “There are almost no normative personalities among Dostoevsky’s characters: they are what they will to be, and their wills are inconstant”
- “A silly poem by a silly student who never wrote two lines of poetry in his life.”
- “The truth, unfortunately, is almost always banal.”
Archives
Category Archives: Discussion
Final Thoughts
by Dennis Abrams I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have been following Project D this year, who have been reading Dostoevsky along with me, and who made this whole thing possible. Doing this, I … Continue reading
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“Father and son, fascinating monster and poignant poet, share in the one nature, villain and hero alike. This is the genius of Dostoevsky at full play, almost Shakespearean in its splendor.”
The Brothers Karamazov The Wrap-Up Continues with Dennis Abrams A continuation of yesterday’s essay by Harold Bloom: “The genius of Dostoevsky faltered when it came to representing religion, which is the flaw of The Brothers Karamazov, since Dostoevsky’s Russian Christianity … Continue reading
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“There are almost no normative personalities among Dostoevsky’s characters: they are what they will to be, and their wills are inconstant”
The Brothers Karamazov The Wrap Continues with Dennis Abrams From Harold Bloom (probably my favorite literary critic) — Genius “Sigmund Freud, rather polemically, placed The Brothers Karamazov first among all novels ever written, approaching Shakespeare in aesthetic eminence. The judgment … Continue reading
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“A silly poem by a silly student who never wrote two lines of poetry in his life.”
Project D The Wrap Up Continues with Dennis Abrams A continuation of Victor Terras’ “Subtext, Intertext, and Ambiguity in The Brothers Karamazov “Chapters iv and v of Book Five of The Brothers Karamazov have received a disproportionate amount of critical … Continue reading
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“The truth, unfortunately, is almost always banal.”
The Brothers Karamazov The Wrap-Up Continues From Victor Terras: “As the hero of Dostoevsky’s first novel, Poor Folk (1846) walks through the streets of St. Petersburg on a cold and rainy day in September, he meets a half-naked, shivering, coughing … Continue reading
“The absurd is only too necessary on this earth. The world stands on absurdities.”
The Brothers Karamazov The Wrap-up continues by Dennis Abrams Our good friend Minnikin, had an interesting comment to make regarding my observations yesterday about Dostoevsky’s women: I didn’t realise that Dostoevsky had a mistress: a lady by the name of … Continue reading
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“Suppose he did murder him — there are fathers and there are fathers!”
The Brothers Karamazov More on the Epilogue by Dennis Abrams For all of Dostoevsky’s strengths as a novelist, I’m still not sure that he’s able to portray a fully convincing female characters, at least among his heroines. Is Katerina Ivanovna … Continue reading
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“And if even only one good memory remains with us in our hearts, that alone may serve some day for our salvation.”
The Brothers Karamazov Book XII, Chapter 14; Epilogue by Dennis Abrams So, we’ve come to the end of The Brothers Karamazov and of our journey through the major novels of Dostoevsky — I hope it’s meant as much to you … Continue reading
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“In reality a thousand things can flash by, which escape the observation of the subtlest novelist.”
The Brothers Karamazov Book XII, Chapters 10-11 by Dennis Abrams I’m going to leave the synopsis for these chapters to the discussions by Miller and Frank (who cover pretty much everything I planned to discuss), but there’s one thing I’d … Continue reading
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“But did he kill him, without the robbery, did he kill him? Is this proved? Is this not also a novel?”
The Brothers Karamazov Book XII, Chapters 10-11 by Dennis Abrams “The Defense Attorney’s Speech. A Stick with Two Ends.” “All became hushed as the first words of the famous orator resounded. The whole room fixed their eyes on him.” His … Continue reading
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Project D 