My Struggles With Dostoevsky's The Idiot

Thoughts On Navigating Complex Literature

The Idiot Penguin black classics

Hello, my lovely bookish friend!!!

Welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet where I talk all things books. Have you been reading anything this week?

This week, I resumed reading Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. I started this book towards the end  of March. This is my third Dostoevsky novel, and the Dostoevsky novel I’ve found most difficult to navigate. 

My first Dostoevsky was Crime and Punishment. It not only is my favourite Dostoevsky novel so far but also one of my favourite books in general. It had me hooked right from the very beginning, it was quite obvious what the story was about and the point it was trying to make. It was pretty easy to follow. Demons, my second Dostoevsky that I read last year, was comparatively more difficult. Still, I found it engaging, maybe it was the satire that kept it entertaining. With The Idiot, however, I simply could not decode the story. Even after having read half the book, I simply was not getting the point it was trying to make.

I wanted to write about the book in my reading journal like I usually do, but I simply didn’t know what to write. I couldn’t form any insights that could be written down. And it was a bit discouraging. I always feel like I’m not smart enough to understand complex literature, especially because I don’t have a literature degree. There are many books I’d love to read, like In Search Of Lost Times, literally anything by Nietzsche, The Book Of Disquiet, but I’m afraid to even attempt them because I feel like there’s no way I’ll understand those books. 

So, I went days without reading and just feeling stupid. Then one day, I thought there are many ideas this book is trying to address, and there’s no way I’m getting all that in one read. But I am a dedicated re-reader, I always read the books I love multiple times and I know with every re-read you discover something new.  

So, why don’t I try to get just one idea, only one, from this first read? 

So, I thought, is there one idea I got from reading half of this book? At first I couldn't come up with anything. So, I tried to think about the character I’m liking the most– Nastasya Filippovna. I thought about the ideas associated with her storyline, if I could find any. And the answer finally was yes.

Nastasya, who has been abused by Totsky when she was a child, feels guilt, while Totsky, who has wronged her, feels none and acts as if he is the victim because she lashes out at him. And the society sides with him, looking at Nastasya as a nuisance. 

And so there it was— guilt and innocence, conscience and societal hypocrisy. 

With that in mind, I stopped feeling like a complete  idiot and resumed my reading. And as I read, I’ll look for moments where these ideas are being addressed in the story. All the other ideas in this book, I’ll save for my later reads. And it also gave me an idea about how to read difficult books– one idea at a time.

What about you? Do you also find complex literature intimidating? Don’t forget to let me know.

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That’s it for today, I'll be back in your inbox next week.

Until then,

Joyie 🌻