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/lit/ - Literature

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2499041 No.2499041 [Reply] [Original]

Anyone here in a position that they are unable to find a good author or book to read?

Dostoevsky has spoiled me, I have yet to find an author to match the joy and reflection his works offered me.

>> No.2499050

Try Gogol. He was a big influence on him. I never read any Dostoevsky by the way

>> No.2499056

>>2499050
Gogol is nice, but not very fulfilling. Just sort of humorous little stories.

>> No.2499058

Mervyn Peake is a master of an almost Tolkienesque sense of wonder, along with just some really rich prose. I'd say maybe heavier than Dostoyevsky so far as density/length goes, but I'd still recommend at least the Gormenghast novels.

>> No.2499057

try kafka

>> No.2499059

kafka, tolstoj

>> No.2499060

>>2499057
I place Kafka and Gogol in the same grouping, personally something about Kafka isn't very piercing.

>> No.2499069

OP, I can't help but feel you aren't looking that hard. That's just an assumption, though.
If you like Dostoevsky, maybe you'd enjoy Stendhal. There's not a whole lot connecting the two, it's just a wild guess really.

>> No.2499073

>>2499041

nothing to like about Dosto, OP you should change your taste...its wrong.

his prose is weak (Nabokov thinks its shit-tier, and this is true)

his ideas are preachy pedantic christian rubbish (huuurrr women are either angels or whores and Christ is your only hope)

give me a fucken break

>> No.2499078

>>2499058

>Talking about Gormenghast without even noting how goddamn melancholy it is

It won't offer you so much in the way of joy, at least not in the way Dostoyevsky does. Maybe some quiet reflection and great imagery, but none of the joy of interesting characters doing brave things, or gaining redemption. Where Dostoyevsky is all about personal relationships and the struggles those create, Peake is all about the lack of them and the consequent struggles.

>> No.2499080

>>2499073
Hmm. The Brother's Karamazov, Grushenka. Agument is invalid

>> No.2499081

>>2499073
Don't be a douchebag, please. He likes what he likes. Dostoevsky has his good points for many readers, and Nabokov isn't the end-all be-all of literary criticism, in fact plenty of other critics thought he was a little screwy.

>> No.2499083

>>2499078

yes but peake knew how to write a god damn good sentence.
Dosto never figured this out.

>> No.2499084

>>2499080
>The Brother's Karamazov,

>implying it lacked Christian hogwash

Hurr durrr if God doesnt exist everything is permitted....ya no thanks Dosto keep your crazy mumbo jumbo to yourself

>> No.2499085

>>2499083
You're Russian?

>> No.2499086

>>2499085

yes. mother tongue

>> No.2499088
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2499088

hamsun, proust, zola, bernhard

>> No.2499091

>>2499084
I actually know people who think that book was an argument for atheistic moral relativity, as opposed to one for theistic moral dichotomy. While Dostoyevsky was a hardcore Christian, he certainly was aware of the facets of other views (he was a bit of a socialist early in life, which at the time usually meant being a radical in other ways too).

>> No.2499092

>>2499084
kirilow in demons.
his thoughts are considered by many to be one of the most important contributions to an atheist existentilal philosophy ever.

>> No.2499097
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2499097

>>2499073
Yes, he had a messy form of writing, and though he defended views that were against his own, his works generally did triumph his slavophile views.

But he's a great writer with a lot of heart and honesty, a perhaps religious realist. Bakhitin refers to Dostoevsky's works as being the first polyphonic novels, that is novels with many voices, and I deeply enjoy that. Demons and Brothers K are the strongest examples of multiple fighting voices that all hold up their own weight. Even Dostoevsky's strong views on Christianity are strongly challenged in his own work, The Grand Inquisitor.

So dun playa hate on mai Dosto boi

>> No.2499099

>>2499084
BUT YOU'RE WRONG YOU FUCKING RETARD

>> No.2499101

>>2499092
Yes, Camus credits Kriliov much for developing his view of absurdism.

>> No.2499109

>>2499073
>taking advice of a child porn writer seriously

>> No.2499119

>>2499084
>Hurr durrr if God doesnt exist everything is permitted
Yes, that's one of the views mentioned, you realize Dosto's works showcase a very wide range of views?

>> No.2499120

>>2499109
Get out.

>> No.2499122

Since this turned into a Dostoevsky thread, I just bought the Double and The Gambler combo to get into his stuff was that a good idea?

>> No.2499123

>>2499097
I think in the sense of a polyphonic novel, I'd love to read more books that hold a wide cast of characters.

I believe the books that generally use a wide cast of characters though....

are fantasy novels.....

>> No.2499128

>>2499084
>> implying that isn't completely true and humanism is not merely Christianity with a new paintjob.

>> No.2499136

>>2499122
If this is your introduction to Dostoevsky, I would say you chose a very difficult book to begin with. The Double is a very difficult and confusing read, and quite laborious. It's a great book, but for many different reasons. In a way the book was reborn through Dostoevsky's "Notes from Underground", but I would even avoid starting there for similar reasons.

I feel Crime and Punishment is the best work for introducing yourself to Dostoevsky, it's the best showcase of Dostoevsky's strengths. It's a lengthier read, but admittedly if you're going to continue reading Dostoevsky, you're going to have to get use to reading these lengthy novels.

I have not read The Gambler, but I know the book was written at the same time as C&P, may not be a bad choice to read that book.

>> No.2499138

>>2499128
if god existed, everything were still permitted.
learn2metaethics

>> No.2499140
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2499140

>>2499136
Thanks, luckily I bought Crime and Punishment too. Need to wait until they come in the mail.

>> No.2499144
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2499144

What kind of writer is the magnificent Tolstoy? How does he compare to Dostoevsky?

>> No.2499150

>>2499073
Vulgar atheists like you make me wish I was a Christian.

>> No.2499167

>>2499150
why not wish you were in one of the thousands upon thousands of other religions?

>> No.2499170

>>2499144
For some reason when i read all about Tolstoy everyone saying he is the best writer ever, I imagined his writing was something completely different to others, I don't know why I thought this. I read around 100 pages of War and Peace and thought it was fine, i just realized I wasn't in the mood for reading something huge.

I'm sure he's a good writer. From those only 100 pages and have read a few works by Dosteveski I would say they are sought of similar, this is coming from English translations.

Tolstoy is probably way better in Russian.

>> No.2499172

>>2499170
To expand on what i meant by the first part. I guess i saw pictures of him and read reviews and I thought he was some really original hell baddass guy, with this gift knowone else has, I don't know why and his works were these really out there trippy, crazy stuff that just blows your mind but yeah I'm guessing he's pretty straight.

>> No.2499204

>>2499144
Tolstoy and doestoevsky is not really similar in any way. Most (not all) of D's characters are somewhat borderline, and is generally living on the verge of insanity. Tolstoys characters are more "normal" in the sense that they are not inherently crazy, but that doesn't stop them from making wrong or almost crazy choices. Dostoev is all about the self, and I guess Tolstoy is more about the collective, and the social impacts we have on eachother. He was also much more politically active.

Both are good though. Real good.

>> No.2499214

>>2499204
I think that's why I lean more towards Tolstoy's form of realism than Dostoevsky's romanticised version. I found myself better able to empathise with Tolstoy's array of characters, although Dostoevsky's darker characters typically led for a more chaotic and entertaining read.

>> No.2499246

If you're convinced that you'll find nothing else to your liking, OP, I suggest you learn Russian and read Dostoevsky's works again in the original translation.

It'd be tough, but probably well worth it for the literature alone.

>> No.2499279

>>2499246
Very constructive suggestion. I was thinking of learning Swedish just so i could understand Dungens Lyrics, are there any good Swedish writers?

>> No.2499738

>Crime and Punishment is the best work for introducing yourself to Dostoevsky, it's the best showcase of Dostoevsky's strengths

if that's his best, I don't want to read anymore of him

>> No.2499754

>>2499204
I would agree about Dosoevsky's characters, I used to call them realistic, but I prefer to call his characters relatable now. They are often placed to an extreme, but uses that extremity to really dissect a person's psychology in ways I can compare to.

>> No.2499756

>>2499738
Aight

>> No.2499758

>>2499246
I'd rather suggest using your time to read important commentary about Dostoevsky, such as Mikhail Bakhitin's "Problems of Dostoevky's Poetics".