Ok, this is not really a book club. There's no "book of the month." There are no plans to monitor a discussion. These days I never know when I'm going to write my next blog post, let alone when I'll be on hand to discuss a book. At the same time, since I've been reading so many great books lately, it seems a shame not to at least share a few thoughts while they're fresh and allow for others to do likewise in an independently paced manner. Timing is not urgent. If the book chosen is a classic like this, and you may have read it long ago, maybe even during the 90s or earlier, feel free to add any distant memories. Should you decide to take it on and chime in somewhere down the road long after we've moved onto other books, that's fine too (Did I mention the words "informal" and "independently paced?). I may not always be around to interact, but will try (don't take it personally if I can't). Here then is entry #1 of "Alex's Book Club." (PS how cool is it that the moniker, A.B.C., forms the first three letters of the alphabet! Cue "Twilight Zone" music)...
Dostoyevsky's The Idiot is a literary classic some of you have no doubt already read. I somehow never did. I'd read one of the author's other signature classics, Crime & Punishment in the 90s and deeply appreciated it, although that book's portrayal of a depressingly down-on-his-luck character (who happened to have a name close to my own - Raskolnikov) doing battle with the 19th Century Russian judicial system, was a bit heavy. Knowing Dostoyevsky's own life was rife with unpleasantries, some of which - such as being thrown in prison (albeit unjustly) - shaped his stories, I'd always felt a bit intimidated to dive back into Dostoyevsky's material and finally felt ready for an onslaught of difficult processing (much as one preps for viewing a depressing film).
However, The Idiot was nothing like that at all! Riveting, moving and with some sad subtexts, sure. But with a protagonist (Myshkin) far more likable than Raskolnikov, glimpses into Russian upper-class society of the period and far more relatable human observations, The Idiot is a far different, more pleasant read than Crime & Punishment. And as mentioned in a Tweet, the book is so good, I felt like "the idiot" for not starting it sooner.
I was finally motivated to do so by a recent trip to Russia (July 2016). The Idiot had been on my shelf for many years, glaring at me like the vodka-filled Dostoyevsky Russian nesting doll I'd find while in St. Petersburg.
Which brings up the following thought: Reading a novel in the region it was written, even if it was well over a century ago, can be magical. Viewing the historic scenery, hearing the native language spoken on the street and engaging in borsht, herring and other delicacies while taking in just read chapters of a great Russian novel is an experience I wish I could share with everyone, and can best attempt to do with a photo, my view from a St. Petersburg hotel room:
In lieu of travel, one might watch a Russian film, dine in a local Russian restaurant, hang with a Russian (I know many nice ones) or somehow enhance the experience. Either way, regardless of whether you're able to engage in any extra-curricular culture, the book is fantastic.
I don't wish for this to be an academic synopsis and don't have time, to be perfectly honest. I aim to resist the temptation to summarize to write a blog the length of a Russian novel (particularly when dealing with a real Russian novel!). There are already plenty of thorough listings and dissections of The Idiot's main characters, their motivations and representations and comprehensive historical facts. In case anyone's interested in such material, I recommend checking out this website).
Rather than feeling like this an online classroom, let's pretend we're hanging out at a Russian bar passing the book back and forth while sipping vodka (Russian Standard, chilled), discussing a few thoughts on things I've earmarked in the book such as these:
* QUOTE: "There is nothing more annoying than to be...precisely 'like other people.' Nothing is easier for 'ordinary' people of limited intelligence than to imagine themselves exceptional and original and to revel in that delusion without the slightest misgiving. Some of our young ladies have only to crop their hair, put on blue spectacles, and dub themselves Nihilists, to persuade themselves at once that they have immediately gained "convictions" of their own. Some men have only to feel the faintest stiffing of some kindly and humanitarian emotion to persuade themselves at once that no one feels as they do, that they stand in the foremost rank of culture. Some have only to meet with some idea by hearsay, or to read some stray page, to believe at once that it is their own opinion and has sprung spontaneously from their own brain."
There is actually an entire essay's worth of observation on this, too much to share here (it's all near the very beginning of PART IV, Chapter 1 for those interested). At one point Dostoyevsky uses the phrase '...to have intelligence, but no ideas of ones own' (italics his). This captures human herd mentality in a nutshell (insert, "goth," "punk," "hipster," "metal," "leftist," "conservative" or any other group label for "nihilist," whether male or female). While there's nothing wrong with joining movements, too many, then and now, follow them to the point of total blindness and loss of individuality. And do you ever notice how quickly an expression from a popular TV show or movie is suddenly used by everyone, yet many don't even know where it came from? That's today's "stray page."
* Along this same theme, there is this quote from a dying young man (Ikppolit) to another (Ganya): QUOTE: "You are the most ordinary of the ordinary. Not the smallest idea of your own will ever take shape in your heart of your mind. But you are infinitely envious' you are firmly persuaded that you're a great genius. But yet doubt does visit you sometimes at black moments, and you grow spiteful and envious."
Ouch!
Inappropriate? Yes.
Uncalled for? Yes.
But true? Yes.
Have I ever wished to say this to someone? (No comment)
* QUOTE: "Do not let us forget that the causes of human actions are usually immeasurably more complex and varied than our subsequent explanations of them."
Can I get a "Hell Yeah?!" I know, I know... That's a popular expression, which may seem hypocritical given the discussion in the paragraph above, about having ideas of one's own. Herein lies the difference: I KNOW it's "hearsay" and from the "stray page." (There's nothing wrong with that if you're conscious of it and borrowed phrases doesn't form the foundation of your communication).
* QUOTE: "There were persons of the party who would never on any count have recognized (the hosts) as their equals. There were persons who absolutely detested one another. There were people who had not met one another for some years and felt nothing but indifference if not dislike for one another: yet they greeted each other as though they had only met yesterday in the most friendly and intimate company"
Is he talking about Los Angeles?
* Aglaia, the respected, highly courted young lady, to her rival, the tragic, highly damaged, Nastasya
QUOTE: "You understand. But you pretend not to understand on purpose."
Ouch! There are admittedly a few occasions I wish I'd thought to say that.
* QUOTE: "This gentleman felt it incumbent upon him to amaze everyone by his originality and liveliness, but never succeeded in doing so. Some people he impressed unfavorably, which was a real mortification to him. Yet he did not relinquish his efforts."
This is about a very minor character, an annoying young man named Ferdyschtchenko - the neighbor that shows up everywhere. He's more or less what we in modern times would call a "hanger-on." This causes me to think of certain folks I've known from the music world, yet I'm sure it exists in various settings. The frailty of the human psyche is not limited to any one field or genre, it knows know bounds. There are those so desperate for acceptance and for whom life has become a sole quest for acknowledgement and gratification, to the point that they've lost sight of the very craft of music (or whatever it is they're using as an attention-seeking method).
*QUOTE: "Diffidence and complete lack of initiative have always been considered the cheif sign of a practical man, and indeed are so regarded still...Inventors and geniuses have almost always been looked on as no better than fools at the beginning of their career, and very frequently at the end of it also."
Then as today, practicality is encouraged, while taking chances, stepping outside the box, finding your true calling as an individual, is frowned upon. Practicality, or "playing it safe" is overrated.
Here's my takeaway: this may sound bizarre, but this feels like a contemporary novel to me.The Idiot is an ironic title, as the main character Myshkin, has no need to impress anyone, yet is surrounded by those who are conniving and scheming for the sake of social status. Because he's not a big talker and is self-deprecatingly modest, the level of his intelligence and depth of character is vastly misunderstood.
In all too many fields and social scenes, the quiet ones who don't aim to impress, who are realistic in their assessments of themselves and others and don't misrepresent themselves as something they're not, are the ones who tend to be looked down upon as foolish and flawed, as is the case in the book. Yet truthfully, it is the behavior of many of the surrounding characters that qualifies as being that of an "idiot." This is certainly true in the modern world of music, not that I could relate (ahem, cough). I also couldn't help but think of the numerous Facebook status updates, all glowingly illustrating lives that are impossibly terrific, while those few who post honestly and infrequently tend to be overlooked and underestimated.
Were The Idiot to take place today, the story would no doubt be affected by tremendous advances in technology, science and especially medicine. Myshkin, who suffered epilepsy, would be treated with anticonvulsant medications and/or surgery. The young character who is deathly ill, Ippolit (quoted above), would be treated today for tuberculosis (known as "consumption" back then), and would possibly survive (or more likely wouldn't get the disease in the first place, thanks to vaccinations - unless his mom listened to celebrities spouting scientifically debunked theories of vaccine danger). Nastasya, although deserving of sympathy because of her mistreatment at the hands of a longtime guardian/authority figure (Trotsky), would be a candidate for intensive psychotherapy and young men would be advised to stay away from her due to erratic behavior indicative of Borderline Personality Disorder.
However, I'm almost sad to report, that it doesn't seem humans have changed much over the decades and centuries from a behavioral standpoint. Medicine and technology have evolved, humans haven't. For example, somewhere in the book, a rich dignitary captures the heart of one of the most desirable young females in the story (not going to mention to avoid spoilers) - yet he's quickly found out to be neither rich, nor a dignitary. Hmm. Someone misrepresenting themselves as something they're not. What century is this?
Seriously, what has changed since Dostoyevsky's time? Sure, we're using Uber instead of the Epanchins' fancy horse-drawn carriages. We have WhatsApp instead of these young ladies' stealthily passed handwritten notes. Yet, internally, human behavior is really not much different.
As just one example, quite a few young women have been damaged in the same manner of Nastasya by her guardian (Totsky) by someone who presented himself as America's most lovable TV father. A few years before, a champion seen as an all around good guy was caught in numerous lies, scandals and fraud, destroying his enemies who turned out to be right the whole time that this man is no American hero. And its not not only men (read about the young female former tech billionaire is now a proven fraud). Nor is it just Westerners (read about the Japanese man, acclaimed worldwide as a deaf composer, yet is neither deaf, nor a composer, despite building a massive career as Japan's Beethoven). It would take many more blogs to keep up with the stream of major news stories coming in about people misrepresenting themselves. And these are just the high profile ones! Lesser known stories abound.
Although it would be great if we could all be like Myshkin, seeing good in all, without flaw, it is not a realistic proposition. (Spoiler alert): it doesn't end that well for Myshkin. Yet his story can help us all by causing us to take a better, more honest assessment of those we're surrounded with. Now, as then, is up for the rest of us to be aware of the flawed reality of humans.
I'm starting to think that the entire self-help movement might have been rendered unnecessary if more of us (myself included) had paid closer attention to great works of literature like this. All the answers are there. Move over Tony Robbins, there's a new sheriff in town (from 1800s Russia), and his name is Fyodor.
In closing, a brief but very cool anecdote: I found myself with time off in Paris with just a few chapters left to go of "The Idiot," and made plans to wind up my encounter with this epic novel in a reading room at the legendary Shakespeare & Co bookstore. I arrived expecting little connection (other than Shakespeare & Co being a beloved haven for classical literature). Yet the following sign - paraphrasing the words of the store's late, beloved founder George Whitman - was there, as if purposely placed to welcome me in. This felt like a "sign" in more ways than one...
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