The Idiot
The media, the fashion, the times, the flavor-of-the-day, pop-psychology rendering importance to what was and has been obsolete, pushing under yesterday’s news, birthing one, and submerging another, in a neverending march and wave of ideas and materials to sell the minions, the idiots any of WHAT will make their lives better, smarter, thinner, richer.
I do love the substantive quality of paper and leather bound books, and treasure the words so carefully taken down, to be frozen in time as long as they manage to survive a good, old fashioned book burning or some artists collage rip-apart. Aren’t the relational psychology books of the 1960’s the very best?!
The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been a part of my survived book collection over the past twenty-something years (no Goodwill culling) and I have started to read the book a half dozen times or more, but have never gotten to the hooking point. Perhaps, this year I am ready?
Prince Myshkin, Dostoyevsky’s character is "a saintly, Christ-like, yet deeply human figure. The story begins when Myshkin arrives on Russian soil after a stay in a Swiss sanatorium. Scorned by St. Petersburg society as an idiot for his generosity and innocence, the prince finds himself at the center of a struggle between a rich, kept woman and a beautiful, virtuous girl, who both hope to win his affection. Unfortunately, Myshkin’s very goodness seems to bring disaster to everyone he meets. The shocking denouement tragically reveals how, in a world obsessed with money, power, and sexual conquest, a sanatorium is the only place for a saint." --thriftbooks
Photo credits: Both from Creative Commons images
Uncle Bruni stopping by to read your #freewrite, nice one, I gotta go do mine. 👏
Thank you again :)
Oh, but hello! What mind-stimulation you're giving me! It is true! I feel reminded of a book I found on the roadside, it definitely dates from the last century and inside there was everything to be found about children and how they see the world and how they talk and how they interpret things quite differently! A real treasure of scientific interest and deep compassion at the same time! I found that incomprehensible. Now I forgot the name of the author, he was not to be found on the Internet, or almost not. Everything we know how to say today was already there once, only better, as it seems!
Richer in connection to oneself, not so neurologically coolly distanced or so pumped up with language of adventure, on the other hand. Maybe I should turn my back on the Internet and read more books again. An old habit that I am increasingly neglecting. I also find a lot of need for mission in myself. And also the authors wanted to send and were still thoroughly read, even if not by so many, but nevertheless. Who here still reads thoroughly at all and if so, will let those who write know?
My man told me that the attention span is a few seconds, if any minutes. If you have not then managed to wake something up, you can forget it. A harsh criticism, but one that is right in many parts.
So the idiot. I think it's a very readable book and it reminds me of the fables and metaphors of Zen Buddhism, of a speech I heard only yesterday where people listen to a Buddhist and he says to them, "Forget everything. Forget meditation, forget that you want to be mindful. If you just find admiration and inspiration in one, you may find awakening as idiots." Not in those exact words did he say it, but in a similar way.
Thank you Kimberly for this contribution.
P.S. I guess you are more than ready to read it again.
I am starting to read the book again :)
Interesting to consider how little time we have to spend on such luxuries as reading novels.
I agree with your man that the attention span has greatly reduced. I see it especially with school students, and they teach the teachers here that you shouldn't expect any more than a minute per age. 12 years old=twelve minutes of any one sustained activity. 8 years old=8 minutes and so on, but even that seems a stretch in today's world.
I like what you're sharing from the Buddhist perspective, "If you just find admiration and inspiration in one, you may find awakening as idiots"!
I'm going to write that one down and tape it to the wall!
I've also struggled to get properly into a Dostoyevsky novel, which irks me because he is so renowned.There great site: LoyalBooks that offers free audiobooks of works outside copyright, all read by volunteers.
It's a great place for classics. In terms of attention span, though, audiobooks do seem to put people (me included) to sleep..... which is ok by me. It just takes quite a while to actually make progress in the story..
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Sounds like a good way--listening. Makes me happy to hear I'm not the only one who's had trouble engaging in his books!
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Had to stop by and comment on my absolute delight at finding someone writing about Dostoyevsky here. I'm more of a Turgenev fan, but love all of Russian lit. Nice to find you!
Glad you did!
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