nick's review
The Double and The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Two short Dostoevsky stories in one. The Double is an early existentialist piece where a man runs into his own Doppleganger, and slowly goes insane as this stranger starts to take over his life. It is written early on in Dostoevsky's career, but shows his initial attempts at what would become his forte: inserting normal characters into extreme situations, and studying their reaction.
The second piece, "The Gambler," was written late in his life. Reading these two pieces side-by-side brings out the best in Dostoevsky's writing as we see how much he has mastered complex character interplay and relationships. This story focuses on the relatively level-headed Alexey Ivanovich, a tutor for a rich Russian family, as they take vacation at a German casino. The eclectic, international cast of characters invites discussion of the the views and stereotypes from one country to the next. This, along with Alexey's complicated relationship with another of the family's servants, ser...more
The second piece, "The Gambler," was written late in his life. Reading these two pieces side-by-side brings out the best in Dostoevsky's writing as we see how much he has mastered complex character interplay and relationships. This story focuses on the relatively level-headed Alexey Ivanovich, a tutor for a rich Russian family, as they take vacation at a German casino. The eclectic, international cast of characters invites discussion of the the views and stereotypes from one country to the next. This, along with Alexey's complicated relationship with another of the family's servants, ser...more
so it must've been pretty mediocre to deserve only three stars, right? oh, by the way, i'm planning on being in madison the weekend before august 15th to clean out the old apartment. let's do stuff.
Hey Nels, It's not that it is mediocre. It's just that Dostoevsky has written a lot of books that I would more highly recommend.But if you read my review you will get a better idea of my thoughts. In a nutshell, I would definitely recommend it to people who like Dostoevsky, especially since it shows his early work vs. his later work. The Gambler was particularly entertaining and I think you would like it.
