Cecily’s review of The Grand Inquisitor > Likes and Comments

Wow! Wonderful review. Sounds like a great read. Didn't realize Dostoyavsky wrote such gorgeous prose.

*Dostoyevsky

Brian wrote: "Wow! Wonderful review. Sounds like a great read. Didn't realize Dostoyavsky wrote such gorgeous prose."

Thanks, though it's hard to know how much credit for the prose goes to the translators. The two I've linked to are quite different.

For instance:
David McDuff in Penguin, on Hawaii.edu:
"He has conceived the desire to visit his children at least for an instant and precisely in those places where the bonfires of heretics had begun to crackle."
versus HP Blavatsky on Gutenberg:
"He desired to come unknown, and appear among His children, just when the bones of the heretics, sentenced to be burnt alive, had commenced crackling at the flaming stakes."

Cecily wrote: "Brian wrote: "Wow! Wonderful review. Sounds like a great read. Didn't realize Dostoyavsky wrote such gorgeous prose."

Thanks, though it's hard to know how much credit for the prose goes to the tra..."

They both read with spirit but i like the second one better. Which translation is it?

Brian wrote: "They both read with spirit but i like the second one better. Which translation is it?"

The second is Blavatsky on Gutenberg. (I've amended my comment.) The other one is slightly simpler, so sometimes lacks the gravitas the story needs.

Cecily wrote: "Brian wrote: "They both read with spirit but i like the second one better. Which translation is it?"

The second is Blavatsky on Gutenberg. (I've amended my comment.) The other one is slightly simp..."
When i read it I'll check out the Gutenburg version. Thanks! I've noted this author influenced Kafka and i want to read every one of his influences. 😁

Brian wrote: "I've noted this author influenced Kafka and i want to read every one of his influences. 😁 "

That'll keep you busy!

Great review Cecily! Thanks for doing this.

As an aside, this is a favorite "trick" of mine, you posted the Trump link twice.

For your followers, here's the link to your review of the second book you mention....

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Michael wrote: "Great review Cecily! Thanks for doing this.
As an aside, this is a favorite "trick" of mine, you posted the Trump link twice..."

Thank you Michael: for pointing me to this, for your comments here, and for pointing out my mistake (now corrected), especially as it's to a story you didn't like.

I really liked the thread that came out of your post about the Trump book.

Michael wrote: "I really liked the thread that came out of your post about the Trump book."

So do I. It was quite a relief, as well. It could (may yet) be acrimonious. My Fire and Fury review generated good debate as well.

I actually read The Brothers Karamazov but I don't remember anything about this part of it! Great review, Mrs!
It just occurred to me that Jesus, unlike Graham Chapman, would have been expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

I just read your review of Fire, the comments thread, and the insightful article from the Sac Bee that you liked.

This line stands out from the latter....

"Yet the real problem is not Trump’s addiction to social media – it’s ours."

Bingo. The only social media I am on is GR. I tried FB for a year, but the obvious drawbacks caused me to delete my account.

There's actually a physiological aspect to the addiction. It's very noticeable in observing people with their phones. I've been in my share of social situations where some were completely tuned out because of their phones. I have also witnessed some instances in our downtown where some phone addicts almost got hit by cars because they were glued to their phones while jay-walking.

Heavy phone and social media use and binge-watching send signals to brain receptors that, when pinged, release dopamine. It's like a drug or a sugar high. Eventually, the brain goes into protection mode and stops releasing, but people are in the habit so feel emotionally bad if they don't keep it up. I knew with all the uproar over FB of late that most would not do what would be the most effective action, delete their accounts. It's like nicotine addicts at the height of Big Tobacco influence in the U.S.

I've continued to study neuroscience related to it and offered this review I borrowed for one the books I read....


https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That was an interesting review. I saw some of it slightly differently.

Apatt wrote: "I actually read The Brothers Karamazov but I don't remember anything about this part of it! Great review, Mrs!"

Thanks, Mr. And this story is but a small part of the novel: half a dozen pages of A4.

Apatt wrote: "Jesus, unlike Graham Chapman, would have been expecting the Spanish Inquisition."

LOL.

Michael wrote: "I just read your review of Fire, the comments thread, and the insightful article from the Sac Bee that you liked.
This line stands out from the latter....
"Yet the real problem is not Trump’s addiction to social media – it’s ours.""

Very true. And yet we can't just ignore it, can we? Not Trump's tweetstorms, at least? Too much can happen as a result of them.

I've just read your review of The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains, that you linked to, backing that up. I can relate to so much of it, but I'm not sure I can act on it.

Thanks, Michael.

Petra X wrote: "That was an interesting review. I saw some of it slightly differently."

Thanks, Petra, but now I'm intrigued...

Great reminder of this famous religious disqusition, Cecily. I read the Brothers Karamazov a couple of years ago and it remains one of the most powerful reading experiences I have ever had.

I have the Constance Garnett translation. I did a little comparison with the David McDuff translation and I think I like McDuff better.

Dolors wrote: "Great reminder of this famous religious disqusition, Cecily. I read the Brothers Karamazov a couple of years ago and it remains one of the most powerful reading experiences I have ever had."

Thanks, Dolors. I don't think I'm ready for the full work just yet, but I'm glad it was so powerful for you.

Susan wrote: "I have the Constance Garnett translation. I did a little comparison with the David McDuff translation and I think I like McDuff better."

On this small sample to compare, I preferred the majesty and feel of Blavatsky, though McDuff was easier to follow.

For what it’s worth, my best friend has a PhD in Russian lit and he recommended the Pevear/Volokhosky translation. Some people in the field (most notably Gary Saul Morson) dislike P&V, but my friend, as well as another Dostoevsky scholar I know, quite like them when they’re making recommendations to non-Russian speakers.

Paul: very interesting about P & V. The last time I read War & Peace, I read their translation. There's some controversy in that some of it is in French because that's what the aristocratic society of St. Petersburg preferred to speak.

Paul wrote: "For what it’s worth, my best friend has a PhD in Russian lit and he recommended the Pevear/Volokhosky translation..."

Thanks, Paul. I confess I'm not in a rush to read The Brothers Karamazov (though I've read other novels of his), but when I do, I'm sure I'll return to the comments here.

Michael wrote: "... The last time I read War & Peace, I read their translation. There's some controversy in that some of it is in French because that's what the aristocratic society..."

Interesting. Not that the aristocrats spoke French, but that a "translation" would do that. Was the French translated somewhere, perhaps an appendix of footnotes?

The P&V translation of W&P retains Tolstoy’s original French in the text proper, but includes translations in the footnotes. It’s cool and authentic, but some people find it cumbersome to keep deferring to footnotes in order to read a full 2% of one of the longest novels ever. I read the Ann Dunnigan, which is heralded for being the most Russian in flavor, but it’s a Signet Classic on cheap paper with terrible font and awful kerning. Anthony Briggs also did a fine job for Penguin a few years back.

And Cecily, I highly recommend The Brothers Karamazov. Admittedly, I’m a bit biased, as Dostoevsky is my favorite author, but I honestly do think the novel is extremely powerful. It suffers a bit in the end because it was supposed to lead into a sequel but Dostoevsky died just a few months after finishing TBK (its kinda like Titus Alone in that respect, we might say).

Still, “The Grand Inquisitor” is one of the most powerful reading experiences of my life, and I think it’s powerfully augmented by its context within the novel. So when you get to it, I look forward to your thoughts (and I hope I haven’t just oversold it).

Oh, and I should comment on your earlier note about parallels to Le Guin’s “Omelas”—Le Guin has herself said that while she was deliberately responding to a thought experiment by William James, she actually realizes that yes, “The Grand Inquisitor” was certainly an influence as well. She was a longtime disciple of the Russians, though she favored Tolstoy and Turgenev, and quit reading Dostoevsky when she was my age. (That great error of her’s aside, she’s still one of my heroes :)

The Russians are the best!

Paul wrote: "The P&V translation of W&P retains Tolstoy’s original French in the text proper, but includes translations in the footnotes. It’s cool and authentic, but some people find it cumbersome to keep deferring to footnotes ..."

Footnotes in novels are tricky. Sometimes they work, but not always, especially if there are lot of them.

A superb review (just as amazing as mine! hehehe... joke).
Really amazing, Cecily...

Paul wrote: "I highly recommend The Brothers Karamazov... It suffers a bit in the end... (its kinda like Titus Alone"

Titus!? Now you really have my attention. ;)

Paul wrote: "Le Guin has herself said that while she was deliberately responding to a thought experiment by William James, she actually realizes that yes, “The Grand Inquisitor” was certainly an influence as well."

Thanks for confirmation.

Michael wrote: "The Russians are the best!"

But at what?
;)

(One of my mantras is "Context is all".)

Fernando wrote: "A superb review (just as amazing as mine! hehehe... joke).
Really amazing, Cecily..."

You're too kind. Really. Yours is excellent, and from deeper knowledge.

Literature. I must include "The Master & Margarita," an allegorical novel written during the especially oppressive 30's in the Soviet Union.

I'm with Michael--of all literary traditions, the Russians are my favorites. Le Guin backs me up on this one; amongst her many comments in praise of the Russians, she often asserted "Tolstoy as the pinnacle of prose fiction" and was deeply influenced by Turgnev's style.
Master and Margarita is superb as well, plus Dostoevsky's oeuvre, and Gogol is a comic master. Pushkin suffers as bit for me because I can only read him in English translation and I feel that more is lost for poetry than prose in that regard, but I still find him excellent. I've yet to read Chekhov, but I only hear good things. I've yet to be disappointed by a Russian author (and let's not bring statistical probabilities and "reality" into this, lest we besmirch my deliberately naive admiration for such a broad category of authors ;)

Michael wrote: "Literature. I must include "The Master & Margarita," an allegorical novel written during the especially oppressive 30's in the Soviet Union."

That's a classic I've long known of, I know I ought to read.

Paul wrote: "I'm with Michael--of all literary traditions, the Russians are my favorites. Le Guin backs me up on this one..."

This is so interesting, because, until reading this, I'd never have linked Le Guin with Russian inspiration. The fact they can inspire, but sometimes indirectly, so the link is not necessarily obvious is probably a sign of their power. It's also true of Shakespeare, for instance.

My MA thesis advisor was a personal friend and a leading scholar of Le Guin and has been editing the Library of America collections of her work. He’s the one who first told me about her admiration for the Russians, and then I wrote an essay on her book, The Tombs of Atuan, as a novelized reimagining of “The Grand Inquisitor” and found a lot more on that point. When I finish expanding the essay and get it published I’ll have to send it your way.

Superb review, Cecily.
As with all parables, there appears to be a moral to this story, specifically that if ever one finds oneself in the wilderness, then one should be tempted by the Devil.
They should teach this kind of stuff in schools, because the youth of today often go out into the wilderness totally oblivious to the fact that they could end up being burnt at the stake if they're not jolly careful!

Paul wrote: "My MA thesis advisor was a personal friend and a leading scholar of Le Guin and has been editing the Library of America collections of her work ..."

I've been watching LOA to see if they would eventually include some of my out-of-print childhood favorites in their Le Guin collection. For years I've searched for used copies of these novels and now I see they are due to be released in September. Too bad she had to die for her books to come back into print.

Paul wrote: "...I wrote an essay on her book, The Tombs of Atuan, as a novelized reimagining of “The Grand Inquisitor” and found a lot more on that point. When I finish expanding the essay and get it published I’ll have to send it your way."

That's very kind. Thank you. I've probably read too little Dostoyevsky or Le Guin in recent times to be an ideal reader for it, but I'd certainly be interested. Maybe it'll push me back to both!

Kevin wrote: "Superb review, Cecily.... moral to this story, specifically that if ever one finds oneself in the wilderness, then one should be tempted by the Devil...."

Thanks, Kevin. One can't always avoid temptation, unfortunately. And when confronted, the tricky thing is not to succumb. Easier with some temptations than others!

Kevin wrote: "the youth of today often go out into the wilderness totally oblivious to the fact that they could end up being burnt at the stake if they're not jolly careful!"

I guess there's more wilderness in East Anglia than the Chilterns!
;)

Susan wrote: "I've been watching LOA to see if they would eventually include some of my out-of-print childhood favorites... Too bad she had to die for her books to come back into print."

Very sad, though not uncommon. But better now, than not at all: you can relive your childhood passion, and new readers may come to her works.

The Grand Inquisitor is a bit too torturous for me to comment upon this moment, Cecily, though I appreciate your marvelous summary. The parable (great word) is brilliant. I was particularly struck by the timing of this review along with your review of Trump's faith. If Jesus returned today, with his ministry to the poor and the outcast, would he be accepted by the people who claim to worship him? Or is the Church really about temporal power? The wheat is scattered amongst the chaff and the gift of discernment is rare.

Bishop wrote: "I was particularly struck by the timing of this review along with your review of Trump's faith...."

The timing is no coincidence. This story was recommended to me in a comment on my Faith of Donald Trump review.

Bishop wrote: "If Jesus returned today, with his ministry to the poor and the outcast, would he be accepted by the people who claim to worship him?...."

Exactly.

Cecily wrote: "Michael wrote: "Literature. I must include "The Master & Margarita," an allegorical novel written during the especially oppressive 30's in the Soviet Union."

That's a classic I've long known of, I..."

Great thread of thoughts you started Cecily! I am conflicted about "Master and Margarita", it sorta fell apart for me during a 2nd read. It just seemed to get silly and off-track.

Greg wrote: "Great thread of thoughts you started Cecily! I am conflicted about "Master and Margarita"..."

Thanks. I have interesting friends!
M&M is something I haven't yet got round to, and it's not even near the top of my TBR.