The Possessed in The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910

Jul 30, 2022 Misha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: russia, 1001-books, classics, favourites, literary-fiction, favourites-2022, 19th-century, guidebooks-to-life, purchased-2017, politics-social

“God is necessary, and therefore must exist... But I know that he does not and cannot exist... Don't you understand that a man with these two thoughts cannot go on living?”

In a provincial town in Russia, old and new ideas collide with some terrible consequences.

Reading this book has been more of an adventure than I anticipated for. I stumbled across a whole lot of Jordan Peterson equivalents who think that Dostoevsky is a like a past version of Peterson advocating against those "cranky leftist “God is necessary, and therefore must exist... But I know that he does not and cannot exist... Don't you understand that a man with these two thoughts cannot go on living?”

In a provincial town in Russia, old and new ideas collide with some terrible consequences.

Reading this book has been more of an adventure than I anticipated for. I stumbled across a whole lot of Jordan Peterson equivalents who think that Dostoevsky is a like a past version of Peterson advocating against those "cranky leftist types". These very same people use Demons to criticize any modern social movements (because we must maintain the status quo, you see). Then a couple of people whom I had to actually block because they wanted to lecture me on Dostoevsky and politics. So many reductionist views of such a complex author, all to suit their own agenda.

You know the funny part? I disagreed with most of Dostoevsky's politics and notion of God. And yet Dostoevsky is too layered to reduce him to whether you agree/disagree with him. I found myself so conflicted with the questions he raises about human will, religious determinism, loss of faith etc., that I almost forgot this is fiction.

Dostoevsky never fails to humanize every character and I think therein lies the power of his writing. No matter where you stand politically or philosophically. You feel drawn into the characters' heads, look into all their ugliness and doubts and moments of devastating beauty that emerge out of nowhere.

What resonated with me the most is the exploration of extremism, especially extremism led by privileged male intellectuals who are absolutely out of touch with struggle at the grassroots. Struggle becomes theory to such people. If they were to meet a 'real person' at the boundaries of society, they would not know what to do. Think of how so many of our social movements get hijacked by the high-society types who are merely bored with their lives.

I know this is not a review. I can say that I found myself absolutely consumed with this, so much so that I was thinking about it at work and everywhere else. I was devastated at the end, and felt such a sense of loss. A favourite of this year and a lifetime. ...more

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