Jalal Al-e Ahmad writes about Dostoyevsky:

"I am afraid of Dostoyevsky, even horrified. That is, whenever I have read a book of his, I have been horrified. Not because of the kind of criminal story he tells with the intention of exciting nerves and creating fear and all that, but because in the face of the complex world of his mind, I feel insulted. The feeling of nothingness, of non-being."

This is exactly my reaction every time after reading Dostoyevsky's books. A feeling of horror, emptiness, and powerlessness.

After finishing each of Dostoyevsky's books, I tell myself that this is the end of it, but the next book surprises me again.

His characters have also subdued me, the reader.

In terms of narration and the number of characters, it was more complex than what I had read before.

The characters were truly maddening.

Sick, fanatical, excessive characters with their own special ideologies.

Little by little, I was able to understand and comprehend each of them. Among all of them, understanding Petrashevsky, the devil, was harder for me and I hated him more than anyone else.

"Subdued" was one of the best experiences of my Dostoyevsky reading.

_

My feeling at this moment:

I am glad that there are still books by Dostoyevsky that I have not read.

99/11/13

There is no role more insignificant than the natural role of man himself. Because no one believes that there will be someone found who has no face on his face.

This statement emphasizes the importance of the natural state of a person. Our face is a unique identifier, and it is through our face that we interact with the world and convey our emotions and identities. Without a face, it would be difficult for others to recognize and understand us.

In addition, our face also reflects our inner state. A person's expression, eyes, and smile can all reveal their thoughts and feelings. Therefore, we should cherish and maintain our natural face, and not try to cover it up or change it artificially.

Overall, the role of our natural face is crucial, and we should respect and protect it.

Winds of change are finally sweeping Czarist Russia in the 1860's.

Ideas, both good and bad, have also arrived. They have been around for decades in the rest of Europe, and this land is no longer isolated.

Socialism has become the new fad among intellectuals. The serfs have been freed by Alexander the Second, courts have been democratized, the death penalty is seldom carried out, and people can speak and write freely, up to a point.

However, there is still Siberia for those who cross the line a little. And all the new railroads can quickly take you to that cold and desolate territory.

In a provincial town where nothing ever happens, a new Governor, Andrei Antonovich von Lembke, has been appointed. Yes, there are many intelligent Germans in the country, helping to modernize Imperial Russia.

Lembke is a good man who wants to help the Russians in his province. But he is a weak person, and his wife, Yulia, is the power behind the throne. She is greatly influenced by Pyotr Verkhovensky (some say controlled by him), the secret leader of a group of Nihilists.

They believe in the bizarre notion that you have to destroy everything before you can rebuild the nation. Pyotr is the estranged son of Stepan Verkhovensky, a lazy scholar who sponges off the wealthy widow of a general, Varvara Petrovna Stavrogin.

She is the head of the local high society, such as it is here, and has a wild son, Nikolai, the main character in the book. Nikolai gets involved in deadly duels, and his best friend is Pyotr Verkhovensky. It's a small town.

Nikolai has many adventures with women and violence, traveling the world - to Greece, Germany, France, Switzerland, Egypt, and even Iceland - but he can never be happy. His conscience will not permit it.

Nikolai is not comfortable joining the nihilists, and Pyotr is afraid of him. Strange events begin to occur in this quiet town. There is a big rise in transgressions, and newspapers urging revolution are being found.

Fedka, an escaped convict and former serf, goes on a crime spree, with murders and robberies happening in this place! The police can't capture him. Why? Crazy rumors flow like a flooding river.

Yulia has problems with her jealous husband, not to mention Varvara, a big rival. Her literary celebration efforts and party are a disaster, quite funny if you're not she or her friends.

The wobbly Governor is acting weirdly, yelling at everyone and giving orders, but the difficulty is that nobody understands his words. Fires break out in a nearby town, more dead bodies are discovered, suicides increase, and there is something not right.

Dostoyevsky's philosophical novel (inspired by a real political killing in 1869) is about demons possessing the people of Russia, causing them to do evil deeds in the name of revolution.

Anything can be justified as long as the results satisfy (The Ends Justify the Means). Sadly, this concept is still widely believed in the 21st century.

Dostoyevsky's work is a profound exploration of political and philosophical themes. It delves deep into the complex and often tumultuous world of ideas, examining the nature of power, morality, and human nature. Through his vivid characters and engaging storylines, Dostoyevsky forces the reader to confront difficult questions and consider different perspectives. His writing is not only intellectually stimulating but also emotionally powerful, evoking a range of emotions from sympathy and compassion to anger and frustration. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the human condition and the forces that shape our world.

The most tragic thing I've read from Dostoyevsky's works

Böse Geister is a novel that delves into the power of ideas and the destructive force they can unleash in people's minds. The entire society of a Russian provincial town falls under the spell of the mysterious doings of a group of conspirators. Starting from relatively harmless incidents, barely noticeable small disrespects and irritations, a dangerous dynamic develops. In the end, the authorities and institutions of the town are shaken to their foundations and made a laughingstock.

The novel is Dostoyevsky's reckoning with the liberal and social revolutionary movements in 19th-century Russia. He caricatures both the liberals who look to European models and the nihilism and militant anti-humanism of the younger generation of Russian revolutionaries. A generation that the publicist and intellectual Alexander Herzen once described as "the syphilis of revolutionary passions" of his own generation. In the novel, Pyotr Verkhovensky and Nikolai Stavrogin represent this new generation, which forms a contrast to the old guard like Stepan Trofimovich, a ridiculous, indecisive weakling of a man.

Dostoyevsky takes up this conflict and places it at the center of an epic story. It is astonishing how effortlessly he manages to maintain the tension throughout. Despite the enormous scope and the large number of characters, there is rarely a feeling of boredom. After each completed chapter, one just wants to read on immediately. This is a quality that today rather characterizes the great TV or streaming series. Which leads me to the assumption that Dostoyevsky today would probably write screenplays instead of novels. His materials would certainly be ideal templates for that. The plot could have been told a little tighter in one or another place to my taste. Also, for the extremely interesting character Kirillov, I would have wished for more space, in contrast to some others.

What bothers me a little more is Dostoyevsky's tendency towards the religious. So the liberal Stepan Trofimovich finds a kind of redemption and salvation in faith at the end. This "salvation" seems a bit kitschy and reactionary to me. In this particular case, it seems as if Dostoyevsky is making fun of the (weak) stance of the liberals in a special way. Be that as it may, in the portrayal of the conspiratorial and unscrupulous characters of the conspirators, he proves prophetic foresight. Thus, the views of Shigalov, who demands the enslavement of humanity out of love for it, are eerie harbingers of the totalitarian systems of the 20th century.

Conclusion: In comparison, Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov have left a somewhat stronger impression on me. Nevertheless, Böse Geister is a very entertaining and profound book that rightfully deserves its classic status. ★★★★½

**“Demons” by Fyodor Dostoevsky: A Complex and Timeless Masterpiece**

Dostoevsky's "Demons" is a profound and multi-layered novel that delves into the complex psyche of its characters and the social and political turmoil of its time. The story is set against the backdrop of a revolutionary movement in Russia and explores themes such as nihilism, religion, and the search for meaning in life.

The novel features a cast of vivid and unforgettable characters, each with their own unique personality and motives. Piotr Stepanovich Verjovenski, the leader of the revolutionary group, is a cold and calculating manipulator who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Nikolai Stavroguin, a wealthy and aristocratic figure, is a morally ambiguous character who struggles with his own inner demons. Kirilov, a nihilist and existentialist, grapples with the question of the existence of God and the meaning of life.

Dostoevsky's writing style is both powerful and engaging, drawing the reader into the lives of his characters and making them feel as if they are part of the story. His use of dialogue is particularly effective, allowing the characters to express their thoughts and feelings in a natural and believable way. The novel also contains several philosophical discussions and debates, which add depth and complexity to the story.

One of the most remarkable aspects of "Demons" is its timeless relevance. The themes and issues explored in the novel are still relevant today, making it a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the human condition. The novel's exploration of nihilism and the search for meaning in life is particularly poignant in our modern age, where many people struggle with feelings of alienation and purposelessness.

In conclusion, "Demons" is a masterpiece of Russian literature and a classic of world literature. It is a novel that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it, challenging you to think about the world around you and the choices that we make in life. Dostoevsky's ability to create complex and believable characters, his powerful writing style, and his exploration of timeless themes make "Demons" a work of art that will be studied and admired for generations to come.

The entire law of human existence consists merely in the fact that man has always been able to bow down before something immeasurably great.

If people are deprived of what is immeasurably great, they will cease to live and will die in despair. The immeasurable and infinite are just as necessary to man as is this small planet on which he lives.

My friends, everyone, all of you: long live the Great Idea! The eternal, immeasurable Idea!

Demons is a captivating tale of descent. It delves into the realms of political revolution, free thinking, and the consequent manipulation and madness.

Dostoyevsky masterfully crafts a narrative that showcases the human capacity to break free from societal confines and descend into nihilistic thinking, touching on atheism and liberalism in 19th century Russia.

With this, he also creates a sense of brutality and chaos that accompanies the desire to succeed, lead a revolution, and gain power and authority among a group of like-minded individuals.

Each character plays a crucial role in this narrative uprising, with different displays of resistance or blind following. However, their relationships with each other are the most fascinating aspect of all.

Themes of obsession are prominent, and the literary ability to invoke paranoia and shock in the reader as they follow the journey is remarkable. It's almost as if you become one of the group, one of 'the people', possessed by the same demons that haunt each character.

This prophetic novel inspires a great deal of thought and conflict. You find yourself unsure of who to support, if anyone. Which of the many philosophies would you resonate with? Can you justify the actions of each character?

It is an experience that will surely stick with you, as intended.

All of Dostoevsky's typical tricks are present here. There is the dense and documentary-like prose that immerses the reader in a complex world. The dialogue-heavy scenes build up to a huge scandal, featuring a cast of idiots, villains, and beggars. His keen psychological insight is on full display, delving deep into the minds and motives of the characters.

However, I must admit that I found this a chore to read. The characters often felt more like stand-ins for ideas, albeit insightful and interesting ones. The plotting was laborious and repetitive, making it a bit of a slog at times.

Remarkably, though, Dostoevsky laid the groundwork for twentieth-century totalitarianism and the various madmen associated with it. His prescience in this regard is truly astonishing.

But overall, I definitely found this to be the least of the man's "major" works. It has its merits, but it didn't quite capture my attention and engage me in the way that some of his other masterpieces did.

I cannot say that I enjoyed reading "The Possessed."

Especially in the first third, where the center is Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, everything was too much horror and slow, drawn out, hard to follow - too many salon conversations, too many introductions, without a broad context or something more specific.

However, despite that, the significance of this novel is its symbolism, that is, its political, philosophical, and religious multi-layeredness.

Dostoevsky here does not want to write just a novel, he wants to make an ideological and philosophical dissection of society.

Much of that, through the characters, Dostoevsky captured - nihilism, revolutionary fanaticism, moral emptiness, a society without God or a society in decay, extremist ideologies...

With the development of events in the novel, Dostoevsky will show how extremist ideologies affect their followers ("the revolution eats its own children"), how people lose their compass when values are destroyed and how often "liberation" ends in its complete opposite, and often even in right tyranny. In that sense, the "prophetic" layer of "The Possessed" is often commented on, which foreshadowed the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century.

A very complex novel or rather multiple philosophical ideas, so it represents a considerable challenge for reading, but if you are willing to think about social circumstances, it is indispensable.

Recensione in haiku de "I demoni"

Ideologia!
Questa forza che spesso guida e divide,
Inspira passioni, ma può anche corrompere.

Il male? Superato -
Ma è davvero così semplice?
I demoni possono nascondersi in molte forme.

Uomini vili
Sono quelli che lasciano la paura e l'odio guidarli,
Ma anche tra loro possono sorgere momenti di redenzione.

Questa recensione in haiku offre un'intuizione breve ma profonda sul tema dei demoni e dell'ideologia.
Suggerisce che mentre il male può sembrare superato, i demoni possono continuare a esistere in forme più sottili.
E che anche gli uomini vili possono avere la possibilità di cambiare e trovare la redenzione.

Seeking for God through Demons

Dostoevsky's Demons evokes in me a thought similar to the spirit Socrates perceives love as in The Symposium by Plato: it stands halfway between gods and man, serving as a ladder in between. At first sight, Demons appears to be an anti-nihilist, anti-Western pamphlet novel that preaches a certain Russian Christianism, which is essentially religious nationalism. The charismatic (and demonic) characters can be seen as spokesmen for various ideologies that hold sway over the Russian mind. Each of these ideologies has a perspective on God. As Shatov puts it: "The aim of all movements of nations...is solely seeking for God." Whether it is Pyotr Verkhovensky's destructive nihilistic socialism, which serves as a guise for opportunism, or Kirilov's faith in self-will to overcome pain and fear and become God himself, or Shatov's religious nationalism that regards God as the synthetic person of a nation, or Stavrogin's Satan-like, seductive yet repellent and empty personality, which Dostoevsky associates with the hallucination of Romanticism. All of them meet their end in the novel, which Dostoevsky portrays as a sign of "immeasurable and infinite" divinity.

I wonder how much Dostoevsky truly agrees with the neurotic Christianism that he seemingly preaches in all his major works and is also iterated by the dying Stepan Verkhovensky at the end of Demons. Stepan Verkhovensky says: "And perhaps they already have! It is us, us and them, and Petrusha...et les autres avec lui, and I, perhaps, first, at the head, and we will rush, insane and raging, from the cliff down into the sea, and all be drowned, and good riddance to us, because that's the most we're fit for. But the sick man will be healed and'sit at the feet of Jesus'...and everyone will look in amazement." "The whole law of human existence consists in nothing other than a man's always being able to bow before the immeasurably great." Stepen Verkhovensky self-identifies as a demon that will eventually come out of the sick man that is Russia and enter into swines. I am curious about what the swines will be.