gripping

amazing story told with passion. Never felt so invested in a character and so many questions along the way. As long as it is I will certainly be listening to this one again

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easier to listen to than I expected

narration was excellent and made the Russian names easier to deal with than I expected in my first Russian literature audiobook. Got a little tedious in the middle but mostly enjoyable and was definitely worth sticking with to the end. I see the same narrator has read some more Dostoyevsky audiobooks so after a break I'll be back for more.

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8 people found this helpful

Very good despite strangeness of final chapter.

Firstly, the narration was outstanding. Especially important when the character names are so complicated. Constantine Gregory is a genius. He ‘played’ all the parts with incredible skill.

The story is certainly long and meandering. It’s almost as if Fyodor had no idea what was coming next. I drifted off into my own thoughts multiple times, though I viewed this as positive stimulation. Perhaps I was being unreasonably kind.

The final chapter, though, was difficult to believe. The central character, our ‘idiot’ prince, was almost dismissed as being peripheral to the story. An afterthought. It’s just as well the author is long gone as I would be tempted to write and ask why? Am I missing something by missing something?

Whilst an important observation, and the reason for dropping a star for ‘story’ and ‘overall’ ratings, the writing is nothing short of brilliant. I was pleasantly surprised. It takes considerable will to take on books of this length but the lucidity of the writing was so good, it never became a chore.

A very enjoyable experience.

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Brilliantly translated and performed

Just really well done. The characters come to life. The scenes have real drama. Really enjoyable.

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Good but not his best

Having heard this, "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" I'd say this was the least satisfying in terms of philo/theo logical content and less enjoyable in terms of depth of characters involved.
Constantine Gregory (the narrator) is, as always, great, although the quality of this particular recording was poor - reverby and glitchy.

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78 people found this helpful

So-so

The first quarter of this book was enjoyable as was the last quarter, but the half in the middle was lots of long and drawn out conversations, deliberations and musings. I found it difficult to stay focused and struggled through the lengthy rhetoric. I’ve read that this book closely mirrors Dostoevsky’s own thoughts and beliefs which is plain to see. I can’t fault the narration which was strong and precise.

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6 people found this helpful

excellent performance!

The performance of this great book is excellent, I definitely recommend it. Looking forward to listening to other books of the same performer

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1 person found this helpful

The Idiot

This is the second of Dostoyevsky's novels I've read, the other being Crime & Punishment, which I feel is superior.
A tale of the 'everyday' which some may find boring, but is actually quite fascinating. Somethings never seem to translate to well from the Russian to English...the constant switching from surname to Christian & middle name can obfuscate & confuse, so close attention must be a prerequisite when listening to this book ! it has some very interesting characters too, my personal favourite being the "Munchausen" like General Ivolgin. I'd recommend the book.
And Constantine Gregory performs well as the narrator.

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Perfect choice for a first audio book.

As always Dostoievski is a pleasure. And listening to a such a good interpretation made it more appealing to rather listen it then read it. It feels less weird when you get in to a fight with some other voice then yours.
OK. Next please.

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A bit confused by this novel

I must be growing too rational to be able to appreciate the hysterics of 19th century Russian novels and plays. I'm still a fan of most of Gogol's work, especially the funny and witty Dickens like character building. I do like Dostoyevsky's The House of the Dead, and have seen Brother Karamazovs and The Idiot in great theatre productions. But reading it as a novel...I found it a bit ridiculous. I just kept being irritated by most of the characters, and didn't care about Myshkin as much as I was supposed to (I assume). The only person that was relatable for me was Nastasya Fillipovna because she is obviously the victim there (not Myshkin!). And I did warm up to Lizaveta Prokofyevna eventually but her her melodratic persona would make me run away fast after 5minutes spent with her.

I just don't know... I think it's meant to appeal to spiritual people (particularly Christians) who genuinely worry about salvation of the soul, the metaphysics of it all, and feel very passionate about it. That is literally the opposite of me. I was hoping to find more dimensions in the book and not sure I did....

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