Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Penguin Classics)

I went into this Dostoevsky blind, having never really read a 'Big Russian' book before. I always found them rather intimidating. However, Quarantine made a desperate man of me to find something to do, so here we go.Demons is pretty easy to read language-wise, the translation does a great job to ease you in, but I had to get used to Dostoevsky's flippant switching of first name and patronymic with the surname. Learning who is who is arguably the greatest challenge in the book.Rule of thumb? Nikolay Vselovodovich is Stavrogin. Pyotr Stepanovich is Verkhovensky. It legit took me half the book to realise that these names were connected to each other. To those of you who have read it, I'm thick, I know.Don't let this confusion fool you into thinking this is a frustrating read though. I enjoyed myself despite the fact that I was confused with who's who. And I believe that confusion was intentional because Demons still manages to be extremely enjoyable, funny and gasp-inducing/shocking even without me entirely sure what's doing who is doing what.Indeed, the plot seems to revolve around people not having a full grasp of what's going on, and before long it blows up in their faces, so, like I said, the confusion adds to the flavour. There are even many characters who don't know what's going on but pretend/act as if they do, slyly pointed out by the narrator; acting in some romantic OTT way as if they were in some desperate over-worked Hollywood movie, when they're not. They just want to establish their social position in their society, and not to be judged completely, (although it is the only thing with which they can be judged, lol), by their good looks, money and methods of becoming impassioned and angry... Varvara Petrovna is a GODDESS!!!These are the scenes I enjoyed the most.And the ball at Yulia Mikhailovna's which is just a crackling firework display of black comedy and chaos.Yes! Give it a go! Enjoy yourself. Involve yourself in the social life around Skvoreshniki, and get to know the people. Before the end, you'll have a thorough grasp as to what's happening, I promise. I literally gasped in shock at the 2nd to last paragraph, and then chuckled darkly at the last sentence. Humdinger ending.Brilliant.

Don't be put off by the length of the book or by the fact it's a Dostoyevsky this is an easy entertaining read. The author takes a humorous side swipe at the politics and hypocrisy of Russia's liberal elite in the decades before the revolution. Many of his observations ring true in today's culture wars.

Good book. Fast delivery.

One of the difficulties of reading this novel, and presumably others by Dostoyevsky, is that without a college course in nineteenth century Russian history one needs a bit of background and many references to persons or events need to be clarified. This is done very well in the notes to this edition. I personally like the way this translation uses the first name and patrinomic of each character, Stepan Trofimovich rather than "Mr. Verhovensky, Varvara Petrovna rather than Mrs. Stavrogin and so forth. It gives the text a more authentic feel, making it seem closer to the original Russian. But very helpfully, a full list of characters is given in the back to avoid confusion. The French phrases are also translated in the notes, although anyone with one semester of French could easily do without them. The introduction is very informative.. In short, much the best edition of this novel.

Incredible book, ridiculous blurb. When did Stavrogin become the leader of a revolutionary group? Do better Penguin.

One of Dostoyevsky's four masterpieces. A brilliant prediction and indictment of the nihilism that led to communism in Russia. The level understanding that Dostoyevsky possessed about human society and psychology was truly incredible.

Comparing this to the way the Bolsheviks acted later on is a true testament to his genius.

Good product delivered promptly

This translation thankfully translates the copious gratuitous French, though you may want 2 bookmarks to keep up with it; and there are other annotations besides for cultural & historical matters. Includes the famous "extra chapter" at the end, which I think is where it belongs.

Good paperback edition with large, readable text. Virtually no damage on arrival.

Can't comment its content yet, even htough I have no doubts it's great.But the copy arrived with significantly distorted cover on both sides.Still, arrived on time.

Book arrived in good condition. As for the content of the book - it's Dostoevsky. You probably know what you're looking for.

I lack of knowledge of Russian political and moral nihilism during the reign of Tsar Alexander II, but Demons is based on real fact happened on November 1869s which Dostoevsky got inspired and portrayed in this novel, first published in 1872 on the Russian Herald Journal.It is narrated by a close friend of Stepan Trofimovich Verkhovensky, his name is Anton Lavrentievich G— who tells not only the inner conflict of good and evil and the hypocrisy of high society but also the inevitable gap between two generations, father and sons, and the conflict between values and traditionalistsPyotr Venkhovensky, the son of Stephan Trofinovich Venkhovensky, an academic who contributed to the nihilistic forces, is the manipulative, anti-nihilistic young man based on the revolutionary Sergey Nechayev, leader of a small group of conspirators: indeed his character is the mastermind behind other characters' choices, enamoured of Nikolai Stavrogin, the main character of the novel, son of Varvara Patrovna, a wealthy landowner. Stavrogin is charming, handsome, fearless and self-centred but at the same time pensive, apathetic and tormented to death by something, like an evil entity eating him alive. He is constantly absent in the novel, Dostoevsky does it on purpose, describing perfectly his 'non-existence persona'. Pyotr sees in Stavrogin a symbolic leader for the revolutionary cell, whose members are also Ivan Shatov, a skeptical, generally taciturn and melancholic former intellectual, brother of Darya Pavlovna. His character was also based by a student murdered during Sergey Nechayev's propaganda - and Alexei Kirillov, an engineer who lives and spent a year in America working as farm worker with Shatov; atheist, reclusive and fanatic young man who fully depicts the Übermensch concept of Friedrich Nietzche to become God – or better the ‘Man-God’."Generally speaking, in every misfortune that befalls one's neighbour there is something that gladdens the eye of the onlooker, it doesn't make any difference who you may be."(Part II, Chapter 5)Dense, corrupt, dark - Dostoevsky has done a majestic job intersecting the lives of all its characters, and there are many, so as to create a continuity throughout the story. During the reading you have to be very careful not to leave out every little detail, in fact it took me two and a half months to read it, but it was totally worth it !