The Adolescent (Everyman's Library, 270)

Rating:
Summary: The Most Modern Novel I've Read in a Year
Review: If you judge this book on plot and style - you would probably be inclined to toss it after the first hundred pages. However, plot and style are not parts of what modern art is all about. Every reader is, essentially, a passive consumer, sometimes endowed with a degree of healthy curiosity. And every writer's goal today, in my opinion, is to penetrate deeply into the heart and mind of such a consumer, shake him up, wake him up from his slumber, and, if possible inspire him to "create". Not to the extent of turning him into a writer, but at least into a "co-creator", raise a storm in the reader's soul, so that both the writer and the reader now participate in building this amazing world that only a human mind can build.

Dostoyevsky achieves this par excellence. The long and tedious phrases, the weird characters, their strange, bizarre actions, their mood swings from one extreme to the next within a sentence, and, above all, the grotesque that this novel is saturated with to such an extent, I am almost tempted to call it a farce.

Above all, if one were to think about it in context of modern Russia, one would be shocked at how nothing has changed in more than a century.

If, when you pick up a book, you seek entertainment - don't pick up this book. If, however, you like to embark on self-exploration rollercoaster rides, then, by all means, buckle up!

Rating:
Summary: Story takes time to develop, but overall worthwhile
Review: The reviews I've read for this novel are all worth reading, but I want to put my two cents in regardless.

In MacAndrew's introduction (worthwhile reading) the notion of "the double" is discussed, and while MacAndrew himself notes the tendency of some to overuse this notion in Dostoyevsky's books, this is one novel in which the concept is prominent.

The double (or as described in the intro and in the novel by the protagonist's father Versilov, a loss and splitting of one's identities) manifests itself throughout the novel. The protagonist Arkady, his father Versilov, and would-be brother in law Sergei Sokolsky all deal with conflicts between two elements of their personalities, all three reaching moments of delirium and/or "brain fever". This internal conflict among the three characters creates the most drastic turns in the plot among a supporting cast of interesting, but relatively constant, characters.

In fact, Arkady's brain fever was the best part of the novel as far as the story goes. Earlier parts of the book did not seem to move the plot along, which, as discussed by other reviewers, deals with a document in Arkady's possession that could effect his father, his half-sister, the woman he loves, and a slightly senile old man who's discovery (or non-discovery) of said document could change the lives of all involved. The brain fever changes things greatly though, especially as it signals the introduction of the blackmailer Lambert, as well as Arkady's legal father, the simple yet insightful serf Makar. In this second half, we see what Arkady will (or won't(?)) do with the controversial document.

The novel is basically divided in these two parts, as the first part sets the stage, and the second part (post brain fever) sets all the pieces in motion. One sees the conflicts of the characters manifest themselves fully in the later parts of the novel, and while some of the earlier parts were a bit of a trial to get through, they were worth it for the later developments.

Overall, this is a worthwhile novel, but the earlier half is a bit dull, albeit important for the later parts to be fully appreciated. This is definitely a novel Dostoyevsky fans would enjoy, but if you haven't read any of his books before, I would suggest Crime and Punishment or the Brothers Karamazov before this novel.

Rating:
Summary: a neglected gem
Review: Without doubt one of his great novels. It is the second time i've read it in quiet awhile and am struck by how modern it really is. The narrative structure of using Arkady as the story teller helps explain the rushed, uneven and feverish pace at with the book unfolds: but it is an example of the blending of form and content. All Dostoevsky's great themes are here but on a smaller scale. The novel is a clear example of a great writer warming up to the themes and ideas that he was to explore fully in his next work and masterpiece, 'The Bros K.' 'The Adolescent' is an excellent introduction to the thematics and style of the world's greatest novelist