It really a very beautiful city, a ton of cool old palaces and churches. The subway is amazing and they have THE most delecious apple pie.
But it was also weird to go at such a delicate political time. I was visiting a conference we had already registered for in spring, otherwise I might not have traveled there.
I haven't read Idiot in ages, but yeah, that's a really good point. Dostojevskij (Swedish spelling, heh) really had a handle on people, which is part of why however much I find myself disagreeing with some of his arguments and conclusions, his books still hold up so incredibly well.
Have you read Leonid Tsypkin's Summer In Baden-Baden? It's a book by a Jewish Soviet writer, on Dostoevsky's life (English spelling now for some reason) and on being a Достое́вский fan despite his antisemitism... Fantastic book.
Dostojevskij (Swedish spelling, heh) really had a handle on people, which is part of why however much I find myself disagreeing with some of his arguments and conclusions, his books still hold up so incredibly well.
Yes, that's exactly why I like him so much. I usually disagree with him too, but his characters feel so real that it somehow doesn't matter. When I first started to read commentary about him, I realised that the world of literature saw something very different in his works than I did.
Have you read Leonid Tsypkin's Summer In Baden-Baden? It's a book by a Jewish Soviet writer, on Dostoevsky's life (English spelling now for some reason) and on being a Достое́вский fan despite his antisemitism... Fantastic book.
I don't know it, but I absolutely have to read it. I think it is always fascinating when a writer transcends his own opinions somehow.
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But it was also weird to go at such a delicate political time. I was visiting a conference we had already registered for in spring, otherwise I might not have traveled there.
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Have you read Leonid Tsypkin's Summer In Baden-Baden? It's a book by a Jewish Soviet writer, on Dostoevsky's life (English spelling now for some reason) and on being a Достое́вский fan despite his antisemitism... Fantastic book.
Reply
Yes, that's exactly why I like him so much. I usually disagree with him too, but his characters feel so real that it somehow doesn't matter. When I first started to read commentary about him, I realised that the world of literature saw something very different in his works than I did.
Have you read Leonid Tsypkin's Summer In Baden-Baden? It's a book by a Jewish Soviet writer, on Dostoevsky's life (English spelling now for some reason) and on being a Достое́вский fan despite his antisemitism... Fantastic book.
I don't know it, but I absolutely have to read it. I think it is always fascinating when a writer transcends his own opinions somehow.
Reply
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