"If you see Dostoevsky, tell him that I love him." Leo Tolstoy.
So today is November 11, the day a Russian legend was born - Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Happy Birthday!
Happy? For formality sake, I would say it. But Dostoevsky might not like the idea of this. However, as he himself quoted:
"I say let the whole world go to hell, but I should always have my tea."
Anyways, I am not going to say that I am his biggest fan. Or I know him so well and all that stuff. All I know is that I have read three of his work, and I love him for that. Rest of his works are still pending, thanks to this slavery i.e. jobian life. Thank God though!
So, here is how I look at the legend.
Simply goated!
Goated in such a way that even reading him in translation feels like stepping into another dimension. As I have, during my undergraduate, taken translatory course, and I know one thing for sure: translation can never be the original work. But yes, a good translation can really do the comprehension. So, in this context, imagine reading translated text which has lost some of its original texture along the way, and still, it manages shake the reader. That is simply goated stuff.
Moreover, sometimes, I wonder like how he could turn something as ordinary as blank sheet of paper into an entite universe of human misery, existential crises and absurdity. He can go on explaining simple details for a bunch of pages, and personally, I do not get bored of it. Maybe because, I am just biased.
Then, there is time difference. And pardon me, I am not quite sure how to put it with the right word choices. But the thing is: different time; different view point. You read at age 15; you understand him differently. You read at age 25; you understand him completely different. Okidokie! I get it, things change with time. But, you read him at noon, you think and feel differently. Try doing that at night time, and stay awake without any caffeine.
In simple words: the book does not change; it is you who just change with every reading.
And his characters? Not the typical heroes, literally worse than villain if you let them talk, lol. Even I will hate them, if met them in reality. No offense! His characters are strange, arrogant, selfish, full of irrationality, miserable and deeply contradictory. Sometimes, one disagree with every word they say, but believe me, those words never leave you.
Like whenever I am reading, I just try not to highlight everything. But, alas, I always fail in following this, lol.
In the end, let me quote one of the finest and mine favorite quote from White Nights:
'My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?'
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Peace 🕊
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Picture taken by me using Infinix Note 50 Pro.
A little dose of Nastenka and a Dreamer!
