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What are readers saying about The Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Vintage Classics)?
| Reviews of The Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Vintage Classics) - Page 1 of 3 |
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-17 02:45:07.
(Language: English)
 
I absolutely love this book! I'm by no means morbid, but cannot resist a good tragedy filled with action. Once I tried to count the number of characters that die in this book and lost it around 50! A twisted, mirror image version of the Karamzov Brothers that stands to this day as its very antithesis.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-23 02:30:46.
(Language: English)
Although not viewed as Dostoevsky's best work, it's one of my favorite books, simply because of the characters and how Dostoevsky manages to get each character to represent one ideology present in Russia during that time. This is a book you have to actively read in order to get any satisfaction from it. Keep an eye on Kirilov, the engineer - he turned out to be even more interesting than the main characters.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-09-27 11:10:17.
(Language: English)
Dark and grim story of the insidious effects of misplaced teaching. Examines an Eastern (Russian) perspective in opposition to a European one.
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Anna posted a review at 2008-08-13 02:47:54.
(Language: English)
It's mind-blowing, depressing, deep, thought-provoking, hugely historical... This book shows Dostoevsky not just as a clever psychologists and philosopher whom I totally admire, but also as a prophet. Back in the XIX century, he already knew so much about the horror of revolution and communism that it could have well been avoided. No one ever pays attention to the prophecies, though...
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-06-30 10:04:53.
(Language: English)
Remember: it reads as a comedy.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-07 09:19:58.
(Language: English)
you have to love a dostoyevskian dinner party, with all its cringe worthy embarrassments and five page monologues
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-11-13 03:00:50.
(Language: English)
Worth reading for totally different reasons than "Crime and Punishment". An interesting, if at times frustrating, work.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-17 03:06:56.
(Language: English)
Note--no caption for the possessed. Note--no caption for Dostoevsky "The Possessed" or "The Demons" (same manuscript, different titles).
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-09-08 10:02:06.
(Language: English)
This title has been re-translated as "Demons" because the title in Russian, Besy, refers not to possessed but to possessors, therefore "Demons" is a better translation of the title, and brings a new level of interest, and more questions, to the story. Who are the possessed and who are the possessors? Are the characters the demons, or are the demons implied but not actually seen directly in the story? Or are certain destructive ideas the demons?
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-11 01:16:38.
(Language: English)
Great book along with a solid translation. I would like to understand this story better.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-23 02:42:13.
(Language: English)
Dark, brooding, tragic. Dostoevsky at his best.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-07 09:48:02.
(Language: English)
Lots of great intertwined plots in this book. The plurality of characters makes it difficult to follow at times, especially when Dostoevsky describes the exploits of all of the members of "the five." Still, this is the kind of book that Turgenev meant to write with "Fathers and Sons."
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-11 09:44:48.
(Language: English)
While not a part of his classic "canon", Demons or Devils, a more appropriate translation of the original title, is a highly political, morbidly hilarious and disturbingly prophetic work. Depicting a struggle of ideologies in late-19th century Russia and warning against revolutions a la russe, where a million heads roll under false pretenses of idealism and emancipation, this is a must read for any true FMD enthusiast.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-09 03:48:07.
(Language: English)
Il vortice degli eventi in cui il lettore viene gettato non inizia subito, e anzi tutta la prima parte del romanzo è dedicata a un personaggio secondario, Stepan Trofimovic, che dà la possibilità a Dostoevskij di illustrare un tipo umano che farà da contraltare ai due mostri di questo romanzo: Petr Verchovenskij, creatore della cellula terroristica, e Stavrogin, vero grande protagonista intorno al quale ruotano le vicende di tutti i personaggi del romanzo. Impressionante come Dostoevskij riesca, con questo romanzo, a prevedere gli esiti storici della Russia del XX secolo. Potente.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-30 11:02:29.
(Language: English)
I hesitate to say that this is my favorite Dostoyevsky novel, because The Brothers Karamazov is so damn good, but this is an easy second. Demons perfectly captures generation gaps and radical chic, but its main theme is the conflict between the self and the ideas that swirl around our heads, big and small. Although almost unbearably grim by the end, Demons offers a typically Dostoyevskian flicker of hope: that every individual has the moral agency to choose good over evil and to earn his own existence. As the man himself says, "A great fire at night always has a thrilling and exhilarating effect...a challenge to those destructive instincts which, alas, lie hidden in every heart...of course, the very man who enjoys the spectacle will rush into the fire himself to save a child or an old woman."
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-28 08:43:05.
(Language: English)
Devils is hailed by some critics as Dostoevsky's masterpiece, and I firmly assent their opinion for it is in Devils - Dostoevsky presents astonishing characters, who are practicing Nihilism/Communism, with the intent to bring about the end of the reign of the Tsar of Russia. There's philosophical profundity in the characters of Kirillov and Stavrogin.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-12 07:33:43.
(Language: English)
so special..!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-07-16 06:51:10.
(Language: English)
This book marks the end of my affair with Russian Literature. While I usually love a good Dostoevsky novel, this one fell short of my expectations. I know Dostoevsky is an Orthodox traditionalist, but I felt too manipulated by him in this book. This book doesn't have the masterful suspense that he was able to craft in Crime and Punishment. My attitude may simply be formed because of my political views of the moment; I'm not quite sure. I felt that Dostoevsky created a contrived group of Socialists, Nihilists, and general rebel rousers. That's my opinion, take it for what it is worth.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-05-09 01:56:42.
(Language: Spanish)
Lo estoy leyendo y la verdad que me ha encantado. La calidad de Dostoievsky es impresionante. La historia enamora desde un principio y la sencillez con que se narra es magnifica... lo leo cada vez con mas ganas...
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-14 02:58:13.
(Language: English)
When the twin towers were hot on the 9/11 many people i know denied it was the work of an organization like Al Qaeda : i was sure they were them or somebody similar to them. Just read Dostoyevsky's "The possessed" and you'll get all the clues. Wanna decode what goes in the mind of a terrorist ? How the few manipulate the most ? Idealists versus the cunning ? Go get your copy of this book from the nearest bookstore. You won't regret it :)
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-10 07:14:49.
(Language: English)
My favorite Dostoevsky book!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-13 04:23:27.
(Language: English)
Nearly hilarious in parts. Its narrative style has grown on me--sometimes, reading this is like wading through treacle (or some other appropriately sticky substance), but it's just so terribly delicious. I probably don't have enough background knowledge to totally "get" this novel, but I can still love it. And I adore Kirillov, though I seem to be in the minority there.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-08 06:11:15.
(Language: English)
I read this in the summer, but advise enjoying this long, dark, cautionary tale in the winter over many pots of strong hot tea. If you get into it and feel a little frustrated, not sure where it's all going, don't stop!! Keep reading. You'll see, you'll see, and you'll eventually delight in how the tale was told-- all the characters you met along the way, and the strange detours old Uncle Fyodor took you on during the telling.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-15 08:14:45.
(Language: Portuguese)
Livro dos mais relevantes, bem-escritos, significativos e importantes da modernidade. Documento poderoso sobre a mentalidade moderna, esmagador em sua crueza ao traduzi-la. Dostoievski interpreta com sutileza o pensamento progressista de sua época, desmontando-o com maestria, denunciando o monumental erro do revolucionário em geral e do niilista em particular.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-20 05:57:03.
(Language: English)
A very well written literary piece set in Russia in the late 1860's. Personally, the Russian aristocracy is something I'm getting a bit tired of reading about. Also, some of his conclusions about revolutionaries do prove to be correct, but at the same time he Dostoevsky was defending a hard to justify status quo.
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| Reviews of The Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Vintage Classics) - Page 1 of 3 |
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