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Comment by kristjankalm | Hacker News Reader

“Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoevsky as much as Americans do, and that most of those Russians who do, venerate him as a mystic and not as an artist. He was a prophet, a claptrap journalist and a slapdash comedian. I admit that some of his scenes, some of his tremendous farcical rows are extraordinarily amusing. But his sensitive murderers and soulful prostitutes are not to be endured for one moment—by this reader anyway.” V. Nabokov, [0]

I really recommend Nabokov's full lecture on Dostoyevsky [1], plus obvs all the of the lectures in the series are brilliant.

[0] https://lithub.com/on-dostoevskys-199th-birthday-heres-nabok...

[1] Lectures on Russian Literature, Vladimir Nabokov, https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/stock/lectures-on-rus...

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Nabokov is the proof that being a genius writer doesn't always imply having good taste. For example, see his opinion on Henry James, Faulkner or Camus.

The man wrote what he wanted to read and hated everything else.

I think that in general some artists are this way and that makes what they produce different from anyone else. Jonathan Blow for example is snobby and hates a lot of stuff, but his intense and specific ideas about the way games should be has led to some very interesting and thoughtful work

Dostoyevsky wrote the most boring unpalatable stuff i had the misfortunate to read in school. Nabokov’s assessment was 100% correct.

Not by a long shot. War and peace is the classic long read, but outside of Russian literature you also get authors like Victor Hugo and Les Miserables.

Also, depending on your tastes, Charlotte Bronte and other similar period writers were equally bland or significant.

Or Proust’s seven volumes.

I read Crime and Punishment as a teenager and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Raskolnikov’s misadventures are not ‘fun’ but as a psychological exploration of guilt (or lack thereof), it was very interesting.

I like Notes from the Underground and his other short stories (like the Double) even more.

i disagree. i'm reading the brothers karamazov right now and i find it so entertaining. such rich drama and conflict.

A dissing with two of my favourite authors as protagonists, thank you!

A small extract of “Transparent Things" by Nabokov that I love so much: how a Caran d’Ache pencil is built. An incredible travel through space and time!

https://thenabokovian.org/node/53398

> Non-Russian readers do not realize two things: that not all Russians love Dostoevsky as much as Americans do,

This is probably true. But Russians' opinion shouldn't matter the slightest about him for the rest of us.

Of course. But it’s worth recognizing that you like a translation of D, not his original works.

This criticism is all the more poignant given that it comes from Nabokov. He is one of the few authors for whose works the Russian and English versions are almost equivalent; he was bilingual and did the translation himself.

> But it’s worth recognizing that you like a translation of D

Probably he just lucked out, and all his translators are geniuses. Tho this would be a more remarkable skill, than just being a literary genius..

BTW I usually like derivative works, in every arts.

If a translator makes changes, and she is only right 60% of the time, that's still a net positive. I encourage every translator to make changes, if they think they can make the text better.

Just because someone is not Russian doesn’t mean they can’t read Russian.

> slapdash comedian

> extraordinarily amusing

Nabokov is a genius but not once did i get this vibe ever, much darker, almost hopeless.

Dostoevsky is funny, but his humour is very subtle and can be easily lost in translation. And being funny and dark are not mutually exclusive things, there is a whole genre of tragicomedies, after all

All the “Amazon classics” have audible included which can make it go quickly. The dinner table conversation with a host which had consumption was quite amusing. Agree on darkness.

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