The Idiot May/June 2011 Readalong Sign-ups.

Welcome to the sign-ups for the May and June 2011 readalong of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot hosted here at A Literary Odyssey! You might be wondering what happened to Virgil's The Aeneid...well, in looking at the readalong schedule, it dawned on me that I would be reading two big Greek pieces at the same time, and that didn't sit well, so I switched it for this big Russian masterpiece.

To say I am pumped up for this one would be a complete understatement. I have been surprised by how much I have LOVED the Russian novels I have read in this process. All of them are lengthy, but each has surprised me with its level of accesibility. Don't let the length scare you! Or the names! These are wonderful books! I will say that a part of me is a little sad that I am reading this one now, as it is the last Dostoevsky on my list. I am sure I will be reading more of his work in the future (I have previously read Crime and Punishment (book 2 in this process) and The Brothers Karamazov (book 40)).

If you are unsure if this is the book for you, here is a little synopsis taken from Goodreads.com;

"Just two years after completing Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky produced a second novel with a very different man at its center. In The Idiot, the saintly Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from a Swiss sanatorium and finds himself a stranger in a society obsessed with wealth, power, and sexual conquest. He soon becomes entangled in a love triangle with a notorious kept woman, Nastasya, and a beautiful young girl, Aglaya. Extortion and scandal escalate to murder, as Dostoevsky’s “positively beautiful man” clashes with the emptiness of a society that cannot accommodate his innocence and moral idealism. The Idiot is both a powerful indictment of that society and a rich and gripping masterpiece."

Excited? I am!

I am basing the page numbers on my edition, which is the lovely Pevear and Volohonsky translation that makes up the image for our readalong. I read a random translation when I read Crime and Punishment, and switched to the dynamic duo for The Brothers Karamazov, and there is a DRASTIC difference. These two translators are great at capturing the essence of the novels they translate (they also translated the edition of War and Peace I read back in January and February). I highly recommend them.

Here is the posting schedule (again, based on my edition):

• Post 1 will go up on May 19 and cover Part 1 (roughly 170 pages-the longest part!)
  
• Post 2 will go up on May 31 and cover Part 2 (roughly 140 pages)
  
• Post 3 will go up on June 15 and cover Part 3 (roughly 130 pages)
  
• Post 4 will go up on June 30 and cover Part 4 (roughly 150 pages)

This one definitely isn't as scary as some of the others, but the names will trick you up a bit if this is your first go at a Russian novel. Don't let that sway you. After a bit, you will be used to the names (and make up fun pronunciations in your head in the process).

If you are interested in joining in on the fun, leave a comment below with a link to your blog so I can link it here. I look forward to tackling my last (for now) Dostoevsky with you!

Participants:

KC
Read the Book
ChristaJLS
bibliophiliac
Christina
Becca A.
The Book Nook
Jessica
Jay
Laura
Grace
Jenn
Fiona