Dostoyevsky Short Stories

I found white nights awfully boring to read at first, but it got interesting in the last half. Dat assburgers tho

>>7585704
Yeah, it's just two autists falling in love. Does it really get better in the second half?

>>7585707
>Does it really get better
Imo yes.
It's pretty short, give it a chance

>>7585717
Thanks anon, I guess I'll suffer through it a bit longer. Have you read any of his other stuff?

>>7585699
>Dropping short stories
Ultimate beta pleb.

>>7585699

They're all worth reading; that's a good sampling of Dosto's better short stories. He's got a few other, more surreal/absurd ones that are good too: 'A Nasty Anecdote', 'The Crocodile', and 'Bobok'. Also a couple earlier ones, 'The Little Hero' and 'The Honest Thief' (and maybe 'The Landlady') are decent too. It's too bad in a way that that collection has Notes from Underground and not more short stories instead; they don't get enough attention imo.

>>7585747
as for terms like surrealism and existentialism, how do I learn more about them as a new reader? Is it common for people on here to read essays and the like on books after they've read them, to allow them to take in a more educated dissection of the themes and such? I want to learn to really appreciate literature and abstract value from it, rather than just read the plot.

White Nights is 10/10

>>7585762
What in your opinion makes it 10/10? I'll come back and read your post only once I've finished it so you don't need to worry about spoilers.

>>7585728
This

>>7585759

I would say just take an organic approach at first, maybe looking at something brief like a Wikipedia article here and there for topics that interest you, building up on how terms like these are used and what they represent. One thing I'll say is there can be specific capital-letter meanings for terms that vary from general lowercase usage. (In >>7585747 I was using terms in a more general sense, for example, just saying that those particular stories aren't really true-to-life.) Also sometimes people don't agree fully on what the terms mean or whom they apply to (whether Dostoyevsky is properly Existentialist or is too early, for example).

>>7585795
It just seems like so much to take in. I have no idea how I can hope to understand it all without studying it at University.

>>7585807

Don't worry so much about understanding it all; nobody does really. Just pick some specific thing that really interests you and dig into it a little bit.

File: 1452094189011.jpg (552KB, 1625x1117px) Image search: [Google]

552KB, 1625x1117px

>>7585825
Thanks for your advice, have a wallpaper anon.

>>7585699
by far the two greatest are notes from underground and the dream of a ridiculous man. PLEASE read the dream of a ridiculous man. it changed my view on a lot of things as a youth, and it is one of Dostoevsky's most powerful works, in my humble opinion. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read it.

It just hit me that on the second night the protagonist, when asked for his life story, proceeds to describe in vivid detail to Nastenka the fact that he wakes crying every morning after having dreamt about his waifu. I wasn't prepared for this.

>>7585834

Thank you too; I can't express how beautiful that wallpaper is. One more thing on Dostoyevsky's short work I'll say is The Double and The Gambler are my favorite novellas of his; House of the Dead is very good too.

>>7585920
I'll keep all of that in mind. I'm reading through White Knights at the moment and it's actually slowly getting better. It's interesting plumbing the depths of such an eloquent autistic's despair. partly because I find it relateable

>>7585699
i'm not kidding, op, the dream of a ridiculous man is great. promise me you'll read it, it can be read in one short sitting, and it's beautiful and brilliant.

>>7585699
I have only read dreams of a ridiculous man out of the ones you mentioned. I really enjoyed it, quite a crazy ride. Definitely going to read it again.

>>7585839
>>7586000
>>7586063
Well that settles it, dream of a ridiculous man will definitely be getting read either in January or February.