Fyodor Dostoevsky by Peter Leithart

Considering that Dostoevsky is probably the greatest Russian author ever, and in the discussion for the greatest universal author ever, I was ecstatic when given the opportunity to read and review Fyodor Dostoevsky by Peter Leithart. Unfortunately, whatever excitement I had about learning more about my favorite author quickly dissipated after reading the opening disclaimer of the book.

First, let me tell you what is right about this book. The book itself is fantastically written. I felt as if I could not put it down. It is written in such a way that it flows like a story rather than a narrative about a man’s life. Tragically, that strength is also the book’s Achilles’ heel.

This book is not a biography. It is a crime to call it such. If you are looking to read a biography of Fyodor Dostoevsky, do not read this book; you will be disappointed. This book can only be described as Historical Fiction. This is not merely my opinion, for the book itself admits to such in the opening disclaimer: "Conversations in Fyodor Dostoevsky, unless specifically cited from another work, were created by the author as a literary device and are to be read as fictionalized accounts of his life." Since no less than eighty-five percent of the book is written using this nifty literary device, the reader is left to decide what is true and what is a fictionalization.

The instructions for the reader to use when deciding are also confusing. Apparently, whenever there is notation of a footnote, the reader should identify that as being factually accurate. However, this causes the reader to have to flip back to the notes in order to track down the source for the quote. What the reader does not know is how this quote was contextually used in the original source. This makes for frustrating reading, especially when one is expecting to be reading a biography of a person’s life.

I found this book to be annoying. There were times when I read something moving, and I thought, “that is an awesome quote,” only to find out that there was no footnote. This signified that what I thought was a great quote, was actually just the author writing something that Dostoevsky might have said.

Despite my aforementioned criticisms, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky. If you put aside the notion that you will be delving into a fact-filled adventure story of his life, I think you will find that this book is well written and enticing.

You can check out the details for this book at http://www.booksneeze.com/blogger/request/9781595550347

*the publisher of this book provided me with a complimentary or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®.

The Jesus Inquest by Charles Foster

I recently read a book called The Jesus Inquest by Charles Foster. This book looked closely at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and included both for and against arguments in detailed fashion.

I am a born again Christian that firmly believes in the resurrection account contained in Scripture. Having spent time reading this book, I find that my largest complaint is that the author never explicitly states his own opinion. I understand and applaud the idea of writing a book while trying to be as objective as possible. However, what is the point of writing a book detailing explicit arguments if the results of the effort do not lead you to embrace one side or the other?

To be fair, the author does tell the reader that he has reached a decision based on the evidence. Unfortunately, this only added to my frustration at not knowing what that decision was. Imagine for a moment if the President of the United States proposed a bill that had many negatives and positives. Imagine if he concluded his presentation by saying, “In light of all of the evidence for and against this measure, I have made a decision; I hope you can make one as well.” That kind of incomplete and shady statement would make even an ardent supporter scratch his head.

Again, I understand the author’s desire to remain objective throughout the book. However, if the point of one’s book is to cultivate an opinion in the reader, then the reader should know how the research affected the opinion of the author. What the readers of this book are left with is exactly what many of them had before they picked it up: the case for both sides.

Despite the one flaw that I have detailed, I found the book to be incredibly informative and thought-provoking. Not only did the author put forth every argument in painstaking detail, he also explained where each argument stood in relation to mainstream thought. For example, some arguments against the resurrection are not even considered valid by those most opposed to the idea of it. Instead of leaving those arguments out of his research, the author included them and detailed the pros and cons, regardless of how ludicrous they were.

Since I started out biased toward the Christian viewpoint, I found myself appalled at some of the accusations against the resurrection. I also found myself cheering when the evidence for a certain aspect of the resurrection clearly debunked an argument against it. The author did make one statement that caused me some concern. He suggested that no one could believe in verbal inspiration after a close examination of the Gospels. His argument stemmed from the many differences and omissions between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I disagree wholly with that suggestion.

Overall, this book has caused me to examine some things more closely, to lean more fully on faith, and to take Scripture at its face-value. I think that this book is a must-read for those interested in apologetics, as it really does a good job of trying to “prove” both sides of the argument.

You can check out the reviewed book at <http://www.booksneeze.com/blogger/resources/9780849948114>

*the publisher of this book provided me with a complimentary or advanced reading copy through BookSneeze®.