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®.
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