Stanford Scholar on Dostoevsky's Continued Relevance

[happinesson]

love talking and listening to old people...cause i know i can learn a lot from them. i admire him to come up with this book at his age.. learning is ageless..

[agapitoflores001]

Scholarships really help build brilliant people. Like him, a successful Stanford Scholar. He has done many things at his age.

[caleb1117]

... Okay, I have to say it, LAZY EYE!!!! Ah, that's better.

[winnrsfcb]

I'm insanely jealous of anybody getting to sit and talk with Joseph Frank, nevermind talking about Dostoevsky..

[hede112358]

He not only introduced mystery but also an element of psychology that one might as well deem worthy of comparing to the work that came out of the field of psychology itself, at that age.

I think he was as good at analyzing patterns of human behavior as any expert of psychology (who was unable to access findings from other disciplines at the time, as studies in cognitive psychology advanced in parallel to and depending on those in natural sciences.) One of the greatest writers ever, love him =))

[unfortunatebeam]

yeah word up! Dostoevsky's da bomb. best writer of the 19th century imo. Love his short works especially. Though i think this commentary on him a little weak...

[nbaonnbc64]

A ravishingly valid and thought-provoking review by a man of deep intellect. I appreciate Mr. Frank's considerations enormously; they've given me a finer understanding of Dostoevsky, man and author, than any other scholarly work on him. My debt to Mr. Frank is immense. Thank you, Professor.

[mouseofcards89]

Thank you, Mr. Frank. I haven't had the chance to purchase his biography yet, and I've heard that there may be a final instalment coming out sometime in the next few years. Therefore, there may be a final compilation...either way, I'm definitely going to purchase this when I have a couple of pieces of currency to rub together again. In my opinion, Dostoevsky introduced not only the murder mystery, but also most elements of contemporary fiction that are worth reading.

[edizzidydawg]

Than you Mr. Frank. I read your entire 5-volume biography of Dostoevsky and it was unlike any biography I've ever read. I highly suggest it to any Dostoevsky fan. He deals with subject matter as much as Dostoevsky's personal life and delves fully into the moral questions that Dostoevsky's work deals with. The year it took me to get through your series (I was in school at the time) will remain one of the fondest years of my life. I can't say thank you enough for the toil and time you gave.

[BrookHornblower]

@edizzidydawg which volume did you enjoy the most? I have the last one; The Mantel of the Prophet - I thought it was amazing.

[edizzidydawg]

@BrookHornblower I really enjoyed all of them, but the first two were especially interesting because they dealt with his formative years, including the years in which he joined in revolutionary circles and was arrested. But besides those first two I enjoyed Mantle of the Prophet most.

[BrookHornblower]

@edizzidydawg OK I may go and try to get those two. Do you know Robert Louis Jackson's book 'Dialogues with Dostoevsky. The unbearable questions."? I think it is the greatest critical analysis of Dostoevsky since Bakhtin's studies. I would really recommend it to everyone.

[TurnerEckhardt]

@edizzidydawg

You make it sound so appealing that I am going on ebay to buy these books immediately. Love Dostoyevsky!

[MsDostoevsky]

By the way, @ akakiakakiovich, I like your name! It is Gogol-esque. You must have read Gogol's "The Overcoat."

[MsDostoevsky]

@akakiakakiovich When you say is "he" a best seller and hard to read, are you referring to Dostoevsky or Joseph Frank? Joseph Frank is book "Dostoevsky: A writer in his time" is definitely written in a narrative style that is interesting and can be easily read. However, one may find Dostoevsky challenging particularly because of his references to outside texts. You may find it helpful to read supplementary literature in addition to a Dostoevsky novel :) Hope that helps!

[AkakiAkakiovich]

I rarely meet someone who reads dostoevsky. is he really still a best seller? many people say he is hard to read. is he? i find the trash they read hard to read.

[treid100182]

Just began the Biography...

...Amazing...

Thank you, Professor.

[treid100182]

Thank you, Mr. Frank.

[vivace737]

BORING

[podlyherrera]

@vivace737

Yes, it is if you don't have interest in the author. Go back to watching nascar.

[ryuge]

I was drawn to watch this video clip because I am currently reading Demons (a.k.a. "The Possesed"). While reading it, I have been struck by how much some parts remind me of Radical Chic by Tom Wolfe. Dostoevsky's ideas about modernity, liberalism and radicalism in the novel still speak to current issues in politics and society today. His writing is provocative, stimulating and fun to read as well. Congratulations to Pevear and Volokhonsky on their translation.

[ohwhererehwho]

There will be essentially human issues to plague us for as long as we remain human in our foibles and conflicts, Writers write in order to map these issues out from their own purview as a string of words impressing an image within (yin -yang-wise) and to move on, hopefully, gaining a vantage point on an ever changing terrain. Silence is golden...