My Favorite Dostoyevsky Novel & Other Christian Classics
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- Опубліковано 16 жов 2024
- Six novels that have inspired, uplifted, and challenged me spiritually.
Thank you @heathereads and @JosephFrancisBurton for the video idea!
Reviews mentioned:
• This Book Left Me Stunned
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• C.S. Lewis' Most Under...
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• Analyzing The Painted ...
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What is a christian novel for you? Religion in the story, a religious author, authors from europe, catholic/protestant etc.?
Thanks for the recommendations 😊
@hegaukatze1599 interesting questions.
My take on the "Christian fiction" prompt was stories that seem to represent some aspect(s) of the Christian journey, in accordance with mainstream/traditional beliefs. Surprisingly (and this was not planned), it seems I included Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant, as well as authors from several countries. Great question!
@@marianhreads I like your answer Marian, now if you can talk with the publishers who sell books as Christians when they are obviously not Christian would be helpful to us all. LOL 🤗😁
You've outdone yourself with this video. I am wary of the contemporary Christian genre fiction, although I am sure there is good stuff. I fear didactic, simplistic books and I figured if anyone might know authors who would honestly, thoughtfully examine a life of faith, it would be you. I am going to choose a couple of these to read in 2024. Thank you for this treat!
I know just what you mean about didactic - perhaps there is a place for it, but it doesn't resonate with my experience. :) Glad to be of help, and happy reading!
I enjoyed this video as well as your last one on The Power and the Glory. Thanks for the book recommendations!
Thanks, Alexandra!
Thank you so much for this!
'Idiot' is my favourite Dostoyevsky as well.
Out of the Narnia series, maybe 'The Horse and His Boy ' bc it's more intimate, just two or three characters throughout the book.
I'd recommend (🙄) 'The Princess and the Goblin ' by George MacDonald. 'Lord of the Flies' you've most likely read. I've got my own interpretation of it, up to a point. And I know I loved 'The Man Who Was Thursday' when I read it, but can hardly remember anything now.
👋
Ooh I've heard good things about George MacDonald. Thanks for the rec!
Peace and grace in your house
Two for you,
Fuzjko K 467,
Garden Congregation.
Marian, i know I repeat myself but i really love your content. And today's video just reaffirms this. I've read every book you've mentioned and I enjoyed all of them immensely. Hope you are well.
Also why don't you like CS Lewis? I'm surprised by this.
It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Nikki! Wish I had been able to share some "surprises" in this video, but I guess these books are favorites for a reason.
Lewis is... hit and miss for me. I share many of his core beliefs as a fellow Anglican, but aspects of his worldview are off-putting. This became most evident in The Space Trilogy, various short stories, and an attempted reading of Mere Christianity. There are books I did like very much, like A Grief Observed and The Screwtape Letters.
Really excellent video. I started the idiot a week ago. This was after reading and loving Crime and Punishment, Brothers K, and Notes from Underground. He is definitely one of my favorite authors. I will definitely check out these you suggested. I really enjoyed Till We Have Faces as well.
Oh, let me know what you make of The Idiot! :)
@@marianhreads I will let you know. I know you and I discussed reading Augustine’s confessions earlier in the year. Did you end up finishing it? I finished it this summer, and really enjoyed it.
@@capturedbyannamarie Oh, I need to finish it... it has become a bit buried on my nightstand! I'm glad you liked it!
Hello, I know this is off topic but what translation for Crime and Punishment would you recommend for a beginner reader?
I have only read two translations for C&P - part of David McDuff's (Penguin paperback), and Constance Garnett's (Project Gutenberg ebook). They were both quite readable! Garnett has a recognizable style of her own - the tradeoff is she sounds more 19th century but also more British.
Dostoyevsky isn't too difficult in general due to his books being largely comprised of dialogue. I would just choose the most convenient copy if you're getting into his works for the first time. Happy reading!
@@marianhreads Appreciate the reply, I was intimidated at first, since there were several translations and I didn't know which one to get. I saw a good deal on a used David McDuff version of the book. I'll be getting that one. Thanks again, Marian.
One day I'll get to Dostoevsky. I think you and I are the only two booktubers who do not adore C.S. Lewis. His books seem to be more philosophical, than Christian. At least that's what I've noticed with his adult nonfiction. As a believer, I'll continue to avoid books written by Lewis. But, I am interested in Dostoevsky since I've yet to read anything by him. Sachiko sounds interesting as well.
Yes... Lewis is one of those authors who I find has "high highs" and "low lows" !
"...for all its [the Idiot's] faults, and there are many..."
What are the faults of the novel, in your opinion?
I will omit my opinion (for now), and share an observation instead:
Dostoevsky's next novel, the Possessed [Бесы, often quite inaccurately translated as Demons] feels like a complete opposite of the Idiot [an Anti-Idiot], which I suppose was FM's attempt not to repeat the mistakes of the Idiot [AFAIK, he deemed the Idiot a failure].
Therefore, I believe that the comparison of the two reveals even more detail in each. [The idea is not mine -- There is an interesting lecture about the Idiot by М.О.Мазель, on youtube (in Russian). She claims that "the five great novels" by Dostoevsky should be read as one]
Going off my memory and notes, I felt that The Idiot is a meandering novel, not always in a good way (by contrast, Dostoyevsky uses circular plotlines very effectively in C&P). The love interest of Aglaya fell short for me, I can't quite put my finger on it but I felt very dissatisfied with the depiction of that relationship in contrast with Nastasya. And after 600 pages, one felt such despair in the ending. To be fair, I'd need to read it again to see if I still felt the ending was flawed. What are your thoughts though?
I love the idea of reading his work as a whole. I have not yet read The Possessed / Demons, but a friend (whose channel is CourtneyReads) highly recommends it.
@@marianhreads Yes, I hear about the Idiot being too tangled often, and I felt so, too. However, I don't think it was unintentional (not completely, at least). Although the narrator is not Prince Myshkin himself, we get much of his perspective [imagine following the same story, but without Myshkin; my attitude to many characters, even Nastasya, would have been completely different! Doesn't Lev teach the reader forgiveness, just by being present?] And his perspective is very fuzzy, as expected of a man finding himself, alone, in an unkown realm; a very sick man, too.
As for Aglaya, I really liked how you put it in the video: "Myshkin was torn between compassion and romantic love". TBH, I don't remember the details of her story, but your idea is a very good summary!
After all, Jesus was a man, too. And Dostoyevsky made his, otherwise fantastic, idiot a man, by his love to Aglaya. That's where the two sides of the novel (the psychological and the Christian) meet (and the Christian Idiot and the Psychological Idiot are almost two different novels, for me.)
By the way, what do you think of the last paragraph of the book? The last sentence, even -- Mme Epanchina's farewell to Evgeniy Pavlovich?