Howdy, folks! The holiday weekend crept up on me, and odds are I won’t be around today (Monday) to discuss this book, so I’m writing up a placeholder diary in advance. Apologies for not realizing this sooner, but … the reading must go on!
Last week we discussed women in Russian literature — both as characters and as writers — and the ways Dostoevsky participated in and/or challenged that legacy. This week the investigation into the murder of Fyodor Karamazov kicks off in earnest, and the prime suspect — okay, the only suspect — is our id-driven ne’er-do-well, Dmitri.
Note that most of this section has less to do with the mundane task of gathering evidence, although we do have a handful of entirely predictable witness accounts, and more to do with tearing away each layer of Dmitri’s protection: he is humiliated down to the literal skin and confesses things he’d sworn never to tell anyone, with the nadir of his experience reconfigured as a dream about the suffering of a child and the enormity of Russia’s empty steppes.
This should provide plenty of fodder for discussion. Might be worth teasing out the way Dostoevsky weaves themes from earlier in the novel into Dmitri’s predicament. We could say that D.’s approach to themes here is less schematic than it initially appears, and more deeply integrated as the novel progresses. But I’ll leave that to y’all.
I promise I’ll be back next week with a meatier diary and more to discuss. You all have been doing a fantastic job in the comments, though, so I’m sure the discussion will be just as lively without me.
(Also, today [Monday] is my anniversary, so I definitely won’t have hours to spend at the computer. Enjoy, and I’ll see everyone next week!)
For Next Week:
The next couple of books are somewhat unevenly divided, so my recommendation would be to read Book 10 and the first two chapters of Book 11. That would split these two books almost right down the middle.
PREVIOUS ENTRIES IN THE SERIES:
- Announcement
- Introduction
- Book 1
- Book 2
- Book 3
- Book 4
- Book 5
- Books 6-7
- Book 8