“I am now convinced that reading Big Old Books . . . is a useful habit for all Christians, especially those who desire to understand our current culture”

….and it appears that the author, like this commenter, likes the Russian novelists—though I am reminded of the old joke.

How many Russian novelists does it take to change a light bulb?

One, but it takes him 400 pages to do it.

Also on the light side, I once took my copy of War and Peace to the dentist, who was of course early for my appointment that day.

I am of Dostoevsky. ;)
Demons will give you the best insights for our current national turmoil.

Demons is indeed good but there is that one part that’s hard to read…

For those interested in reading “In the First Circle”, make sure you get that title and not “The First Circle” which is the version that was censored by Russia so as to avoid anything disparaging towards the USSR. The uncensored version is the most amazing criticism of totalitarian collectivism I’ve ever read, and I’ve read a lot.

Brothers Karamazov is also excellent. Tolstoy’s “A Day in the Life of…” is also great. Gulag is amazing but horrifying. I love Russian literature and history.

[josh p]

Tolstoy’s “A Day in the Life of…” is also great. Gulag is amazing but horrifying. I love Russian literature and history.

I think you mean Solzhenitsen…

But I concur, the Russians are great. There is an excellent Great Courses lecture on Russian Literature that is well worth the listen, by the way.

I first read The Brothers Karamazov in the 9th grade, and it was my light bulb moment that good literature can express big ideas. And from there I went on to read a lot more of Dostoyevsky, including biographies about him. I need to revisit it as an adult. I’ll probably get more out of it. I listened through an audiobook of The Brothers Karamazov again, but it was abridged and was not easy to follow.

[Don Johnson]

josh p wrote:

Tolstoy’s “A Day in the Life of…” is also great. Gulag is amazing but horrifying. I love Russian literature and history.

I think you mean Solzhenitsen…

But I concur, the Russians are great. There is an excellent Great Courses lecture on Russian Literature that is well worth the listen, by the way.

Oops! Thanks! I’ll try the Great Course. I was just telling my wife that I would like to take a class on Russian literature.

[M. Osborne]

I first read The Brothers Karamazov in the 9th grade, and it was my light bulb moment that good literature can express big ideas. And from there I went on to read a lot more of Dostoyevsky, including biographies about him. I need to revisit it as an adult. I’ll probably get more out of it. I listened through an audiobook of The Brothers Karamazov again, but it was abridged and was not easy to follow.

Yeah I really want to read a biography of Dostoyevsky. I understand he was a very interesting man with a lot of vices.

Joseph Frank’s 5 volume set is probably the best Dostoevsky biography you can read. Dostoevsky’s The Diary of a Writer is also interesting.

For those interested, the book Tolstoy or Dostoevsky by George Steiner posits that “The choice between Tolstoy and Dostoevsky foreshadows what existentialists would call un engagement; it commits the imagination to one or the other of two radically opposed interpretations of man’s fate, of the historical future, and of the mystery of God.”

Also, my favorite part about the Ref 21 article is that the dude felt compelled to put a warning at the top that the article contains spoilers about War and Peace.

Dostoevsky had an ability to get into the psychology of his characters. Crime and Punishment is chilling in that regard. The Gambler, a lesser known work, is said to be somewhat autobiographical. I think he really understood the gambling addiction. Later, if I recall correctly, he seemed to turn back to the Orthodox church for some kind of spiritual healing. Not sure if he was a believer in our evangelical sense of the word, but religion plays a big part in his stories.

Frank’s autobiography comes in a single-volume edition, which I own.

Yes, Demons had some extremely unpleasant moments. Especially if you read the originally planned ending. But like I said, it’s the perfect book for our moment. The Idiot, however, is my personal favorite.

The Gambler was darkly comic, a feature of D’s writing that should get more appreciation than it does.

Dostoevsky was an eccentric Russian Orthodox believer, and a slavophile. A socialist turned nationalist-conservative who had some issues throughout his life. But he was also the real deal. The guy never did anything halfway.

As I recall, he had his wife read his favorite passages of Scripture to him as he died.

Haven’t read Dostoevsky. Maybe I will. Probably won’t. I rarely read fiction, anymore. When I do, it’s either John Sandford, Daniel Silva or Lee Child. Escapism is what I’m after with fiction. If I want seriousness, I read non-fiction.

So, read the Bible. No literature could ever take its place. Read great Christian books. We need to hear the voices of our brothers and sisters through the centuries. But also make time for great literature. Read Big Old Books and find your Christian life enriched.

I have found this so true as I’ve spent the last year and eight months reading through the Greek and Roman classics. Very enriching. Very satisfying. Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Plutarch will take some time to get through, but they are worth your time.

If you want to read English authors that take a long time to get somewhere, read Dickens (particularly Bleak House) or Melville (particularly Moby Dick).

[T Howard]

If you want to read English authors that take a long time to get somewhere, read Dickens (particularly Bleak House) or Melville (particularly Moby Dick).

Samuel Richardson. :D