I flew through Dostoyevsky's The Idiot in just over two weeks, a record for a book of this length, especially when compared to the three and a half months it took me to finish The Brothers Karamazov. This probably has more to do with me being on a three week holiday with unlimited downtime than it does the book's readibility. Even so, the novel is eminently readable, of that there can be no doubt. Unlike the other of Dostoyevsky's novels I've read, this one seemed much less bogged down with long philosophical digressions and homilies on religion, although they are still there. At the risk of running ahead of myself, this is probably the part of Dostoyevsky's writing that I dislike the most - when the narrative is pushed aside so that one character can deliver his lecture, whilst everyone else just sits there in silence as it runs on for multiple chapters. This happens no less than three times in The Idiot. If anyone tried to pull this self-absorbed stunt in real life, they'd soon lose their audience or be escorted out of the room.
Now though, some words on the actual story. Prince Myshkin is an epileptic on his way back to Russia after a long convalescence of many years in Switzerland. Upon arriving, he immediately becomes one of many suitors to a beautiful but fallen woman called Nastasya Filippova. The prince is a ridiculous, naive, and child-like figure who is supposed to resemble Christ - Dostoyevsky set out to write a novel about a perfect person, completely free of sin and ego. This 'holy fool' type is seen again in the character of Alyosha in The Brothers Karamazov, whilst Nastasya is resurrected as Grushenka, and the consumptive teenager Ippolit as dying Ilyusha. It was interesting to see proto versions of these characters in an earlier book. Instead of managing to create a flawless and selfless being, the Prince becomes an infuriatingly passive and bloodless character guaranteed to infuriate modern readers. Always guaranteed to do the wrong thing, he will have you tearing your hair out in despair. The tale is marked by Dostoyevsky's characteristically grim and nihilistic tone, so don't expect a happy outcome.
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