This sort of character is met with pretty frequently in a certain class. They are people who know everyone—that is, they know where a man is employed, what his salary is, whom he knows, whom he married, what money his wife had, who are his cousins, and second cousins, etc., etc. These men generally have about a hundred pounds a year to live on, and they spend their whole time and talents in the amassing of this style of knowledge, which they reduce—or raise—to the standard of a science.
- The Idiot download page
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I read “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky a few years ago, and it was truly a punishment to read. I found Raskolnikov’s descent into madness to be quite maddening. Are his other works like “The Idiot” or “The Brothers Karamazov” any better, or more or less constant rambling like “Crime and Punishment” was?
I’ve got to say I found Crime and Punishment a damn good read. Much more approachable and modern than most novels written in the 19th century.
Raskolnikov appears in just about every scene in it so it’s very concentrated on him. The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov have many characters in them.
You might like to give Notes from the Underground a read. It’s a lot shorter than the other novels but is still good.
http://www.planetebook.com/Notes-from-the-Underground.asp
Thank you guys so very much for a great site and great job. Agatha Christie’s works are good suggestion. I second it.