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    The Idiot
    The Idiot
    The Idiot
    Audiobook1 hour

    The Idiot

    Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky and David Fishelson

    Narrated by Ed Asner and Full Cast

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    About this audiobook

    Dostoyevsky’s monumental novel The Idiot, adapted into a spellbinding full-cast drama by playwright David Fishelson.

    In The Idiot, meet the kindly, childlike Prince Myshkin, as he returns to the decadent social whirl of 1860s St. Petersburg. The two most beautiful, sought-after women in the town compete for his affections, in a duel that grows increasingly dangerous.

    An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Edward Asner, Kate Asner, Angela Bettis, Arye Gross, John Kapelos, Robert Machray, Jon Matthews, Johanna McKay, Paul Mercier, Laurel Moglen, Michael Rivkin, Peggy Roeder and Douglas Weston.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherL.A. Theatre Works
    Release dateAug 1, 2007
    ISBN9781580816090
    Author

    Fyodor Dostoevsky

    Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. He died in 1881 having written some of the most celebrated works in the history of literature, including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov.

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    Reviews for The Idiot

    4/5

    2,703 ratings58 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Not a typical character- one who you often feel ashamed or embarrassed for. Interesting parallels to the author's life. Prison- epilepsy- are prevalent topics. Distracting change of tone at the end of the book.
    • 4/5
      Suppose a mortal man with all the attributes of Christ except that of divinity were to come among us. What would we make of him? What would he think of us? That is the thought experiment which Dostoevsky carries out in The Idiot.Prince Lev Nikolaevich Myshkin, thanks to having spent his early youth in Switzerland being treated for severe epilepsy, comes to St. Petersburg as a complete innocent. He is intelligent and alert, but has the naive innocence of a child. His distant kinship to people he has never met opens the door to one of the better houses in Russia's capital, where people are both intrigued and alarmed by Myshkin's innate goodness and blundering frankness. By the end of his first day in Russia, the Prince has managed to intertwine himself with the fates of several families and individuals, most especially that of Nastasya Filippovna Barashkov, an unstable femme fatale.As Dostoevsky works out his idea of the Christ-like man, he touches on many issues of the day: religion, revolution, Russian identity, and the "Woman question." While poking fun at the mannerisms of the upper class, he nonetheless upholds the established social order and Orthodox religion through the actions and words of his characters. Only where it comes to the role of women does Dostoevsky break with traditional roles. The strongest and most interesting characters in the novels are its women, while the male heads of households are depicted, without exception, as weak, besotted and corrupt.Perhaps the novel's greatest strength is as a collection of remarkably astute character studies. Dostoevsky even speaks directly to the reader on this point, introducing one chapter by begging our indulgence as he devotes an inordinate amount of time to a minor character whose nature must be further explored and explained. The translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky is a more literal rendition than average. Expressions and idioms are rendered directly, rather than finding a more natural-sounding English equivalent. (For example, a character says "my parent" rather than "my father.") Though you are always aware that you are reading a translation, this approach probably serves Dostoevsky's writings especially well as it preserves the spontaneity of his style.
    • 5/5
      My first Dostoyevsky novel was “Crime and Punishment,” and I thought it was excellent. “The Idiot” blew it away. The plot and many subplots, and the great characters! The way the intricate storyline spun and swirled was wonderful. I absolutely loved this book!
    • 5/5
      "It's actually rather Austenesque," I told my friend, shortly before reading a bit about eating clerics and completely changing my mind about that statement. Indeed, I was surprised, having only read the author's "Crime and Punishment" and "The Gambler," at how much of a love story this novel initially seemed to be. "The Idiot" filters nineteenth century society, and the unfortunate game, for many women, of trying to make or maintain their station by catching a husband (or, alternatively, to make or maintain their pleasure by being kept as a mistress), through the eyes of Prince Myshkin, a recent returnee to Russia from Switzerland where he was receiving treatment for seizures. It is never clear throughout the novel to what extent Myshkin actually suffers from being an "idiot," and to what extent others' perception of him as one simply makes him so. In him, Dostoevsky portrays love at its purest, most noble, and most confused--for in a world where agape love and friendship can and should exist, but only romantic love is honoured by most, how can one not be confused? The story leads the reader through the agony of trying to understand how these kinds of love can be untangled when Myshkin often seems to love two, but can only marry one."This is a sort of sequel to nihilism, not in a direct line, but obliquely, by hearsay," Lebedyev proclaims, and in a similar fashion, the book picks up in some ways where "Crime and Punishment" left off in terms of its themes, if not in terms of its characters or its overall arc. The religion of Russia's "Old Believers" and Dostoevsky's concern for philosophy and politics figure into the story, moreso in the latter half of the book. The first two parts open in a very narrative style, while the latter two jarringly shift to a style that addresses the reader more openly. Characters in this latter half also go into the question, raised in Dostoevsky's earlier novel, of whether crime is a natural occupation in conditions of poverty. However, the question of human perceptions of others and the constraints society places on interpersonal relationships form the driving thread of the book. Dostoevsky, like Myshkin, suffered from seizures, so it is interesting to investigate the relationship between the author and his character(s). I felt a constant sense of duplicity in the character of Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment" with regards to his rationale for why he committed his crime, and whether he had a solid understanding of that rationale at all points in time or whether he wavered depending on his "madness," his efforts to deceive others, and his changing spiritual understanding. While Myshkin is the complete opposite of Raskolnikov on the criminal scale, the same duality of character can be discerned in his treatment, and understanding of his own feelings towards, the two love interests in the novel. This duality explodes in a shocking twist as the novel concludes. I can not claim to understand Myshkin as well as I feel I understood Raskolnikov (which, perhaps, also speaks volumes about just how far removed Dostoevsky thinks human nature is from the ideal), but the author certainly succeeds in getting me to sympathize with him. This is a complex book that I feel the need to re-read, but do not expect to be burdened by; in its initial portions especially, it is a surprisingly warm and engaging read from an author known for his lengthy philosophical and theological expositions. Dostoevsky also deserves tremendous credit as a male author for delving so accurately into the variations of female psyches in the different relationships in which women find themselves--in this regard, comparing him to Austen or Brontë is not nearly so illogical as it might seem.
    • 5/5
      My book is a great translation with insight into Russian society.
    • 4/5
      There are many reviews of this book making out that Prince Myshkin was Christ-like, a truly good man who lived for the moment. A holy idiot, or more accurately, wholly idiot indeed is what he really was. Why did they think Dostoyevsky entitled the book, The Idiot if he meant 'The Man who was Innocent and Really Good" or "The Man who was like Jesus"? The title wasn't any kind of irony, it was about an idiot.

      Prince Myshkin had spent years in a sanitarium for his epilepsy and returns to Russia where he trusts untrustworthy people, falls for all their plots where he is the patsy, and falls in love with a rather uppity girl who returns his affections and then when it comes to the moment, chooses another woman for all the wrong reasons and thereby ends up rejected by both.

      He is the very definition of an idiot, he never, ever learns and what intelligence he has he doesn't put to working out the truth of a situation and what he should do to benefit himself. He always falls for the next plot, the next plan, the next person with a glint in their eye for how they can use him to further their own ends. It got so I wanted to shake him and tell him to wake up and smell the kofia.

      Sadly, the debacle, written in a time when not even the word 'neurology' had been invented, let alone the science, is rather idiotic. On getting drawn into a crime committed by a man mad in every sense, crazy and angry, his epilepsy degenerates into a mental illness so deep he crosses over into another land. Bye bye gentle idiot. I was glad to read of you, I'm glad I didn't know you.

    • 3/5
      Eerste 100 bladzijden zijn zeer boeiend en vlot geschreven. Wat daarna volgt is een bijna onontwarbare opeenvolging van intriges en gesprekken, waarvan de functionaliteit zeer ondoorzichtig is. Gemeenschappelijk element: bijna altijd beweging.Al een eerste keer gelezen op 18jaar; nogal verward geheel
    • 2/5
      I don't know how anyone could like anyone else in this.
    • 5/5
      My only other experience with Russian literature is several of Nabokov's books. 'The Idiot' was absolutely, perfectly amazing. A Tragic Comedy in 4 acts.
    • 3/5
      While it was still a bit of a challenge, I enjoyed The Idiot far more than Crime and Punishment. My second try at Dostoevsky confirms, however, that I'm not a huge fan.This novel centers around Prince Myshkin who was given up as a child to a sanatorium for treatment for a condition. The story begins with him leaving the institution as an adult. He has no immediate family or friends and he desperately seeks to make a connection with distant relatives and their acquaintances.In character, the Prince is simply a kind, quiet and forgiving person. He does posses some symptoms of a malady that include seizures, difficulty speaking, agitation, difficulty focusing attention, emotional instability and a preoccupation with human faces. Because of his late language development, clumsiness and extreme reactions to the environment, he may have been suffering from something within the autism spectrum, though high functioning.The story is composed of numerous psychologically deep insights into Myshkin and the other characters; some of which are bipolar, schizophrenic and suicidal. These often come to light during various social gatherings that are required of people of their stature. Throughout most of the book, the Prince is treated horribly. The other characters show a complete disregard for his feelings and have no sense of empathy. In fact, many take "malignant pleasure" in the tragedies of others. They often refer to the Prince as "The Idiot" in his presence. Even those that care for him sometimes chide him or try to hide him so they are not embarrassed by his behavior.Lightly stringing these events together is the underlying plot of Prince Myshkin's pursuit of two love interests in trying to find a sense of acceptance and belonging. In the end, he gives up the woman he truly loves because he feels he isn't good enough for her and instead decides to marry her rival, a woman he pities. The marriage is never completed however because his wife-to-be leaves him at the altar and runs off with another lover. The story ends with her murder and the Prince completely regressing into a catatonic state in the sanatorium. He never finds the sense of belonging or normalcy he wanted.
    • 3/5
      I'd like to suggest that reading choice, at all ages, resembles a vortex. One's favourite books and authors swirl round, and are re-read (I've always been a great re-reader). New books are sucked in to join the vortex, and some of the favourites gradually sink down, just occasionally bobbing back up, possibly to be re-read for the sake of nostalgia. The core of the reading remains books I've enjoyed, or authors I've enjoyed, or books recommended as being not dissimilar to those I've enjoyed, but actual content of the core changes over time, as new interests or authors join in the swirl, often inspired by wanting to read more widely on topics raised by the old favourites. For me that would be Shakespeare. I re-read The Idiot for the first time recently and formed a new and rather confused opinion of the book and the Prince. The tremendous passages and themes - mortality, redemption - had a much greater impact on me this time around. At the same time, the more hysterically written sections had a greater impact too. My brain started to develop a tic from all the exclamation marks and superfluous ellipses and melodramatic plot twists. The big surprise came with the dénouement. After having first read it, I'd been catching up on my Shakespeare. When I got to the grand finale of "The Idiot" this time, I realised: 'It's bloody Othello.' The end of Othello is always heart-searing. It makes my eyes fill every time. It is truly dramatic. By comparison, the end of "The Idiot" now seems hysterically melodramatic and has no emotional effect on me at all. Unless wanting to take Prince Myshkin by the shoulders to give him a damned good shaking counts as emotional effect.All to the good, of course. Every time we re-read one book, we're newly informed by the hundreds of other books we've read in the meantime. So I already look forward to re-rereading "The Idiot" to see what I make of it next time.
    • 3/5
      Nun ja. Ich hatte, ehrlich gesagt, etwas mehr erwartet.Der Stil ist teils etwas umständlich, aber gut lesbar, letztlich leichter als ich dachte. Immer wieder steigert sich die Erzählung zu sehr furiosen, extrem spannenden Szenen, dafür ist dazwischen wieder viel langweiliges Dahingeplätscher angesagt.Umständlicher als der Stil ist die Erzählweise. Die handelnden Personen, zumindest die wichtigsten, werden in großer Ausführlichkeit geschildert, vor allem ihr Verhalten und ihre Gedankenwelt während der vielen Skandalszenen.Die waren es hauptsächlich, die mir das Buch verleideten. Ein Buch wie das „prominent!“-TV-Magazin auf Vox, nur eben in Papierform und aus dem 19. Jahrhundert. Sicher, etwas mehr Tiefgang und vor allem der Versuch, die Charaktere zu verstehen, machen durchaus einen Unterschied. Letztlich fühlte sich das Buch für mich aber tatsächlich an wie Klatsch auf hohem Niveau.Dazu noch der unangenehme Charakter fast aller Hauptpersonen, die sich andauernd gegenseitig beleidigen und auslachen, dabei aber immer auf den eigenen Status bedacht sind und dafür über Leichen gehen, sofern das gesellschaftlich akzeptiert ist … Natürlich hält Dostojewskij hier auch der Gesellschaft einen Spiegel vor, aber ich kann mich des Eindrucks nicht erwehren, dass er das sehr genüsslich tut.Dabei schafft er er Szenen von ausufernder Peinlichkeit, schlimmer noch als Loriot: Fremdschämen auf allerhöchstem Niveau. Das hat mir persönlich überhaupt keinen Spaß gemacht.Fazit: Stilistisch und erzählerisch hochstehender Boulevard aus dem Russland des 19. Jahrhunderts. Nichts für mich.
    • 3/5
      I have never managed to finish this book although I have started it twice and gotten more than half-way through. It's still in my storage books that I own, hopefully one day I'll be able to actually finish this one. I do enjoy it and find the characters compelling, but the style is slow and digresses from the main story many times, which makes this one hard to read.
    • 4/5
      I'd mentioned earlier I was super loving this book, but in the end it didn't top Demons (it'd seemed to be heading there for the first half or so). But naturally, still a very worthwhile read - it is Dostoevsky after all! I do wish it hadn't gone so gloomy in the later part, I was so enjoying the lightheartedness of the first half or so, constantly smiling and even laughing aloud a bunch. It still had its moments later, of course, but it got much weightier with much less of the lightness as time went on. Every morning the same bright sun rises; every morning there is a rainbow over the waterfall; every evening the snowy peak of the highest mountain there in the distance on heaven's very edge is bathed in purple iridescence; every tiny mosquito, which buzzes around him in the warm ray of the sun, is part of the glorious ensemble, knows its place, is sure of it and is unspeakably happy; every blade of grass grows and is happy. And all things have their appointed path, and all things can find their way along that path, they go with a song and they come with a song; he alone knows nought, understands nought, neither people, nor sounds; a stranger to all, an alien, a reject.The book is really something, though. It kind of defies simple explanation. Dostoevsky said "the main aim of the novel is to depict a wholly virtuous man. There's nothing more difficult in the world," and noted that the only ones who come close are Don Quixote and Mr Pickwick, and that it is the combination of their ridiculousness and goodness that makes them so sympathetic to readers. This is the path he set out to follow, entirely in his own way. Avsey notes in his extra material at the end, "Dostoevsky revels in peopling his novels with every kind of oddball imaginable. He may be accused of having taken the reader into a lunatic asylum, but never into a museum of waxworks. And in the treatment of them he is loving and compassionate throughout, or he would not have devoted so much attention to those that are spiritually and mentally unbalanced." This novel, in particular, really is peopled with every sort of personality, lively and evocative and extreme, and you really can't help but love them, or hate them, or pity them ...or all the above.Definitely worth a gander, especially if you've read & enjoyed Dostoevsky already.
    • 5/5
      My first Dostoyevsky novel was “Crime and Punishment,” and I thought it was excellent. “The Idiot” blew it away. The plot and many subplots, and the great characters! The way the intricate storyline spun and swirled was wonderful. I absolutely loved this book!
    • 4/5
      I'm not worthy enough to review Dostoyevsky.
    • 4/5
      This is not as good a novel as Crime & Punishment. He just doesn't reach the profound here. Still, a large cut above most books and well worth a read. Part 1 is particularly good, bravely written, with a great crescendo and one of the sexiest heroines ever. If the remainder is a little off, don't worry, you're already hooked.
    • 5/5
      The introduction said you appreciate this book when you're young. I was outraged (and younger). But maybe it was right. Whatever your age, do yourself a favor and read it.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this one. The prince was an interesting character that I felt bad for, but at the same time kind of wanted to just strangle. He kept introducing himself by saying, (paraphrased) "So yeah, I was in an asylum for years because I have this disease that makes people think I'm an idiot" and then gets annoyed when people perceive him as being an idiot. He's just naive and sweet.
    • 5/5
      What can you say? An attempt at pushing the limits of individual reflection on how meaning can kill and save (but mostly kill).
    • 5/5
      Is a sanitarium the only fit place for a saint today? Prince Lev causes turmoil in St. Petersburg society because he is assumed to be an idiot while in reality he is an innocent. An examination of a truly altruistic man in a selfish world. Well worth the read.
    • 5/5
      An amazing love quadrilateral, (or really a decagon, if one considers all the suitors). Wonderfully, developed characters, mostly of the unsavory sort, and several of which are intently focused on self destruction. The characters take great pains to develop one another! The narrative is sometimes Seinfeld-esque and often full of wild diversions and the expected but fascinating discourses on religion, life and death. Make sure you have a playbill nesx to you. These Russian names are tough.
    • 2/5
      Here's Dostoyevski's mode of proceeding, and it's maddening. One, here's what I'm about to tell you; two, now here I am actually telling it to you; and three, now let's review what I've just told you. Every point is handled thus. The tedium! Nevertheless, it's D so I forced myself to read most of it. In the end the book fell heavily from my hands and I woke.
    • 3/5
      I had wanted to read this book for the longest time. I loved the audiobook of “Crime and Punishment” and thought this would be as good. However, “The Idiot” was a bit disappointing. The reader was not as good and the number of Russian names and places were incomprehensible to my ear. In the printed edition, the names would have been more recognizable, so I recommend reading it, not listening to it.The story is intricate and intense. The characters are not very likeable. They are pompous, devious and scheming all the time. They thrive on gossip and rumors. They are judgmental and cruel at times, and tend to angry outbursts and sometimes violence. They seem eccentric, unhappy and unfulfilled, disloyal, often rudely arrogant and completely untrustworthy. The upper class is viewed negatively, as shallow and conniving, rarely loyal and mostly self-serving.The main character, Prince Myshkin is supposedly an Idiot. He calls himself that, however, he seems to have more common sense at times, than all the other characters. He suffers from epilepsy, and as a result, his education was limited, yet he seems to think more logically, in his innocence, than many of those he encounters throughout the book. He is easily admired because of his honesty, even as they laugh at his simplicity or naïveté. Each of the characters is a contrarian, taking the opposite point of view than the one prevailing in their conversations. They seem to enjoy the banter. They constantly contradict each other’s judgment so that what you think is happening is generally not exactly what does occur. The say one thing, mean another. Myshkin’s naive remarks invariably cause havoc and/or inspire respect. Many of the characters accuse each other of being mad. Prince Myshkin, who is supposedly the least sane, is perhaps the sanest of all until the very end when the severe emotional trauma of certain events causes what may be irreversible damage to his psyche. There are some nasty references to Jews which I found disheartening, but I believe it was because of the time in which the book was written. Many books portrayed Jews negatively. (I wonder if Jews, like the blacks and now the American Indians have done, should lobby to alter the wording in these offensive books.) Jews were definitely not thought well of in the few places they are mentioned, and they were presented stereotypically in the view of the prevailing times.Myshkin meets a stranger, Rogozhin, on the train taking him to Russia, and from that moment, his life takes an ultimately tragic turn. Both men become involved with the same woman, Nastasya Filippovna, a beautiful but flighty woman of changeable, perhaps demented, mind. Both men love her, one in a romantic way while the other believes he loves her because he pities her. Myshkin is in and out of another romantic relationship, with Aglaya. He, like Nastasya, has issues with being faithful and true to those to whom they pledge themselves. He is almost the comic foil; he can’t win for losing. He is the most compassionate and trustworthy, but his judgment is faulty and immature. He lacks he reason to truly think through the consequences of his actions; although he analyzes the situations he is in quite logically, he makes illogical conclusions. Myshkin is the subject of what starts out as elaborate deceptions and schemes and then become reality. He is always somewhat of a victim and a hero, at the same time. There are so many ridiculous explanations and assumptions that the truth is elusive; facts are not facts, rumors take on a life of their own, the pomposity of the elite class is irritating. They are all responsible for their own failures and disasters. Their own behavior brings them down and they move each other around like pawns in a game of chess.The book is brilliant but it should be read, not listened to so that the characters are more easily identified by name recognition. Sometimes the reader’s interpretation was frantic with emotion and often the dialogue seemed too long. At times I felt as confused as Myshkin, however, the author examines the minds of his characters in great detail and with enormous depth so that I was able to get to know Myshkin.All for the love of the woman Nastasya Filippovna, Myshkin and Rogozhin ultimately destroy themselves and the woman. There are so many betrayals; brides and grooms are left at the altar, and often mental incompetence is almost presented as the norm. It is as if what we call sanity is unattainable or non existent.It was not until the very last part of the book that it all began to fall into place for me which is probably the mark of the exceptionality of this book. This great author was able to hold my attention, guide me through my confusion and finally allow me to reach the end without having thrown up my hands in despair and frustration!
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite books. In mine modest opinion the best Dostoevsky's novel. His descriptions of a perfectly good, pure human are even better then Cervantes' in his Don Quixote. His ideas about religion, meaning of life, love, women's position in the society, the secrets of human soul are refreshing even now-a-days. I am not going to say anything about his amazingly beautiful style of writing... Reading of any of his books definitely contributes to intellectualism, widens perspectives, and brings indefinite joy to all literature lovers.
    • 4/5
      After reading this book, I know that when I am in the mood for a Russian novel to keep me company, I will reach for Dostoyevsky.
    • 4/5
      This book was a lot of fun. I'm sure anyone will enjoy, regardless of the age.
    • 4/5
      The title character of The Idiot is Prince Myshkin, a poor Russian nobleman who is returning to Russia after spending several years in a Swiss sanatorium to recover from epilepsy. Alone in the world, he is searching for some distant relatives and gets quickly caught up in a complicated love triangle that involves himself, the beautiful fallen woman, Natashya Filipovna, and the wealthy Roghozin. As with many of the Russian classics, there is a HUGE cast of characters, who are well depicted and come from a variety of classes. This book has much of what you come to expect from a Russian classic - tragic heroes, sacrifice and sad, sad endings. But The Idiot is also a wealth of philosophy. Although it departs from the main plot, there is some great philosophy in this book, with reflections on the meaning of life, especially when death is imminent.

      I listened to the audiobook and I LOVED Simon Vance's narration. From rattling off long and beautiful Russian names (my favorite was Lizaveta Prokovyevna) to his wide range of accents for some very eccentric characters, this was an enjoyable book to read and listen to.
    • 4/5
      In short, too much romance and not enough death. Actually, some of the frivolity of the female characters especially sort of reminded me of Jane Austen, who I feel is an earlier/predecessor of wretches like Danielle Steele.

      In any case, if we were to look at the way Dostoevsky writes these women, we would think they were pious, noncommittal, mentally ill, self serving, spoiled, with no sense of grasp on how to conduct themselves properly. The men are more of a varied bunch on the whole, with the intoxicated general to the well meaning prince who is truly no idiot (he's an intelligent epileptic).

      Also, my version of the novel has been translated by Constance Garnett. I know there are fierce debates amongst fans of Dostoevsky about who is the best translator (I seriously think some of them meet in the night over intense chess games to verbally assault eachother over whose translation is superior.) In my opinion, Garnett does well to translate all of the French terms and phrases that are used, the familiarizations in terms of referencing people with different friendly versions of you and their names, and explains what the Russian words that don't translate exactly mean. At the same time, it doesn't seem as poetic as it may have been written in some places and it gets entirely confusing when there are two separate princes and they all have about ten surnames and full names. There are points in the novel when just "the prince" is the reference point but you won't know which prince is being referred to or is speaking for an entire long winded paragraph at least. To me, that just isn't a recommended way of translating and it should be clarified sooner.

      The novel's strengths by and large lie within the philosophical discussions about class and politics as well as capital punishment. In comparison, the love triangle aspect might make the book more accessible to the average reader but greatly lessens the impact of these points. I'd love to read a long essay on these subjects without any female characters involved because, the way Dostoevsky has written these few ladies, I wouldn't care to ever know them.
    • 5/5
      Great novel, and still recognizable. Easy to identify with main character