[.ca] The Adolescent (ISBN 1857152700)

Great oft passed over Novel:
This was Dostoevsky's second last novel, written between the better know Demons (or Devils as it is sometimes translated) and the legendary masterpiece Brothers Karamazov. This novel has none of the grand scale of BK, nor the masterful dark humour and philosophical depth. Nor does it have the prophetic satirical portrayl of politics that the Demons captures. Yet, it is enchanting in its own quiet way, and its gets inside your head like any great Dostoevsky novel will causing you to experience the mental states of the main character. Strange, simple and hypnotic; this work is not a masterpiece, it is not a must read, and it does require quite a sizable page/time investment before it becomes truly enjoyable, but after the initial effort, the experience of reading the last half of the book is one not to be missed.

a pleasant surprise:
I picked up this book not knowing much about it and not having read any of the reviews here on Amazon. Being a big Dostoyevsky fan and having read most of his other books multiple times, my first thought after reading about 20 pages into The Adolescent was, "why didn't I read this sooner!" What I like most about Dostoyevsky is his ability to develop such vivid characters, mostly through dialogue. In this book, the eponymous main character is also the narrator (the book is meant to be his memoirs) so the reader gets an even deeper insight into character. We get to read how the young man wants and intends to behave, and then we get to see him repeatedly fail to come across as the dignified adult he wants to be as he behaves more like the adolescent he is. It's often pretty funny--I found this book far more humorous than Dostoyevsky's others. That being said, I agree with the other reviewers that some of Dostoyevsky's other books are probably a better place to start for people who have read none of his books. I think of Crime and Punishment as being the best introduction. Any of his more well-known books gives a more fully-explained intro to his thinking and style and will probably make The Adolescent a more enjoyable read.

The Most Modern Novel I've Read in a Year:
If you judge this book on plot and style - you would probably be inclined to toss it after the first hundred pages. However, plot and style are not parts of what modern art is all about. Every reader is, essentially, a passive consumer, sometimes endowed with a degree of healthy curiosity. And every writer's goal today, in my opinion, is to penetrate deeply into the heart and mind of such a consumer, shake him up, wake him up from his slumber, and, if possible inspire him to "create". Not to the extent of turning him into a writer, but at least into a "co-creator", raise a storm in the reader's soul, so that both the writer and the reader now participate in building this amazing world that only a human mind can build. Dostoyevsky achieves this par excellence. The long and tedious phrases, the weird characters, their strange, bizarre actions, their mood swings from one extreme to the next within a sentence, and, above all, the grotesque that this novel is saturated with to such an extent, I am almost tempted to call it a farce. Above all, if one were to think about it in context of modern Russia, one would be shocked at how nothing has changed in more than a century. If, when you pick up a book, you seek entertainment - don't pick up this book. If, however, you like to embark on self-exploration rollercoaster rides, then, by all means, buckle up!

Soap Opera or Work of Genius?:
The novel is good, though it drags, sometimes like a soap opera, and finally after 300 pages\owhich consisted of a lengthy introduction to the St. Petersburg society of The Adolescent's(Arkady Dolgorky) friends, family, and acquaintances\c begins to take form. The novel seems to survive like any good story, on the "idea" as Dostoyevsky puts it. The relatibility of Arkady, as a 18-19 year old searching for himself and his identity, which has been confused due to his own illegitimacy of familial relations, is striking and moving. The author's portrayal even in his old age of adolescenthood reflects the author's love of children and acknowledges that even in his old age, he never lost touch with the innocence of our youth. Anybody who tells you this book is not representative of the days of youth is in denial, because though it is far from pretty at times, it is honest. The novel has many twists and turns, a variety of seemingly unimportant subplots, that in the end serve to further strengthen the emotional bond between the reader and the characters. Though the author sometimes sweeps you away too much, he always brings you back down to earth. The narrator's search for his identity and an answer to the questions that have haunted him since his childhood lend the novel to everyone. We all have questions about the early years of lives, the brighter days some might say, and Dostoyevsky shows us in many ways to how to find them; how to resolve ourselves to those we love. Being adopted at the age of 6, I often wonder a great many things about my birth parents, and the Adolescent taught me something fundamental about my own relationships with my family. As the novel is so presented in the introduction as a "family novel" to prove the genre is not dead. Though sometimes the lessons are hard to apply into my life, I was still moved. And I think anyone who is "wandering" will find many answers about their soul in the Adolescent, if only they exert patience and openness on their reading of the novel. Nothing greater than the speck of light that shines at the end of the tunnel.

Disturbing, but worth it:
First things first: this is not a book for the faint of heart. There are four or five suicides, two affairs, and one character with a split personality. Also, I'm actually thirteen. I just don't like to give out my e-mail address. Arkady Dolgoruky is the narrator of the story. He accidently becomes embroiled in a nasty (and rather strange) blackmail plot. The narrator is very sympathetic, as are his mother, his sister, and several other characters. The portrayal of an adolescent is quite convincing (to my mind) especially as it was written by a fifty-two - year - old man! The narrator has a disgusted, confused, almost dreamy, air to his voice, making for a rather pleasant read. While the chacters are well drawn, I have to concede that the plot is not the best. Dostoyevsky can do better (and it pains me to critisize the master). The translater can do better, too. Some parts are so confusing, it's hard to tell who is being introduced. I couldn't tell who le grand dadais was until I read the epilogue! That said, though, this book really does deserve to be noticed. Why should such a valueable work by such a valueable author be so ignored?