Major Works

[Mogwai]

On this board, we will discuss Dostoevsky's 'Big 5':

• Crime and Punishment
• The Brothers Karamazov
• The Idiot
• Demons
• Notes From Underground

Feel free to post away!  This site is brand new so let's get the ball rolling...

[Latif]

Great site.  Thanks for your work on this.  Regarding the major works, I have one suggestion.  The Adolescent should be included here.  I know many critics do not like it, but it it definitely one of the major works, and its controversial nature alone might make for good discussion.  I just began reading it, and hope to finish it on my Christmas break from seminary.

Latif  

[Mogwai]

Hi Latif,

Thanks for the note and kind compliments.  I'll take that into consideration and see what other users say about including this title in the 'Major Works' section.  In any case, feel free to post anything about The Adolescent on this board - I won't delete it or move it or anything like that.

What are the other translated titles of The Adolescent?  I've heard of several of them but was wondering what they all were...

[Latif]

I know of basically two translations in English.  The Constance Garnett translation is A Raw Youth; the one I am reading is the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, which renders the title The Adolescent.  It is the version included in the Everymans' Library series (Alfred A. Knopf).  I am no Russian scholar, but for anyone interested, the Russian title is Podrostok.  Of the five major novels, The Adolescent was fourth.  One of the unusual traits of this book (unusual for Dostoevsky) is the first person point of view.  Very interesting so far.  I'll check back in with more comments as I progress.  
Latif  

[Mogwai]

Latif, how is this book?  It might be the next D book that I read....how long is it, too?  I'm ready to read some more short stuff by D, I think.

[rabagas]

I definitely concur that A Raw Youth should be included in the Major Works section. Probably the reason critics don't like  it is that it's hard to puzzle out what is going on. The Youth comes to town with definite ideas about his family, but the situation is much more sordid than he realizes and his attempts to intervene have unfortunate and unforseen consequences. As the truth slowly unravels he realizes that his ideas are mistaken.

Rabagas

[Stavrokin]

A Raw Youth is the only D's great work i haven't read.
just because i can't find its Chinese version. Now i am in New Zealand , i wonna there is engilsh version avalabile.

the Chinese version of The Ghost omits the confession of Stavrogin which i find in penguin's The devil as attachment.

i think we should not forget Poor Folk which laid the foundation in literature for Dostoevsky

[Mogwai]

Looks like A Raw Youth is my next D read.  

Can anyone give a brief summary on what it is about?  What types of ideas does the Youth have that he finds are mistaken?  

[rabagas]

The Youth is the illegitimate son of Versilov. He's been raised by another man as his son. The Youth thinks
he understands the relationships that exist between his biological parents and other members of the family, that he knows their secret. But things are far more sordid than he realizes. The story is told from his point of view so the reader doesn't discover the mistakes until the Youth does. To tell you more would spoil it for you.

I dramatized this novel many years ago. It's available on Blackmask.com under Drama, subtopic Adaptations form Dostoevsky.

[Mogwai]

Awesome, thanks for the synopsis!  

Sounds like another great FMD read.  I was a little surprised on the length of it - 500+ pages.  I thought the only long novels FMD did was TBK, Crime, Idiot, and Demons....I guess I was wrong?  Are there any others?  Or is everything else short story stuff (below 200 pages)?

[Charles Kuhn]

The proper English translation of the word "podrostok" is "Teenager". Only Constance Garnett could have come up with "A Raw Youth". Peaver's "Adolescent" is not on the mark. Garnett also butchered Chekhov's famous short story, "The Puppy Lady", by naming it the "The Lady with The Dog." If Constance Garnett were working on Madison Avenue today, we would have "The Man with the Marlboros", as opposed to "The Marlboro Man". She didn't understand Russian colloquial construction. She even blew the first paragraph of "Crime and Punishment" when she failed to convey that Raskolnikov had sublet the "kamorka", not rented it outright.

[xxfire3dxx]

The word "podrostok" does mean teenager if you have to have a corresponding word in the English language. But the problem is that in Russian (which I speak) "podrostok" doesn't just mean teenager (or a person in his "teens" between puberty and maturity, as is defined). The English word is more centered on a certain frame of reference, like time or level of maturity (physical or mental). Not to mention the fact that in the book, the boy is in his early twenties. But "podrostok" doesn't really have a reference in and of itself. Of course it has the same meaning as "teenager" in several contexts, but in general it means more along the lines of someone who has reached a certain point (in terms of growth) but is still not there yet. From the two words "pod" [under] and "rostok" [from "rost" growth]. And to tell you the truth "A Raw Youth" doesn't sound right in my head either but I think it comes closest.

[Mogwai]

Well, if "podrostok" refers to a period of time in someone's life where he/she is entering adulthood, wouldn't the word "Adolescence" come to mind?  

I mean, "adolescence" refers to a period of time whereas "A Raw Youth" or "The Adolescent" points to a noun (a boy entering adulthood).  Did Dostoevsky's Russian title refer to a noun or an adjective?  Very interesting stuff....I don't know Russian so I'll just rely on xxfir3dxx and Schism's responses.  

[Charles Kuhn]

My sincere thanks to xxfire3dxx for his thoughtful response to my remarks regarding the various translations of "podrostok".  I agree only to disagree. I am mindful of the fact that the narrator is in his early twenties when he puts his tale to paper, but that same narrator is recounting the events of his formative teen years. The more I consider xxfire3dxX's argument, the more I am inclined to agree that "The Teen" or "The Teenager" is not the proper title that Dostoevsky would have hoped for in the English language, but "A Raw Youth" is positively horrid. "Adolescent" is much closer, but it's only close. I understand the etymology, i.e., "undergrowth, underbrush" of "podrostok", and the concomitant subtle hint of "something lurking in the weeds, not quite developed," something "formative, immature".  Let's all put our minds togethwer and come up with a proper English translation of "Podrostok."

[Ivan]

I apologize if I gave off the impression of being able to speak Russian, I most certainly cannot  

This is the problem with translation, not only is it imperative to translate the words, but the meaning.  I cannot guess what D meant by using the title "Podrostok" but translators use titles like "A Raw Youth" or "The Adolescent" to combine the literal translation of the word (teenager) with the connontations that come along with using the term "Podrostok" in Russia in the 1870s.  Hence titles like "A Raw Youth" that don't readily make sense.

We shouldn't be looking for a literal translation but instead we should be looking for what this term meant when it was used.  This is the technique translators use and it's the technique we should use if we want to decide on a better title.

I'll ask some people I know who study 19th Century Russia for help since I am at a complete loss to explain certain connotations that are carried along with this word.