The Eternal Husband (Hesperus Classics)
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fyodor DostoevskyTranslator: Hugh Aplin
Foreword: Andrew Miller
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); Russian (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-01
ISBN: 1843911639
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Hesperus Press
Book Reviews of The Eternal Husband (Hesperus Classics)
Book Review: A quick Dostoevsky fix
Summary: 4 Stars
Knowing what a book is about is usually critical when deciding whether to read it. This is an exception. It's better to read it in a state of ignorance about its contents and simply embrace it on a faith backed up by the knowledge that even if you don't like it, it's fairly short. The reason I make this unusual claim for this work by Dostoevsky that it is hard to describe it without spoiling something: in virtually every chapter, there is such a snap change in direction that knowing anything at all about the plot or the characters will ruin at least a few surprises and take some of the pleasure of out this very modern-feeling story.
Perhaps it would suffice to say that the story is set in nineteenth-century St. Peterburg and the main character and tacit narrator is a man named Velchaninov. He's cut from the same moodily neurotic cloth as the anti-hero of _Notes from Underground_ but whereas the protagonist of Notes is a loner, Velchaninov's life is complicated by other people's domestic ties. In this novella, the characters are complex, erratic, incomprehensible at times even to themselves to say nothing of their ability to mystify each other (and sometimes the reader, for the staccato bursts of anger that pepper the dialogue often seem unmotivated). These characters are delightfully intense and engage each other in a way that can only be described as mutual punishment.
In short, if someone wants some fast Dostoevsky without having to wade through extended philosophical or religious discussions of the great long novels, this book will likely do the trick.
Some thoughts on this edition: the introduction has its obligatory set of spoilers, so I'd skip it. This (British) translation goes for a modern feel, which sometimes comes across as slightly anachronistic. When reading about the nineteenth century, you don't expect to find words like `whacked' or `kiddie'. And while the goat on the cover is a non sequitur, the book itself is rather sturdy and elegant for a trade paperback. It's nice to hold. I'd probably buy a cheaper edition for myself, but if I wanted to give this novella as a gift to someone who I thought would either like Dostoevsky but hasn't read him or likes Dostoevsky but might not have read everything (for this story is relatively obscure), then I would likely buy them this edition.
I've now also read the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation. It's smoother and doesn't seem as anachronistic. It also has four other stories with it that are mostly worth reading. The book physically feels cheaper, so I would still say the translation reviewed here is better as a gift (and probably only as a gift).
Summary of The Eternal Husband (Hesperus Classics)
From one of the world's greatest prose writers, this is a remarkable psychological novel examining the duality of the human consciousness. Velchaninov, a rich and idle man undergoing a moral crisis, is confronted in St. Petersburg by Trusotsky, the loyal husband of Velchaninov?s former lover. Trusotsky informs Velchaninov that his wife has died, and from here this fascinating novella charts the development of the two men?s lives. Beautifully portraying the confused and changing feelings the two men have for one another, this work moves through guilt, hatred, and love. This is Dostoevsky at his best, engaging with his favored themes of tortured minds and neurosis, and treating them in a captivating and highly revealing way.
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