Demons: A Novel in Three Parts (Vintage Classics)

Most of these reviews are about the ideas and politics of Demons (aka The Possessed), or how it compares to Dostoevski's other novels and its place among the "great" books. But you probably know what the book is about already and prefer to make up your own mind about its position in the canon--after you read it.What you really want to know is "will I like it?" The answer is emphatically YES! If you like Dostoevski, Turganev or Tolstoy, you love it. If you read Henry James, Thomas Hardy or George Eliot, you'll love it. If you have a taste for historical fiction, ideas and politics, you'll love it.The great strength of Devils is its characters. Each person is motivated by an `ism (liberalism, feudalism, atheism, nihilism, socialism, etc) which posses him or her like a demon, but they are not flat types or puppets. All the main players are fully drawn flesh and blood people. They have quirks and contradictions that make them completely real. You may not like these people, but they will fascinate you.There's not much plot in Demons. But so do a lot of superb novels: Zorba the Greek, Pale Fire, and David Copperfield, for example. Mark Twain admits Huck Finn has no plot, it's a series of escapades. Jake goes fishing, Brett picks bad men--that's The Sun Also Rises.The dramatic momentum of Demons comes from your own attempts to find a plot in the tensions between the characters (and literally in plotting of the plodding conspirators). Something is definitely going on, you're just never sure what. Part One feels very much like a typical Victorian novel. Men talk at their club. Women jockey for social gain. Rumors fly about linking and relinking the young people into love affairs and scandals. And then just below the surface, the (rather thick) narrator suddenly and nonchalantly exposes a mirroring network of links more sinister than social and anarchic than romantic. As these develop the machinations of the story move from marriage to murder. In this Dostoevski cleverly captures the reader in the same web of dread and paranoia that grips the characters. So it is the interplay of forces, the murkiness and dread that make Demons a page-turner. It's marvelous to experienceHere's something else rarely mentioned: Dostoevski had a great sense of humor. There are a number of great comic scenes, gags and zippy one-liners. It's not his popular image, but old Teddy D was a funny guy. This translation (Pavear & Volokhonsky) is very successful at bringing out the humor and rendering into English the zestiness of the dialogue.

81 years old. Fourth time that I’ve read this book. It is an absolute masterpiece.Hope that this year’s election year is not a repeat of something something similar to to the activities of the “Devils” in this book.

A very thought provoking portrait of combating and extreme personalities. As in all Dostoevsky's works, there is a very clear message; it is spelled out by his portrayal of different characters and made convincing by how the reader identifies with and understands both the evil and good present in the characters.I bought the Pevear and Volokhonsky version. The translation itself I thought was better than other Dostoevsky works I've read from other translators (The Brothers K by Garnett and Borders Classic's version of C&P), because I thought that it had fewer awkward and repetitive phrases when describing people. It also had many helpful historical notes lending extra context (needed for the author's then contemporary references). The intro was very helpful as well, giving some interpretive guidance for reading this, as well as other, Dostoevsky works.I've read that some folks find the revolutionary characters in the book unrealistic, a fabrication of the author's mind. However, I would suggest that all who hold this opinion read The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn. You will see that his characters are actually quite reasonable compared to the real-life leaders in Stalin's Russia. The P&V version also contains helpful footnotes that point out some events in the book that may seem unbelievable were actually based on real events; including the climax.I think one of my favorite traits about this work is how well explained and logical all the evil ideas seem, but that which is pure and beautiful does not answer this attack with a logical discourse; goodness is beheld in a sort-of silence, a response to truth deeper than a dissertation can express. The main characters always give a convincing why as to their murders and abuses (the real evil characters usually commit wrong from philosophical motives and not from lust), but the one would-be redemptive moment in the book is accompanied by no wordy explanation, only the description of joy and tenderness in the characters participating. Perhaps a hint that the good in humanity is more deeply rooted and hidden than the corruption. This hints at the Orthodox conception of man after the fall, which contrasts with the Calvinistic vision of total depravity that often taints Western thought.

The book arrived without any sign of damage. You'd think it came right of the press and handed to me.If you're looking for a review of the book's content. It's Dostoevsky, it's one of the greatest pieces of all time.

Demons is a perfect representative of what a Dostoevsky novel is at it's best. All the mystery, all the philosophical discussions surrounding life, God, existence, etc.—and all the simply unforgettable characters, who will pretty much make themselves at home in your mind for years after you've finished the book (which it's not an exageration, I've myself become suprised at finding references to Kirilov or Stavrogin on random works by Camus, Dietrich von Hildebrand, and other random authors).The plot, however, takes it's dear time to mature, though. The first 150 pages are pure backstory (about the old-guard characters) and the protagonists of the novel only appear in person and begin acting by the time this exposition reaches its end—yet for the next 300 pages you still won't know what they're up to, as it is possible to catch glimpses of their sheming, but only a few clues as to what their actual plans and motivations are. I found Part III to be simply delightful, though, and worth the wait. All the scheming does come to something, and hopefully it will be possible for others to find it worth it to.

A compelling read that delves into the depths of the human psyche and ideological extremism.

A classic. Dostoyevsky’s lampooning of his fellow writers at a soirée is hilarious. Was Pyotr Stepanovich, who escapes on the train at the end, part of a wider network of nihilists or just a sadist? We’ll never know but I’d say the former.The core group and the other nihilists didn't seem like they could organize a night out in a brewery, at one point they had a mini meeting to decide if they were having a meeting, and when they took the stage at the event near the end of the book a female student kept interrupting and throwing out leaflets about student rights. Pyotr Stepanovich got out of in the nick of time at the end. At one point Dostoyevsky has him tell Von Lembke that he 'lost' von Lembke's manuscript for his first novel, not yet sent to the publisher, which shows how Dostoyevsky rated his Pyotr Stepanovich's character.

Book is good but the fonts and the paper quality is despicable. Not something that can archived for a long time.

Just a typical Everyman's Library edition hardcover book. Simply amazing. Such quality and refinement. Beautiful to look at and read.