Reviews and Comments

Delayed reading this for the longest time. This doesn’t fit with the standard full-length Dostoevsky novel—that is, the main character is not demented nor neurotic/paranoid (take that Tolstoy)—he just happens to be an ‘adolescent’ (arguably the same thing) and this is entirely in first person (also a little odd but not new, ref: HOTD).

There is still, however, the ardent devotion to an idea…

"I'll never be alone now as I was for all those terrible years before I'll have my idea with me, which I'll never betray, even in the event that I like them all there, and they give me happiness, and I live with them for ten years!"

…and some Shatov-esque passages on atheism and God (suicide too, except far less ‘Shatovian’ as Makar actually condemns the act outright—with none of Shatov’s nuance in attitude towards the act)

Some have gone through all learning and are still anguished. And my thinking is that the more one learns, the more boredom there is. Take just this: they've been teaching people ever since the world was made, but where is the good they've taught, so that the world might become the most beautiful, mirthful, and joy-filled dwelling place? And I'll say another thing: they have no seemliness, they don't even want it; they've all perished, and each one only praises his perdition, but doesn't even think of turning to the one truth; yet to live without God is nothing but torment. And it turns out that what gives light is the very thing we curse, and we don't know it ourselves. And what's the point? It's impossible for a man to exist without bowing down; such a man couldn't bear himself, and no man could. If he rejects God, he'll bow down to an idol- a wooden one, or a golden one, or a mental one. They're all idolaters, not godless, that's how they ought to be called. Well, but how could there not be godless people as well? There are such as are truly godless, only they're much more frightening than these others…

Shatov-like maundering aside, this is nowhere near Demons neither in plot nor format. This is far more jumpy and some sections need to be reread to be able to follow Arkady’s ‘adolescent’ (= inexperienced) style of retelling events. Something to be admired there, Dostoevsky easily throwing his form out the window to pretend to be a teenager with a dysfunctional family while still keeping the writing engaging…

5/5 — in general 4/5 — rated against other Russian lit reads 3.5/5 — against other Dostoevsky reads

شیزۆفرینیا - ٥/٥

بێهاوتا.

لەواچێت ئەمە جوانترین پێنشاندنی فۆرمی بیر لە دۆخی شیزۆفرینیا بووبێت کە هەتا ئێستا خوێنندبێتمەوە. لەو باوڕەیا نیم کە ئەم پارچە نوسینە بتوانرێت بە شیێوەیەکی ڕەوان ڕاڤەبکرێت؛ نە وشەکاری نە ستایلی نووسینەکەیە کە ئەم نووسینە بە ئاوێرتە دەکات لە نووسینانی دیکە—هەردووک لەمانە زۆر سادەن—ئەو هەستە نائارامی و نارەحەتیەیە کە لە پایەی فۆرمی موخەربەتەی ئەم نووسینە هەڵدەگیرسێت کە ئەم چیرۆکە دەکات بە بێهاوتا. تەنها ٩ لاپەرەی پێدەچێت بۆ ئەوەی فەرهاد ڕەوانەی ئەزموونکردنی حاڵەتێکی چەندە «ئابستراکت» وەک شیزۆفرینیا.

Schizophrenia 5/5

Unparalleled.

Probably the best representation of schizophrenic thought I have ever read. I don’t think there’s a way to eloquently describe this piece, it’s not really the words or style that make this brilliant—they’re both very simple—but the uneasy feeling induced while having to jump from segment to segment, back and forth (that make this unparalleled…). It takes Farhad only 9 pages to convey the ‘chaos’ —for lack there of a better translation of موخەربەتە — of experiencing something as ‘abstract’ as schizophrenia.

Really looking forward to the English translation of this story to come in August!

Initially, I intended not to rate this given it was majority written by a man facing a severe distortion of reality. It would have been a bit in ill taste to complain of his writing being repetitive whilst he was convinced God was restoring the order of the world through him at the expense of his ‘unmanning.’

Schreber somehow provides a description of his distorted reality in the most unexpectedly lucid manner—despite being demented. His description of this reality gradually gets more and more repetitive until it’s almost impossible to concentrate on what he’s saying anymore—and then you get to the addenda…

…and basically experience whiplash from the way he is described from an outside perspective. The man who is seen to be rationalising with the ‘facts’ of his delusional system is described as though there is nothing going on upstairs in his head. It’s a bit nauseating and gets worse as his case is debated by multiple officials to determine whether he is of sound mind / can function in a society.

4/5 Would not recommend unless you feel inclined to become even more pessimistic in the human ability to understand each other past surface level observations.

Slightly misleading with the promise of a ‘novel,’ this more novella-like piece was pretty good considering the reused wander-to-discover-enlightenment bit…

Initially this book seemed to offer something more than the last two encounters I’ve had with Hesse; that is, by substituting his stereotypical wanderer with a set of wanderers. The company ranging from Xenophon, Plato and Pythagoras to Don Quixote and Baudelaire… A bizarre mix, except you don’t get much out of any of these characters other than being aware they are involved with the League—unfortunate.

It also seems like a prerequisite of Hesse’s characters to be loomed over by some body of authority? A league, a monastery, an order… The League in this case makes a good medium to make a statement about leadership through the use of Leo (the only other substance bearing character other than H.H, Hesse’s pseudo-autobiographical representative).

In honesty, this would have been a disastrously negative review if it had not been for role of Leo in this book, which strays away from the self-discovery arc and offers something new—a look into what it means to be a truly selfless leader.

3.5/5 Would possibly have been a 4 if this was my first read into Hesse. Still a brilliant book, just hard to place any higher after reading the GBG. I was also not too fond of the fever dream-esque ending resurfacing…

Second book into Hesse’s corpus and I’m noticing Hesse has quite the obsession with the balance between ascetic intellectualism and giving in to worldly desires/instincts and nature… I like it.

He picks up on his theme of self-actualisation and discovering ‘true’ love of the world again quite well—somehow his characters feel fresh despite all their developments essentially being through the same wanderer arc? The neuroticism of some of his characters—Tegularius in specific—is finely executed and is reminiscent of Dostoevsky’s ‘troubled’ archetype.

5/5 So good I might get into Indian philosophy and a bit of Nietzsche myself…

—

‘World history is a race with time, a scramble for profit, for power, for treasures. What counts is who has the strength, luck, or vulgarity not to miss his opportunity. The achievements of thought, of culture, of art are just the opposite. They are always an escape from the serfdom of time, man crawling out of the muck of his instincts and out of his sluggishness and climbing to a higher plane, to timelessness, liberation from time, divinity. They are utterly unhistorical and antihistorical.’