#he doesn't deserve to have to be a Karamazov

[thelingering]

poor Fyodor Pavlovitch.......

he's such a buffoon why is he like this ToT

like I understand he's an alcoholic but he's in the presence of a wise elder in the Orthodox Church

get a bit of a grip? please? Alyosha is crying and I'm about to start too

[gegengestalt]

Actually, the Brothers Karamazov is the worst book of all time. It's 1000 pages of the author's reactionary nonsense and mental illness. For a book preaching about how good God and free will are, it sure shows a lot of people being shitty and leading shitty lives. Don't even get me started on the protagonists... Aristocrats who don't know what it's like to actually struggle in life, aside from their psychosexual problems. Dmitri is a chauvinist who should be locked up or euthanized like a rabid dog. Ivan thinks his education gets him respect, but he's nothing but a hypocrite who thinks he's hot shit after he read three big books and made up Jesus fanfiction. Alexey is a loser who only blushes, trembles, preaches things other people have said and changes nothing around him. Smerdyakov, the only member of the working class, is depicted as misanthropic and effeminate (read: gay. Dostoevsky is very homophobic) because the author hates socialism. The women in this book are no better: one may be a lady and the other a fallen woman, but both are venomous vipers hiding behind smiles and declarations of love. They are the same, completely flat characters. Don't even get me started on that teen girl. Most unnecessary Dostoevsky character ever created.

The themes are all over the place because this crazy guy can't make up his mind about the message he wants to give. This book is self contradictory. The fact that so many people like it should make it obvious that it's inconsistent. In theory Dostoevsky champions Russian Orthodoxy, but Zosima is a hack and spits out so much heresy. The plot is also all over the place, with sidequests that nobody cares about, long tangents, a ridiculously big cast and a weird structure. What kind of madman starts his book with an infodump? Clearly he needed to tell the characters' sob story first to make us not hate them. But he failed. The last part of this book made me want to kill myself because it's just a boring recap. My favourite book is Book VIII because it doesn't have the long boring ramblings, and I get to see Dmitri suffer pathetically as a treat (because he deserves it).

The romantic relationships are extremely unrealistic. Dmitri and Grushenka just had the hots for each other for a while and will probably try to kill each other the minute they elope. Ivan and Katerina have zero chemistry and the author just made that up for the Victorian fangirl. Alexey is a CREEP, but this is obvious to any reader with common sense. The familial relationships also seem forced, and they all just come across as love starved mentally ill people who just want to ramble nonstop and dump their nonexistent problems on Alexey instead of going to therapy.

The only character I can get behind is Rakitin, because he's the only one who sees through everyone's bullshit and calls them out on what they are: a bunch of PERVERTS using big words and pretending they're anything more than that. Rakitin is honest about what he wants and I respect that. No wonder Dostoyevsky hates people like him. If his intention was to represent his country with this book, he succeeded, painting such a horrid town filled with insufferable and selfish people.

Easily the worst Dostoevsky book. Aside from Bobok and The Village of Stepachinkovo for a chuckle, all his work is worthless.

[fyodcrs]

KATIE!!! I'm sorry I'm late ajdlslfkdkf but I had to drop in and ask, HOW ARE YOU DOING AFTER FYODOR'S EPIC REVEAL?? CAN YOU BELIEVE HE GOT A COMEBACK IN THE MOST GLORIOUS WAY POSSIBLE?? From theorizing it to finally having it in the actual manga, it's been a long time journey hasn't it?! :'D

I went back to read our old posts and you were really close in some of the parts like his ability being to "punish" someone "he" thought committed a "sin" (basically killing him lol). Please let me hear all your thoughts!! I'm also so happy for you!! I'm really glad they didn't finish off his character with the awful mersault death plot 😭😭

@kunikiiida-kuuun KRIS THIS WAS LITERALLY ME READING THE CHAPTER:

I MEAN WHAT A FUCKING ENTRANCE:

I've been thinking about all my old theories, and maaaan, I would have never imagined something quite like this. It's true that we were right about Fyodor's Ability "punishing" someone who has committed a "crime," though I wouldn't have thought that "crime" or "sin" was literally killing Fyodor himself, lol. And I WAS right that he is immortal (kind of?)!! Or at least that he's been around for hundreds of years!! I also seem to be right that he doesn't age, though I guess we'll have to wait and see if it's explained why his appearance hasn't changed in centuries.

It still hasn't been explained how he's able to kill with a touch, however. This hasn't been explained:

There are definitely more secrets to be uncovered when it comes to Fyodor, so it remains to be seen if there's more to his Ability or if this will end up being an inconsistency.

I think the true nature of Fyodor's Ability is really interesting in terms of Dostoevsky's novels, too. "Possession" (though not in the literal sense) is a motif that occurs in a couple of his novels, most notably Demons, but also, to an extent, The Brothers Karamazov and Crime and Punishment. In Demons the "possession" is specifically "demonic possession" in the biblical sense, though again, it isn't literally in the biblical sense, just the overarching symbolism. I actually started to write a meta about this several chapters back, so maybe I'll finish it, haha.

I definitely did not imagine that Fyodor would take over Bram. Poor Bram :( But damn does he look good in Bram's clothes and wielding the holy sword and Fukuchi's time bullshit sword 🥵

Also poor Genichirou :(

This doesn't really fix the issues with the Meursault arc, but if Fyodor really sent himself to prison in order to trick Dazai into sending himself to prison, too, that does actually explain the bizarre decision to get himself arrested in the first place, which was one of my biggest gripes. There are still plenty of other problems, but whatever, I guess sdfghjhfghjk.

I was becoming less invested in the series since the Infamous Helicopter Crash and the Dazai Friendship Speech of Doom, but I'm finally excited again!!! I'm really curious to see where this is gonna go. I know Fyodor is going to be defeated somehow, but I hope he causes all sorts of chaos first, he deserves to ଘ(੭ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ✩‧˚ ♡♡

Also Fyodor and Ranpo interaction maybe??? It better happen or I'm gonna be like (╮°-°)╮┳━━┳ ( ╯°□°)╯ ┻━━┻

asdfgdfgh Kris, I can't believe we've gotten this far, it's been years and we're finally getting answers. I'm so happy omggg. But I swear BSD just keeps getting wilder and wilder lmao

*hugs* 🤗🤗💖💖

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of working on my taxes

11pm, sunday, march 26, 2023

big ol' spoilers for the second book of the scholomance series and the movie RRR (2022)! plus a song you likely haven't heard of, a puzzle game, and assorted ramblings. it's an ilcb, what can i say.

reading stayed up later than i intended this past thursday and then couldn't settle until i'd stayed up even later, finishing the last graduate (naomi novik). some stuff in a deadly education which irked me remained true in this one-- big example, so much of how el relates to people, orion specifically but the enclavers in general, is to be shocked because they don't understand something that ~everyone else gets~, which? i guess effectively introduces us to her attitude and stance towards the world, and (to a lesser extent) to the world itself, but el saying 'we all never did x' or 'everyone thought y' always made me want to ask, how do you know this? having a first-person narrator do exposition about the world is one thing, but having them make general statements about attitudes or thoughts of other people (especially when that same first-person narrator has supposedly spent her first three+ years a social outcast?) just got to me after a while. although, definitely believable as a smarter-than-you high schooler. and, on the flip side, i think that there were enough moments in this one where el had her assumptions challenged, or the things that 'everyone just got' were turned upside down, that i will accept it as a narrative choice. i love a book that establishes a system and then explodes it-- for that, i definitely prefer this one to its precursor. and i ended up really feeling for the scholomance itself! all its sass and vicious attempts to uphold its mission took on this really moving flavor by the end.

also working on: jasmine throne, ebook; dial a for aunties, audiobook; the brothers karamazov, ebook (for bedtimes); and vol. three of heaven official's blessing (print).

watching watched RRR (2022) over the course of the week, with a break at the 1.5hour mark where there's a clear intermission. because of that, i think by the time i'd come back for the second 'act', i'd more or less acclimated and wasn't as shocked or overwhelmed by the Sensory Everything of it anymore? so despite the massive ~reveal~ in the second act, that rama raju has been under deep cover the whole time he's been working his way up in the ranks of the army, i wasn't quite as hype the second time. also, i feel like that deep cover reveal actually simplified his character for me; i had been sort of fascinated by the idea that he was a sincere supporter of the people oppressing him, and was fascinated to try and understand why, what from his past had caused that, and how he could possibly be brought around or what could change his mind-- so the fact that all of it had been a pain-staking act felt like a removal of a layer of complexity, rather than an addition? plus, like-- just because you beat and killed innocent people for the sake of maintaining your cover, doesn't mean you...didn't beat and kill them...but it was very Tragic and Difficult for him, you know. and i guess in a way, the decision to break his cover for the sake of trying to salvage bheem's friendship, and support bheem doing what was right, does mean that he had a major change of heart? i liked the water-coded-character balancing out the fire-coded-character, i liked the song and dance numbers esp. naatu naatu, i liked the hyper-color saturation and the bromance. both of the leads killed it, and good lord ram charan is outrageously, offensively good-looking. he had a little of the jason momoa eyebrow in the later half, with the long hair? you agree.

also watched: crazy, stupid, love (2011) which was a really interesting look back into an era of film and society which i did live through but which i was not, like, paying attention to at the time; episode 14 of bossam: steal the fate with @hematiterings which will deserve its own segment soon, it continues to impress and constantly surprise us; and the first episode of the new season of shadow and bone which as someone who read the crow books but none of the actual s+b series was a great time. i love seeing these characters, i love seeing this world, i have a lot more affection for it now that there are these faces and these visual aesthetics attached, it makes all of it far more interesting. big crush remains on jessie mei li, surprising myself by also now appreciating nina in a new and serious way.

listening new hozier good. new fall out boy good. others more qualified and knowledgeable than i will be able to tell you why, but right now the strings-into-big powerful rock chords buildup that happens in 'love from the other side' is just playing on a loop in my head. but in the last week i think i actually listened to this song the most, a surprise from my spotify discover weekly which i wasn't thinking too hard about and then the steel? guitar? chiming in the background really sank in and i couldn't get enough of it. it's not not surf rock. the chorus is a groove. the ambivalence about gender is a bop. i don't know anything about NoSo, but now i'd like to.

playing two different weekend visits to my friend with gamepass means i've gotten to try out a bunch of different great games lately. failed quite spectacularly at a crash bandicoot racing game (couldn't resist picking my lil guy based on cute vibes over, like, driving features); laughed ourselves to fucking tears playing the fighting (?) game gang beasts (your fighters are so floppy); and then today we had quite a good time with escape academy in two player mode. honestly so satisfying and good, but the puzzles are legitimately tricky and i think i'd have gotten very frustrated on my own. it felt like doing an escape room, in the best way, in that you could shout out what you were seeing at one side of the room and the other person could be playing with the lock and inputting what you were saying, etc. the character design on the different npcs is very good, the art and all the design is great; i am very curious to get more of the lore about the founders (a group of friends who all have a lot of Past, it's almost locked tomb-esque, if i may); there are many. many. puns.

making daubed some superglue on the broken egg cup! ended up breaking it a little bit more in the process, but it's back together now. not my neatest job, but better than it was. also trimmed up the weird dangling tree limb over the back porch, put the christmas lights and wreath in the basement at last, and sent a card i'd been sitting on for far too long. this hasn't quite unclogged my letter-and-card-writing flow, but it's a start.

working on two zoom talks down, one and a half summer jobs applied for, one summer travel grant due at the end of the week, and now actual chapter writing to get back to. since nobody seems to notice or mind if my committee doesn't meet until after the semester is over (oops), i've got a bit of extra time. for now, the real challenge is probably catching up on RA hours i've neglected this month, since those are actual income hahahah alas. luckily, i think a friend solved one of the mystery words i'd been stuck on in this round of RAship work, which will help a bit this week.

[common-blackbird]

2, 3, 11, 18 & 20

Alright, this has been sitting for so long, im so sorry.

Here are the answers.

2. top 5 books of all time?

I don't want to repeat myself with things you know i love (like lotr and asoiaf) so im gonna choose the books that i know made me go galaxy brain.

Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky) - best book ever, duh. People are always very emotional about the depth of the book and the big questionsTM, which i completely agree with, but my fave part of the book is the humour. The characters are intentionally lame and silly and over the top, and i just love how the unlikeable characters become likeable ;__;

The Powerbook (Jeanette Winterson) - I want to write as intimately and hit the core of things like Jeanette Winterson. Such a beautiful book. She doesn't waste any words, she gives such visual imagination, it hits you in the heart. Every sentence is poetry. Absolutely love it.

Debt: The first 5000 years (David Graeber) - We read this for our book club, and honestly, i think everyone should read at least one chapter of this book. It's about history of debt seen through anthropology. Or in other words: what do we owe, why do we owe, do we even owe? Each chapter deserves a special analysis and i am searching for a physical copy of the book bc i want to, need to buy it but it's impossible to find it ;___;

Croatian Tales of Long Ago (Ivana Brlić Mažuranić) - The underdog of fairy tales in the world. it saddens me that when you’re in school or see museums or other cultural institutions here praise Brlić Mažuranić, it’s usually in the spirit “she’s one of the first croatian female authors”, “She’s Hans Christian Andersen but CroatianTM” and so on. But i’ve never seen anyone seriously dissecting each fairy tale, analyzing, interpreting her style. Or i have been searching in the wrong places.

It took me some 20 years to figure out what is the point of the fairy tale “How Quest Sought the Truth” and, like, if you ever question your place in the world, that’s THE fairy tale for you. I read this book every year and it still surprises me with its richness in short stories, depth, imagination, all while being accessible from youngest to oldest age. Amazing writing.

Also now that i think about it, that’s the book i read the most times.

Returning to Reims (Didier Eribon) - We're reading this book for the book club right now and im half-way through, but already i have been crying my eyes out and been having so many revelations. It's a memoir about estranged gay many returning to his home after his father (whom he hated) dies, and ruminating on nature of social status and class that effects all of us. He voiced out lot of my thoughts and the way he's self aware of privilege and reality of the underprivileged without idolizing them is refreshing to see.

3. what is your favourite genre? 

I wish i knew! My go-to answer is fantasy, but honestly, with exception of Left hand of Darkness, it’s been a while since I properly enjoyed a fantasy book.

I’d say i love drama, but most books have drama, i more philosophical books, but sometimes i just love trashy stuff. idk. I love themes of figthting against “leviathan”, anarchism in general, ruminations about social classes, cultures, nature of humans, conflicting ideas...

11. what non-fiction books do you like if any?

Well this is where i come in again with the book club (all hail the book club!) where we read non-fiction books, from publicist to theoretical, and it is usually social and cultural themes, like “why do we read?”, “what is art?”, “what is pop culture?”, “what is economy? “let’s start a revolution?” and so on. So far, the best books were by Graeber and Eribon, Bregmann gets a pass, John Berger is great (you should check him out on yt!).

My other passion is history books, but it’s more that i like the idea of reading them and i’m hoarding them in my room, but can’t find or dedicate time for them :(

18. do you like historical books? which time period?

I have yet to read any good ones... Most historical books that i see through the bookstore windows are some romance in court stuff that i have 0.01% interest in. The only historical book that i’ve started reading is Der Spielmann by Oliver Pötzsch which is supposed to be a retelling of Faustus, but i was so annoyed by the prologue already, i gave up very early on... (especially frustrating bc everybody is praising this author as a great author of historical fiction...)

In general, i think it’s very hard to write a good historical book bc there’s always a trap of wanting to be historically accurate too much so you infodump history that has no relevance to the plot. Sometimes it’s better to sacrifice historical accuracy to gain immersion. But you still have to keep it in the spirit of that time and i don’t often see that being the case :/

As for time period, love late middle age/early modern age, especially 17th century lately!

If you have any recs, i’m all ears!

20. what are things you look for in a book?

Narrative, idea and style. If the book executes one of these three factors well, it’s a solid book and i’ll like it. I mostly enjoy the narrative, how do you get the reader to your idea, the way the story is structured, the parallels, the interference of various outside and inside factors, when you can connect the dots from two different poles... it’s always fun, it makes me go all galaxy brain.

That being said, if the narrative sucks, but the sheer idea is original or universal, it can hit harder than anything else and it stays with you forever. Sometimes, a book is really bad but one quote really hits you bc it’s an idea that resonates with you. Like, i didn’t like the book Pachinko at all, but the core idea “Life is like a pachinko” still pops up in my brain all the time.

And style. I think that is what creates immersions, and what makes us reread endlessly. Like, Karamazovs wouldn’t be half as great (to me) if it wasn’t for the slightly ironic, casual and knowing narrator that breaks “the 4th wall” every now and then. When i want something that hits me emotionally, i search for Winterson’s writing bc of the style more than the plot (which is with her always a mess... sighs). Persistent and endless descriptions of grey sky, rain and snow and black-and-white mountains is what makes me fall in love with Left hand of Darkness even more than the incredibly slow plot.

And if this question is about themes, those would be: fighting against the impossible, invisible enemy, “leviathan”, man against society, of human nature, what is love, what is purpose, what is happiness, deep moral conflicts... just happy stuff to think about x)

Anyways thanks for letting me rant!

Bookish asks game

[karamazovposting]

Time to post my own considerations because the poll is officially over! But before I do that: ALYOSHA SWEEP??? I mean I guess it was kind of predictable but it still caught me off guard for some reason. He deserves it though so congrats.

Dmitri: not my pick and I don't have much to say about it either, it just doesn't feel right. He could and would say it, especially when threatening people, but I don't know.

Ivan: most obvious and logical choice to me because he's the one with the rudest language out of everyone in the whole novel but also the most boring choice to me for this exact same reason, so not my pick either.

Alyosha: very funny but maybe a little out of character so not my pick. I've read some compelling arguments though so I see where the people who chose him are coming from.

Pavel: while I do think he deserves to say "fuck" for obvious reasons, I also think he's too classy for that and wouldn't unless under specific circumstances, so not my pick. He will commit murder but draws the line at cursing, but I like the idea of him saying "fuck" or any variation of it in his last spoken words to Ivan. Dropping the only F-bomb of The Brothers Karamazov and then killing yourself would be such a power move.

Grushenka: not my pick because she doesn't strike me as someone who usually swears and cusses people out but as someone who comes up with the most soul-shattering crushing devastating elaborate ad hominems that destroy your self-esteem and change you as a person forever without having to involve curse words.

Katya: she deserves to tell someone, anyone really, to go fuck themselves. And it would be so in character. Yass queen slay.

Rakitin: probably the funniest option out of these to me to be honest, that's why I decided to include him. He could literally drop it anywhere at any moment and the other characters wouldn't even care because no one listens to him anyway and that'd be hilarious. But I definitely choose Katya so not my pick.

The narrator: another funny option (and actually my favorite option of the poll) and I like the idea of the narrator of all characters saying any variation of the word "fuck". A close second to Katya for me.

For those who said Fyodor: there's a reason why I didn't include him as an option, I felt like he would be the most obvious choice. I wouldn't pick him though because, same as Dmitri and Ivan, there would be no shock value.

I also thought about Kolya because he's fourteen and if there's one thing fourteen year old boys love it's saying "fuck" and I think it would be funny. And to the person who said that Lise would swear: you're so right and she deserves to say "fuck".

But the character that popped into my mind while I was making the poll, which I'm reserving for last, is Father Zosima. I swear (no pun intended). Just think about it. Not only would it be incredibly funny, but I think that during his meeting with the Karamazovs he should have gone hey, what the fuck? because honestly I would have. I don't know if I would pick him over Katya though, so she still remains my definitive answer. To me it just makes so much sense for her to say it.

Thank you all for participating, it was fun reading your tags and replies and I'm glad you had a blast with this poll too!

You can also specify where you would make them drop it if you want