First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

In 1869 a young Russian was strangled, shot through the head and thrown into a pond. His crime? A wish to leave a small group of revolutionaries, from which he had become alienated. Dostoevsky takes this real-life catastrophe as the subject and culmination of Devils, a title that refers to the young radicals themselves and also to the materialistic ideas that possessed the minds of many thinking people in Russian society at the time.

The satirical portraits of the revolutionaries, with their naivety, ludicrous single-mindedness and readiness for murder and destruction, might seem exaggerated – until we consider their all-too-recognisable descendants in the real world ever since. The key figure in the novel, however, is beyond politics. Nicolay Stavrogin, another product of rationalism run wild exercises his charisma with ruthless authority and total amorality. His unhappiness is accounted for when he confesses to a ghastly sexual crime – in a chapter long suppressed by the censor.

This prophetic account of modern morals and politics, with its fifty-odd characters, amazing events and challenging ideas, is seen by some critics as Dostoevsky’s masterpiece.

The weekend has finally come! Technically, the weekend is nearly over. Yeah, apologies for another late update. The past two days have been rather busy because I was once again appointed as the best man for my friend’s wedding. I couldn’t say no of course. I hope my friend and his wife will have a happy and bountiful married life. Anyway, how was your weekend? I hope you all had a restful one. I hope that, after a long week at the office, you were able to recharge and regain some of the manna you’ve lost. I hope that you were able to rest, relax, and reflect. I hope that you were able to pursue things that you are passionate about. More importantly, I hope that everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

Woah. Technically, this is a First Impression Friday so let me marvel at it being the last day of the fifth month of the year. Time is indeed flying fast. We are already in the sixth month of the year. In a couple of days, we will be halfway through the year already. Nevertheless, I hope that the year has been good for everyone. I hope that the rest of the year will shower us with blessings and good news. But before I can transition to a new month, let me cap my May blogging month with my last First Impression Friday update. For May, I focused on the works of European literature, mainly on the works of Nobel Laureates in Literature. This journey was, as always, a wonderful and insightful one. Toward the end of the month, I pivoted to other highly esteemed European writers. I am currently reading the work of one of the most prominent names in the ambit of literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky/Dostoyevsky.

Considered one of Russia’s master storytellers, it was actually through must-read lists that I first encountered Dostoevsky; I did encounter Crime and Punishment (1866) on my many random excursions to the bookstore. Back then, I was reluctant to explore his oeuvre. It did not help that I was not as impressed as I thought I would be with Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. However, I eventually relented. After all, he is deemed by many as one of the best writers of all time. In 2016 or 2017, I read my first Dostoevsky, Brothers Karamazov (1880). I was enamored by its vivid painting of the psychological profiles of the brothers. I followed it up with Crime and Punishment in 2018. Both books left lasting impressions that made me want to explore more of Dostoevsky’s oeuvre. Since it has been a while since I last found myself in his literary territory, I included Poor People on my 2024 Beat the Backlist Challenge List.

What I did not expect was encountering another of his works, Devils (1871-1872), when I dropped by the bookstore. Devils immediately piqued my interest. First off, it was a thick book, consistent with the first two books by Dostoevsky I read; by contrast, Poor People is a slim volume. Second, its subject reminds me of other great Russian works; Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons and Dostoevsky’s own Crime and Punishment were the first works that came to mind. Third, the book is listed as one of the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. So over Poor People – I will still read it later this month – I started reading Devils. I am grateful for the introduction by A.D.P. Briggs because it reoriented me about Dostoevsky and the greatness of his works; my memory is rusty. Devils (also published as The Possessed and Demons) is considered by many pundits as one of his four masterworks published after his return from his Siberian exile; the other three are the first two books mentioned in this post and The Idiot (1869).

Originally published in serial form in the journal The Russian Messenger from 1871 to 1872, the novel first introduces Stepan Trofimovitch Verhovensky. He is an intellectual with an illustrious academic career. However, his career was cut short. In the throes of this devastating turn of events, he found himself employed by an affluent landowner widow named Varvara Petrovna Stavrogina. Stepan was originally hired to tutor Varvara’s son Nikolay Vsyevolodovitch Stavrogin. Stepan would spend two decades living with Varvara at her estate, Skvoreshniki, in the Russian countryside. As fate would have it, Stepan was in an intimate but platonic relationship with his patroness. It should also be noted that Stepan has a son, Pyotr, from a previous marriage; unfortunately, Stepan was an absentee father. These were details that Dostoevsky carefully laid out in the book’s first part; I have just finished this part.

The first part also detailed Varvara’s return from her Switzerland trip. She was troubled by the swirl of rumors surrounding her son. The gossipmongers have alleged that Nikolay was romantically involved with Liza (Lizaveta Nikolaevna Tushina), the beautiful daughter of her friend Praskovya Ivanovna. Liza and her mother were set to return to town but sans Nikolay who went to Petersburg. However, according to Praskovya, Nikolay was also involved with Darya Pavlovna (Dasha), Varvara’s young protégée. Varvara organized the marriage between Stepan and Dasha to skirt around the looming scandal. This naturally caused Stepan some distress; he reluctantly acceded to the proposal because it presented him with an opportunity that would help him settle a delicate financial dispute with his estranged son. Stepan, nevertheless, suspected that he was being used as a scapegoat to cover another man’s sin; he confided this both to his fiancée and Nikolay.

While the first part seemed and sounded simple, it was actually proliferated by the entry and introduction of several characters which I suspect would be integral in understanding and appreciating the whole story. Their roles would likely be revealed eventually. One of these mysterious characters is Marya Timofyevna Lebyadkina. She is a crippled woman and the rumor mills also had her linked with Nikolay. More details of Nikolay’s questionable actions floated to the surface as Varvara tried to dig more into his affairs. It seems like Nikolay is quite a controversial figure. This prompted Varvara to convene a meeting with all the parties involved. This gathering at her home was abruptly broken by the entry of yet another mysterious character purporting to be Nikolay; who turned out to be Pyotr Stepanovitch Verhovensky, Stepan Trofimovitch’s son.

Then quietly enters the man of the hour. Nikolay’s arrival settled many of Varvara’s questions. Alongside Pyotr, he was able to clear his and the other women’s names, much to Varvara’s relief. However, while some questions were answered, some levels of intrigue were unveiled. This made Varvara livid, prompting her to kick off Stepan from her home. The first part ended with the meeting at the Stavrogina home adjourning. This gets interesting because the first part laid out the foundations of the story. However, more questions emerged, at least on my end. From my research, I surmised that the novel had political overtones. While some of its facets were referenced in the first part, its full implications are yet to be examined. This is what I am looking forward to in the succeeding parts of the novel. I know that someone is about to die; the novel, after all, was inspired by actual events, a politically motivated murder.

I guess the novel’s political overtones cannot escape one’s notice. This is one of the reasons why the novel reminded me of Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons. Turgenev’s masterpiece was a rumination on nihilism. Nihilism, it seems, is the central figure in Devils as well. This makes the novel a scathing but reflective social and political commentary. Again, it is a fair expectation as well that the novel is an examination of the Russian spirit, something that Tolstoy and Dostoevsky’s works are renowned for. I can’t wait to see how Dostoevsky orchestrates the story. Another facet of the story that piqued my curiosity is the narrator who was narrating from his point-of-view. However, he was anonymous although he had interactions with the characters. I am wondering if it was Dostoevsky himself? Or will he be slowly unmasked as the story progressed?

How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you going to take with you this weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!