Classics Considered

"That's what you're trying to eliminate, isn't it?   Everything that makes one human being different from another."  Perhaps it says the most to admit that, even so soon, I wouldn't mind watching this again. Hollywood and great authors rarely go together.  If that great author is Franz Kafka, one of my favorites, then the very concept is shaky and a good execution defies all odds.  Interestingly enough, Kafka  makes up its own concept and just goes for it.  Somehow even the pickiest of critics can find something to like about it. But can we talk about Jeremy Irons for a minute?  Portraying Kafka, he strikingly resembles Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, which is only a good thing.  More to the point, Irons is the glue that holds the show together.  The supporting cast is fine, the script is pretty good, yet he is the one who brings credibility to the setting.  His timidity and humorless perspective bring out the best parts of Gregor Samsa,...

For my next read after Brothers K, I returned to White Nights and Other Stories , which includes several Dostoyevsky short stories translated by Garnett.  This collection was a mixed bag; in spite of that, I give it a cumulative  4 out of 5 stars based on enjoyment level. The first and feature story is White Nights , a very romantic, fanciful sketch about unrequited love.  Previously, I had read some quotes from it online, and reading the entirety, I was not disappointed.  The ending was so depressing, but the story itself was bittersweet and thought-provoking.  Recommended if you want to read Dostoyevsky in a nutshell. I skipped Notes from Underground , having already read it. A Faint Heart was a psychological mystery, reminiscent of Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" which I read in September.  (Not to sound like a broken record, but it is worth mentioning that Dostoyevsky's so-called "existentialist" themes are sometimes compared to Kafka, as was ...

I finished The Brothers Karamazov  this past weekend.  From the last two parts, "Brother Ivan Fyodorovich" and "A Judicial Error," I was left with no particularly strong feelings or impressions.  It was a struggle to finish - ultimately, I rate the book 3.5 out of 5 stars , leaning towards 4 on Goodreads (which still doesn't allow you to have "half" a star.) Thinking back over this book journal - which I am glad I kept and am sorry to see end - I feel the first half of the book was very strong.  The religious chapters and scenes at the monastery were honestly my favorites.  Parts III & IV, which is to say books 7 – 12, were not so interesting, despite being highly sensational, as you come to expect from Dostoyevsky. Incidentally, this mirrors my reaction to The Idiot .  I gave that one a better rating of 4.5, and I have to say I liked that book better...I'm not sure it is a better book , but its treatment of similar themes was more compelling. ...