The Double
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Published: 12 - 2024
Opinion: The Romanian version of the book: "The Fool" or "The Madman", which is not totally wrong, gave me a different expectation about the book. I don't like the old formulations in this novel but overall the experience of the character is quite interesting. The adventure of the Goliadkin(this name you will appear a lot), the main character, is supposed to be a psychological one because he meets a person looking exactly like him. The author call this double Goliadkin Junior, which is quite funny. Coming back to the other title, Goliadkin is really a madman, he behaves strange, and finally he becomes crazy when he is out of control because he is replace by its double. The movies with the same name "The Double(2013)" has similarities with the book. My conclusion is I don't want to be like Goliadkin Senior, to be replace by my double and I will take action more frequently without the hesitation of the character. Anyway without becoming a "snake" how the double is compared in the movie and taking advantages of an honest person with not so much courage.
Crime and Punishment
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Published: 1 - 2025
Opinion: Crime and Punishment, a war between freedom and imprisonment, between guilty and unguilty, between lie and truth. Raskolnikov, the main character of the book, is going through a series of thoughts and testing that don't give him peace. After he killed a pawnbroker along with her sister(this is actually a mistake of him of which he's sorry) he pleads unguilty hoping he will escape of punishment. The police doesn't have evidence for his deed so he can't be arrested. Later on, after a series of actions who convinced him that he can't live in lie anymore, he decides to surrender and admit the truth. There are some aspects of the book specific to the 18th century period, which are consider important to mention. The first one, the relationship of Raskolnikov's sister, Dunia, with his fiance Lujin, a rich man but way more older than the girl. Their relationship is no based on love and hopefully she will not marry him. Another controversial relationship of Svidrigailov, another rich man who was about to marry with a minor girl, but in the end he kill himself. And finally Sonia, a beautiful lady pushed to prostitute because of poverty, who will start a new life with Raskolnikov after he will finish his punishment. In the end I recommend watching the movie directed by Josef von Sternberg in 1935, which sticks to the book very well, even some details are missed.