Fyodor Dostoevsky and Richard Pevear - Demons: A Novel in Three Parts

Pros: typical Dostoevskyian insight; great characters; very interesting ideas

Cons: can be a little wordy; some elements of the ending were tacked on

The Bottom Line: Demons is a dark novel exploring some hefty ideas with fascinating characters on a backdrop of Russian chilliness.

Review: Demons opens up with a brief exposition on the two decade long relationship between the reckless, impulsive poet, Stepan Trofimovich, and the woman who keeps him, the rich, aloof, forever exasperated landowner, Varvara Petrovna. Theirs is a strange ...

Pros: Excellent discussions of atheism, religion, life, death, and fetes.

Cons: Rather long and slow to start out.

Review: So far, I've read "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. While perusing his general section in the bookstore, I settled on "The Devils" (aka "The Demons" and "The...