La mite

In Hindi, there floats an endearing term – ‘meethi churi’ . Its literal translation in English is ‘sweet knife’. And ladies and gentlemen, as you might have rightly guessed, it is fervently used, jocularly or sarcastically, for a person who hands us, our sharpest criticisms, soaked in such honeyed wo Leggi tutto

Oh my, I do love Dostoyevsky. No, not all his books but most. Here is why I like him—his characters are complicated. Nothing is simplified. His books always make you think. He doesn’t lecture, as some other Russian authors do! Here I am thinking of the story I recently read by Tolstoy! Don’t expect c Leggi tutto

لكنني رأيتها ترتقي حافة النافذة المفتوحة و تقف عليها منتصبة القامة مديرة ظهرها إليّ. محتضنة الأيقونة بيدها. فهبط قلبي فزعا و صرخت: سيدتي .. سيدتي. فسمعت صوتي و تحركت لتلتفت نحوي و لكنها لم تلتفت. بل تأرجحت و شدت الأيقونة إلى قلبها. ملقية بنفسها من النافذة. هل هي قصة حب أم قصة إكتئاب أم فقر أم قهو أ Leggi tutto

Dostoevsky is one of my favourite writers. I discovered him in my teenage years, read as many of his books as I could get my hands on, and to be honest haven't read anything else by him in a long time. I still count him as one of my favourite writers, though, more on memory than anything else. His w Leggi tutto

Although she does not leave a note, her suicide contains a message within itself, in the details. Just after she finishes praying, she jumps out of her window holding her icon. This short story by Dostoyevsky is about cruelty, desperation, manipulation, freedom and suicide, not from the perspective o Leggi tutto

"ألّا يكون للإنسان أحد في هذا العالم.. يا له من حزن!" لشد ما تعجبني شخصيات دوستويفسكي التي ترتكب الشرور، ولا ترى في التعبير عن نفسها الشريرة/ السيئة/ المريضة/.. إلخ حرجًا. فها هي تكشف ما يختلج في سويدائها للقارئ وكأنها تخاطبه هو، فترانا نغوص في نفوسها ونفهم طبيعة شرها وخيرها. أحببتها جدًا. Leggi tutto

I will not write about how much I love and admire this writer, because I have done it in every review. I guess I did it anyway... So. This was an unusual read. I don't like reading love stories that much. It has to be exceptionally written. And it mustn't focus mainly on the loving part, you know, the Leggi tutto

L’uomo del sottosuolo prende le sembianze del quarantunenne uomo del banco dei pegni che osserva in casa il cadavere della moglie, cercando di capire nel corso di un monologo di sessantatre pagine perché questa ragazza sedicenne, terribilmente giovane, giovanissima , mite e religiosa, si è suicidata. Leggi tutto

"But a loving woman, oh, a loving woman idolizes even the vices, even the villainy of her beloved being." - Fydor Doostoyevsky, The Meek One Vol N° 44 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set . This volume contains Dostoevsky's short story "The Meek One: A Fantastic Story" aka "A Gentle Creature: A Leggi tutto

Dostoyevsky knows what it's like to be on the other end, far away from morality and sanity.