The Adolescent

By Fyodor Dostoevsky, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky

The narrator and protagonist of Dostoevsky’s novel The Adolescent (first published in English as A Raw Youth) is Arkady Dolgoruky, a na•ve 19-year-old boy bursting with ambition and opinions. The illegitimate son of a dissipated landowner, he is torn between his desire to expose his father’s wrongdoing and the desire to win his love. He travels to St. Petersburg to confront the father he barely knows, inspired by an inchoate dream of communion and armed with a mysterious document that he believes gives him power over others. This new English version by the most acclaimed of Dostoevsky’s translators is a masterpiece of pathos and high comedy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 18, 2007
• ISBN: 9780307428110

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born in Moscow in 1821. He died in 1881 having written some of the most celebrated works in the history of literature, including Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov.

Reviews for The Adolescent

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Verhaal in de ik-persoon van een jongeman die voor zijn vrijheid kiest en met een welbepaald idee rondloopt. Eerst ruime uitleg over zijn vader en moeder. Allemaal bijzonder breedvoerig en niet echt interessant, daarom lectuur opgegeven na 60 blz

[maxernst11 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Verhaal in de ik-persoon van een jongeman die voor zijn vrijheid kiest en met een welbepaald idee rondloopt. Eerst ruime uitleg over zijn vader en moeder. Allemaal bijzonder breedvoerig en niet echt interessant, daarom lectuur opgegeven na 60 blz

[charlie68_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not an easy read but a work of genius. Shades of other books by Dostoyevsky, so if your a fan it's a interesting tale.

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a fairly decent Dostoyevsky book, which parts that highly stimulated my interest and attention. However, it was a little long-winded in parts and it dragged on for bit too long. Nevertheless, although I don't consider it among Dotoyevsky's finer works, it is still a good novel.3 stars.

[hadriantheblind · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book has been overlooked to an astonishing degree, even by fans of Dostoyevsky, and perhaps I could understand why. But it is not bad by any means - compared to the rest of his books, a merely interesting book can seem awful in comparison.

The plot concerns an adolescent (although the translation is still up for a fine-tuned debate) who is illegitimate and something about a mysterious letter. It is not exactly full of the grand philosophy and debate that Dostoyevsky employs, but what he does have is still as good as ever. The narrator's voice is surprisingly convincing. The ambition and soul of a ninteteen year old is well done.

Worth reading if you're already a fan of Dosty. I would not recommend this to people who are not used to him yet, though.

[clara53_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I waited a number of days after finishing this book to gather my thoughts and to be able to give justice to Dostoyevksy's genius in this remarkable novel, which is not as well known as "Crime and Punishment", "Brothers Karamazov", and "The Idiot"... And still I think I would fail at this task. I was, of course, overjoyed to have read it in original. The language is remarkable. Dostoyevksy's craft of describing his protagonist's sentiments, aspirations and ruminations is unparalleled. It's rare to see agony manifested in a more poignant way. We also come to know of the author's own thoughts on many problems of his day. In short, was quite an experience to be immersed in this novel.

[lafincoff · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Gosh. I feel so conceited, judging the work of dostoyevsky. lol. I pulled into Fyodor with The Idiot, of course, as I had severe temporal lobe epilepsy also for years. I read so many other of his works and other Russian authors, even giving my son a Russian varriant spelling and nick-name. How to start? Well, I didn't finish this one. I re-checked it out once, but still couldn't finish it. I gave it three stars, as I mean to check it out again before I die and attempt to finish it. While some of the material was eerily sweetly familiar, I still found myself tiredly plowing through another schism of acute self-consciousness. Which is the point, this is a novel titled, "The Adolescent". Yet, yet, ....... Three stars, and I'll attempt to finish it some other day. I was interested to the point of taking notes, before I gave up.

[carlislemlh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I find Dostoevsky compelling in general. Yet, this novel was a challenge to finish. So much chaos! But that is his main point: depicting the chaos of the time.