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Literary Criticism Russian & Former Soviet Union

Dostoevsky at 200

The Novel in Modernity

edited by Katherine Bowers & Kate Holland

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Jul 2021
Category
Russian & Former Soviet Union, Eastern, 19th Century, Russia & the Former Soviet Union
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487538651
    Publish Date
    Jul 2021
    List Price
    $79.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487508630
    Publish Date
    Jul 2021
    List Price
    $79.00

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Description

Marking the bicentenary of Dostoevsky’s birth, Dostoevsky at 200: The Novel in Modernity takes the writer’s art – specifically the tension between experience and formal representation – as its central theme. While many critical approaches to Dostoevsky’s works are concerned with spiritual and philosophical dilemmas, this volume focuses instead on questions of design and narrative to explore Dostoevsky and the novel from a multitude of perspectives.

 

Contributors situate Dostoevsky’s formal choices of narrative, plot, genre, characterization, and the novel itself within modernity and consider how the experience of modernity led to Dostoevsky’s particular engagement with form. Conceived as a forum for younger scholars working in new directions in Dostoevsky scholarship, this volume asks how narrative and genre shape Dostoevsky’s works, as well as how they influence the way modernity is represented. Of interest not only to readers and scholars of Russian literature but also to those curious about the genre of the novel more broadly, Dostoevsky at 200 is pathbreaking in its approach to the question of Dostoevsky’s contribution to the novel as a form.

About the authors

Katherine Bowers is an associate professor in the Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Katherine Bowers' profile page

Kate Holland is an associate professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto.

Kate Holland's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"This is an academic book, after all, aimed at Dostoevsky specialists who already know what Dostoevsky has to say and want to analyze his texts rather than expound his message — as an academic book should."

<em>The Ormsby Review</em>

“An invaluable read for every student and teacher of Dostoevsky’s works as well as anyone interested in the poetics of the realist novel.”

<em>Canadian Slavonic Papers</em>

"The ten chapters of this exceptionally well curated volume converge at the intersection of genre and historical contingency to consider how Dostoevsky’s formal innovations emerged in response to the challenges of his time … The aim is not comprehensive coverage, but rather depth and originality of the readings, which come together into a thought-provoking conversation."

<em>The Russian Review</em>