Summary and Comments on "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary" edited by Dolinin - A valuable reference book to listen to the testimony of someone who knew Dostoevsky intimately.
Today we introduce "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary," translated by Tadao Mizuno and edited by Dorinin, published by Kawade Shobo Shinsha.
Dolinin was a prominent Soviet scholar born in 1883. He attended the University of Vienna and graduated from the University of Petersburg, and is best known for his studies of Russian literature, especially Dostoevsky.
Let's take a look at the features of this biography. Quoting from the commentary.
As the title suggests, "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary" is a collection of memories of people who lived at the same time as Dostoevsky and were close to him: his brother Andrei, his second wife Anna, his classmates from his engineering school, those involved in the Petrashevsky affair, his acquaintances during his exile in Siberia, and his literary friends. The book is a dynamic biography that vividly portrays Dostoevsky's human figure by arranging his memories, either in their original form or in excerpts, according to the period of his activities.
Kawade Shobo Shinsha, translated by Tadao Mizuno, edited by Dorinin, "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary," p. 441
What makes this biography different from others is that it is composed of words by people who were contemporaries, as the quotes indicate.
In other biographies, the biographer writes the story through Dostoevsky's works, letters, and other sources, but Dolinin does not take that approach.
The biography is unique in that it is entirely in the voices of those who had direct contact with Dostoevsky.
This allows for a different portrayal of Dostoevsky than other biographies and a more realistic view of the life Dostoevsky spent.
It was especially interesting to see what it was like when Dostoevsky was a student. Life at the engineering school in Russia back then is a spectacular environment from our current Japanese perspective. I don't think I could endure it...
Even in such a situation, Dostoevsky did not crowd with others and quietly devoted himself to reading. It was a rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of Dostoevsky as a student.
And there is one episode in particular that has left a deep impression on me. It is the story of Dmitrij Grigorovich, a friend of Dostoevsky's from his days at the Armed Forces Academy. The episode begins shortly after his graduation from the engineering school, when Grigorovich asked Dostoevsky to read his literary works to him. It is a bit long, but I will quote it.
Dostoevsky was not a great admirer, but he seemed to be quite satisfied with my sketch-like work. Still, he did not like certain expressions in the chapter "The Tsuji Musician's Audience.
I wrote that part like this: "As the musician finished playing, an official threw five kopeka balls out of the window, which fell at his feet. As the Tsuji musician was about to finish playing, an official threw a five-kopeka ball out of the window, and it fell at his feet."
When I read that part, Dostoevsky suddenly cut off his mouth in a jittery manner.
'No, it isn't. It isn't. Not at all! Your expression "the five kopeka balls fell at the feet of the Tsuji musician" is very blunt. You have to write it like this: ....... The ball made a metallic sound and fell to the sidewalk, bouncing a little.
I still remember this warning well, but it was a complete eye-opener for me. It is true that the metallic sound and the slight springing up of the body are much more vivid and the movement can be depicted.
I had the same level of artistic sensitivity as other people, so I could fully understand the difference between a blunt expression and a vivid literary expression just by saying that the five kopeka balls did not just fall down, but rolled around with a metallic sound and a slight spring. I could fully understand the difference between a blunt expression and a vivid literary expression.
Kawade Shobo Shinsha, translated by Tadao Mizuno, edited by Dorinin, "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary," p. 66-67
Some line breaks have been made.
This episode took place several years before Dostoevsky's debut in the literary world.
It was an episode that made me realize how carefully the young Dostoevsky worked on each word, and for me, it was also an episode that made me realize that this is the kind of art that a literary artist deals with.
The appeal of this biography is that it offers a different perspective from previous biographies.
This biography may not be a good first read either, but it is a very useful biography if you want to know Dostoevsky from a different perspective.
These are "Dostoevsky: Recollections of a Contemporary," edited by Dolinin.
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