>>>>>>>>>>I'm not sure which books I have read most often. "The World According To Garp", "The Catcher in the Rye", and "Crime and Punishment" all have to be up there.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>Is 'Crime and Punishment' a full edition?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Full in what sense? It seems full enough to me. The most recent, and best, edition I have is the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I meant that many famous books are printed in USA in brief version, i.e. text reduced by few times. If you have a full edition, it should be a big folio, then I have another question. Did you read it in entirety?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Yes, of course I read it in its entirety. The edition I mentioned runs to 551 pages. Karamazov is even longer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I'm not sure which U.S. editions of famous books you are referring to. There are abridged versions but the full versions are readily available as far as I know.
>>>>>
>>>>>You are the only person I ever seen (no kidding) who was able to read a Dostoyevsky's book in entirety.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>You should meet more people <g>. Taste is individual, of course, but to me he is the best writer ever apart from Shakespeare. Dostoyevsky had a mad Russian soul and a vivid writing style that comes through even in translation.
>>>>
>>>>Hmmm, interesting. You are Russian by birth, aren't you? Is this a case of a prophet being without honor in his own country? Or is it his nationalism you don't like?
>>>
>>>Firslty, I'm not Russian by birth, though Russian is my native language. Dostoyevsky has never been considered as a representative of 'Russian soul' (maybe except ultranationalist fringe), and by most accounts he is more popular on West (probably by that 'oh these awful Russians' perception) than for Russian-speaking readers.
>>>PS: I can't figure out where did you find that 'vivid' style.
>>
>>
>>There is definitely some cultural or national aspect to this which I admit I still don't get. Not saying right or wrong, just seeing it in a different way.
>>
>>As far as vivid style, I will let people form their own opinions. Those you haven't scared off already <g>.
>
>It wasn't my intention to scare anyone. If you want to see a book really showing Russian character then read 'Dead Souls', though I'm unsure if good translation available.


I have the one by Bernard Guilbert Guerney. We agree, it's a terrific book. You won't get me to agree that any Russian writer was better than Dostoyevsky but that doesn't mean he was the only one.