It can seem daunting to make one's way through a large tome such as this one. However, this version of The Idiot was so well narrated that the many nuances of the story, including the complicated Russian names, were intelligible and easy to follow.

The performance was excellent. I purchased "The Iditot" because I enjoyed both "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" enormously and found them both to be books that provoke thought. They had depth. But though I was intrigued and engaged while listening to "The Idiot", I kept hoping to see what the point of it all is, and did not see a point to it. It is almost a soap-opera like story, doesn't even have humor (the D'Artagnan books are also soap-opera-like, but there is adventure and humor). Myshkin is not an idiot, of course, and modern-day psychologists would certainly deal with him differently. At times he seems, aside from being an epileptic, like he is on "the spectrum", as we might say today. He is certainly very naive, has no concept of what love or marriage should be, and it is almost hard to believe that he wasn't exposed even through literature to some idea of what those were about in his time. It is very unclear what the purpose of developing such a character was. In the first chapter we hear him talk about the evils of capital punishment, a promising point, it is never returned to, and - I won't spoil the end, as something I read did for me - I'll just say that there would have been a point to revisit those thoughts later on but they were not at all revisited. I saw that Dostoevsky himself said that Myshkin is "the positively good and beautiful man". I don't see that. Yes, at times he was very gentle and kind, but much of what he did himself was not really considerate, maybe not intentionally, but ignorance or naïveté should not excuse all behavior. I also don't see how a person can be considered so good if he does nothing of any value with his life. Once he returns to Russia, even with his illness, he could have found something useful to do. He claimed he loved children and got along with them so well. Why didn't he volunteer to work at an orphanage? Being a supposed "prince" should not absolve him of needing to do something useful in the world, certainly not if you want to claim he is the model of goodness. I've seen him referred to as "Christ-like". Nah. I don't see that at all.
I started out hoping to be enthralled once again, but was not.

This was a good story and it moves along at a decent speed which is remarkable in Russian literature. I've read some and listened to some, and I'm finally convinced that it is too dense to enjoy as an audiobook. It just turns you around. And because the patronymics are not clearly laid out, the first half of the audiobook is spent trying to figure out which goes with which character. It is a good story and the characters are good, but I almost feel that it could have been a novella, it is so odd and charming but gets weigh laid with heavier material in the middle.

Really food dialogue throughout touching on those key elements Dostoevsky always includes in his works, primarily morals/ethics, religion. Additionally, memorable characters and rich characterization. At times tough to get through but well worth it.

This was an outstanding translation and performance of the famed novel the idiot. I highly recommend it.

I've read The Idiot twice before, the last time about three years ago. The thing with Russian literature (note: I'm a huge fan of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Bulgakov), is that it's super easy getting confused with various plot lines, character arcs, and the lack of clarity (at least for me) with where the overall narrative is going. The Idiot is in my "top 5" list of favorite novels, so I was curious whether listening to it versus reading it might bring the narrative a little more to life for me.

Well, not really. Though I don't blame this version for it. The narrator did an outstanding job with the various characters and with the overall storytelling. He has a nice voice that just kinda sucks you in.

The story is wonderful though - I'm not going into the plot, because the novel is less about the particulars of the story than it is about the ideas conveyed. Can a truly good man (or woman) exist in the world without becoming corrupted? Are we cursed to a life of sorrow and suffering because of our past sins? Are we evil people who do good things or the other way around? Etc, etc. Some of the ruminations about the existence of God, the Catholic Church, and the
Nature of evil are incredibly deep and profound, and as ever applicable to our day and age as the were in Dostoevsky's time.

This book demands engagement, in order to fully appreciate it. I would recommend listening to the audiobook while following along with the written text in order to grasp the full weight of this masterpiece.

This is indeed one of the best books, simply ever. The narration was incredibly well done; I highly recommend it and it's worth every minute of the 23 hours.

I think this narrator is immensely talented and often listen to him. I have to subtract a star for the voices of Nastasha and Ippolet who are central characters.

The book is excellently written. The story is compelling, the characters are exquisite, and the prose is of the highest standard. However, modern readers will likely want for excitement, as the plot proceeds through discussion and the intent behind words rather than deeds.

Would rank in the top ten-

It is a one of a kind book .....

He does a good job of separating the many characters

A bit of both, a really deep book-requires some focus or you quickly loose continuity-

Well worth the effort - much insight to be gleaned-