The Idiot

De: Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Richard Pevear - translator, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator

Narrado por: Peter Batchelor

Pevear and Volokhonsky may be the premier Russian-to-English translators of the era. (The New Yorker)

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky’s masterful translation of The Idiot is destined to stand with their versions of Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, and Demons as the definitive Dostoevsky in English.

After his great portrayal of a guilty man in Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky set out in The Idiot to portray a man of pure innocence. The 26-year-old Prince Myshkin, following a stay of several years in a Swiss sanatorium, returns to Russia to collect an inheritance and “be among people”. Even before he reaches home, he meets the dark Rogozhin, a rich merchant’s son whose obsession with the beautiful Nastasya Filippovna eventually draws all three of them into a tragic denouement.

In Petersburg, the prince finds himself a stranger in a society obsessed with money, power, and manipulation. Scandal escalates to murder as Dostoevsky traces the surprising effect of this “positively beautiful man” on the people around him, leading to a final scene that is one of the most powerful in all of world literature.

This audio edition of The Idiot is the only recording of Pevear and Volokhonsky's translation of Dostoevsky’s classic work. This audiobook is masterfully narrated by Peter Batchelor. Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.

©2001 Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLC

Right translation - fatal flaw

Everything is fine here, except the narrator was apparently never told how to correctly pronounce Nastasia Philipovna. As a result, I find that I cannot listen to this performance.

Wonderful translation, narration is lacking

This translation of The Idiot is much better than the Garnett version I have read. Unfortunately, the narrator of this audiobook attempts to change his voice for each character, but does so inconsistently, making it difficult to follow who is actually speaking during any of the lengthy dialogue between multiple characters. Additionally, I don’t agree with some of his choices of inflections for the characters’ utterances based on the descriptions by the author.

Genius

While not as good as the Brothers or Crime and Punishment, it is still a phenomenal book. The world lost a lot when he died young.

I should've learned my lesson

While this psychological deep-dive is one of my all-time favorite novels, the performance of Peter Batchelor completely destroyed the enjoyment factor of this magnificent translation of Dostoevsky's "The Idiot."

I listened to Peter Batchelor read David Copperfield and abhorred it, but was so excited to revisit the P&V translation, I deluded myself into thinking Batchelor would do better this time around. His mumbling, squealing, and inability to enunciate made this listen very arduous and unbearable at times.

Lastly, the very insightful and useful endnotes that the translators prepared for this version of the book are missing. Adding them as an appendix or integrating them into the text as is the case with P&V's "Anna Karenina" would be much appreciated.

Great Narration

I will not comment on the story all that much, as it fits other Dostoyevsky novels, from which I very much enjoyed. What I loved most about this recording was the narrator. He, more than any other, captures the spirit of the characters in these novels, and I look forward to purchasing the other recordings done by Vintage Classics (I really hope they do do audio versions of the other Vintage books by Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy). The voice of Rogozhin was superbly played, but all of the character voices were excellent in that regard.

the idiot - a very short review.

this was one of the most magnificent books I've ever read (heard) the narrator was very very good. the life he gave the characters he did admirably.

Incredible book, weird narration

I adore this novel and translation and would defo recommend everyone read it, but the way the narrator does voices and pronunciations is intolerable, I had to return it

Dostoevsky is the greatest author ever.

My problem lies entirely with the narration. His tone is near dead, his words are quiet, as if a mumble. He does crime and punishment as well, the pevear and volokhonsky translation, and he puts me to sleep so easily. The book was great though.

A journey with my son

This was my first reading of Dostoevsky.

My son who is a high school senior asked if we could read a book together.

I enjoy listening to an audiobook while reading along with the book. At 63 it helps with my retention and I enjoy the different voices of the narrator.

I really enjoyed this book. Except for the ending, which one could guess early on, would not end well.

I look forward to our next Dostoevsky adventure.

Fake voices

Narrator almost ruins the story by using ludicrous fake “women’s” voices throughout. Especially horrible when something serious is being said by an important woman character but he renders it in the tones of the Wicked Witch of the West or some other cartoon crone…