Fab essay, Michael. I've love Dostoyevsky ever since reading Crime and Punishment--unforgettable. And then there's the brilliant Brothers Karamazov. The father in that novel defines how an archetype must be drawn. The father is an awful man who drives the novel with his perfidy but who also lives and breathes. Terrible as he is—we do know him. Fyodor teaches us that even archetypes do need to be fully drawn.
Ha! Yes! Agree! Love Brothers K. Agreed about the Dostoevskian archetypes. Reading a recent biography on Dost—The Saint and the Sinner—added a lot of additional context to his work as well. Like for example that Dost’s actual father was murdered by his own serfs.
Lovely braiding of your travels with Dostoevsky's life. I had a much less profound experience last year of listening to Owen Wister's The Virginian on LibriVox while mowing my lawn. It took many weeks to finish it, but there is something about listening to a story or a song while doing something else that forever shapes the meaning of it. I can't drive along the Lochsa River in northern Idaho without wanting to listen to Emmylou Harris's album Wrecking Ball. At this point I can't tell if that is because I was listening to it when I first drove over Lolo Pass to take my wilderness ranger position or if there is something about the music that uniquely suits the place.
Audiobooks are often marketed in ways that make them seem like "lesser" versions of the text, but I wonder if there might be something even more fundamental to human nature about listening to a story rather than reading it. Oral storytelling, one might argue, is a more natural form of literature -- something more in keeping with our evolution than textual storytelling. Sam had some nice thoughts about this recently on "Castalia" -- how Plato and others worried about the impact of written texts on the oral tradition and the necessary habits of memory that accompanied it.
Yes! I agree re oral tradition and spoken word. I read a lot of physical books. I love to highlight and write in the margins. But sometimes a good listening experience hits the mark. Right now for example I’m listening to an FDR biography. I listen to it while walking dogs on the side. Perfect. I love your Idaho and lawn-mowing memories. I relate.
Fab essay, Michael. I've love Dostoyevsky ever since reading Crime and Punishment--unforgettable. And then there's the brilliant Brothers Karamazov. The father in that novel defines how an archetype must be drawn. The father is an awful man who drives the novel with his perfidy but who also lives and breathes. Terrible as he is—we do know him. Fyodor teaches us that even archetypes do need to be fully drawn.
Ha! Yes! Agree! Love Brothers K. Agreed about the Dostoevskian archetypes. Reading a recent biography on Dost—The Saint and the Sinner—added a lot of additional context to his work as well. Like for example that Dost’s actual father was murdered by his own serfs.
Wow, I didn't know that. Interesting also that he names the awful father Fyodor Karamazov.
Yes! True.
Brilliant, Michael.
Thank you Mike 🙏
I've read a number of your pieces, Mr. Mohr. This one's my favourite.
Thanks Andrew! Appreciate that :)
The Camino and Crime and Punishment- what a deliciously wicked combination :)
Thank you! I enjoyed the combo!
Lovely braiding of your travels with Dostoevsky's life. I had a much less profound experience last year of listening to Owen Wister's The Virginian on LibriVox while mowing my lawn. It took many weeks to finish it, but there is something about listening to a story or a song while doing something else that forever shapes the meaning of it. I can't drive along the Lochsa River in northern Idaho without wanting to listen to Emmylou Harris's album Wrecking Ball. At this point I can't tell if that is because I was listening to it when I first drove over Lolo Pass to take my wilderness ranger position or if there is something about the music that uniquely suits the place.
Audiobooks are often marketed in ways that make them seem like "lesser" versions of the text, but I wonder if there might be something even more fundamental to human nature about listening to a story rather than reading it. Oral storytelling, one might argue, is a more natural form of literature -- something more in keeping with our evolution than textual storytelling. Sam had some nice thoughts about this recently on "Castalia" -- how Plato and others worried about the impact of written texts on the oral tradition and the necessary habits of memory that accompanied it.
Yes! I agree re oral tradition and spoken word. I read a lot of physical books. I love to highlight and write in the margins. But sometimes a good listening experience hits the mark. Right now for example I’m listening to an FDR biography. I listen to it while walking dogs on the side. Perfect. I love your Idaho and lawn-mowing memories. I relate.