The guileless, Christlike Prince Myshkin returns to Russian high society, where his radical innocence collides with greed, wounded pride, and destructive passion to tragic ends.
Books mentioned in The Idiot (6)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: “"A month ago you were turning over the pages of your Don Quixote, and suddenly called out 'there is nothing better than the poor knight.'”
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol: “"It was Gogol, in Dead Souls, father," cried Colia, glancing at him in some alarm.”
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert: “He observed an open book on the table, Madam Bovary, and requested the leave of the lady of the house to take it with him.”
La Dame aux Camelias by Alexandre Dumas fils: “At that time Dumas-fils' beautiful work, _La Dame aux Camelias_--a novel which I consider imperishable--had just come into fashion.”
The Poor Knight by Alexander Pushkin: “I think the poet desired to embody in this one picture the whole spirit of medieval chivalry and the platonic love of a pure and high-souled knight.”
The Lion and the Ass by Ivan Krylov: “Excellency, no doubt you recollect Kryloff's fable, 'The Lion and the Ass'? Well now, that's you and I.”
Books that mention The Idiot (6)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: “"I wrote a term paper on The Idiot for my Russian Literature class" / "Back in Vegas you were reading The Idiot for like six months"”
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger: “'The Scarab Murder Case' and 'The Idiot' were together, 'Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase' lay on top of 'Fear and Trembling.'”
Babel Tower by A. S. Byatt: “Appears repeatedly in Frederica's reading lists and the burned-books scene.”
The Every by Dave Eggers: “They’re examining four versions of Dostoevsky’s The Idiot.”
The Princess Bride by William Goldman: “Can you imagine cornering Dostoyevsky and begging him for funny stuff about The Idiot?”
The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk: “I decided, after reading the unsettling essay on the spot, to buy her a copy of The Idiot instead.”