North American Fans of Dostoevsky to Celebrate Bicentennial of His Birth by Virtual Party

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Admirers of the renowned Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky in North America will commemorate the 200-year anniversary of his birth by holding a special virtual birthday party, North American Dostoevsky Society President Kate Holland told Sputnik.

"We will be marking November 11th with a virtual birthday party for Dostoevsky," Holland said.

Holland explained that the birthday party celebration is part of a Dostoevsky jubilee program that has been ongoing for several months at various universities and other venues in North America.

Dostoevsky was born on November 11, 1821 in Moscow, Russia, and is author of the novels "Crime and Punishment," "The Idiot," "The Brothers Karamazov," "The Gambler," "Demons" as well as of other literary masterpieces for which he is known throughout the world.

Holland, who is Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Toronto, said she first read Dostoevsky’s novels in English during her teenage years and began reading them in Russian in her 20s.

Holland emphasized that she not only teaches a class on Dostoevsky’s works, but has worked on preserving his literary legacy throughout her life.

"What particularly appeals to me about Dostoevsky’s novels is his ability to both convey complex human psychology in universal ways that appeals to people of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Also, his ability to express the particular historical conditions in Russia in the second half of the 19th century," she said. "I am fascinated by the ways in which he conveys the challenges of modernity for his characters and the worlds they inhabit, and by his own ambivalence about the way forward for Russian society."

Holland noted that she teaches at least one course on Dostoevsky at the University of Toronto every academic year and said her students always express great interest in his legacy.

"Dostoevsky is particularly appealing to the young because of the youth of his heroes and the power with which he conveys their divided consciousness. Students are extremely engaged with Dostoevsky’s novels, his characters and the ideological problems they pose, and want to stay after class to carry on discussing them," she said.

Holland pointed out that people outside of academia often express interest in Dostoevsky’s works in very original ways. More recently, Holland said she interviewed the founders of an online Dostoevsky reading group about how his literary works benefited them during the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.

"I think interest in Dostoevsky and the classics has increased since the pandemic began and since people were locked down in their homes," she added.

Asked which of Dostoevsky’s literary masterpieces has been most popular, Holland said "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov," but added that people have also shown great interest in "The Idiot," "Demons" and "Notes From The Underground."

"'Crime and Punishment’ is always popular because of its genre; it is a work of detective fiction after all, but also an ideological thriller," she said. "Readers are fascinated by Raskolnikov’s conversion at the end of the epilogue and how the religious conclusion fits with his existential and ideological discontent through the rest of the novel."

Speaking about the readers' interest of "The Brothers Karamazov," Holland said they seem to love the novel for its family drama, the psychological explorations of the three very different brothers who are nevertheless still Karamazovs.

"The religious context and content of the novel is strange but is appealing to Western readers," she added.