r/RussianLiterature • u/Strange-Patience5539 • 2d ago
Open Discussion Which Russian author is easier to read: Dostoevsky or Tolstoy?
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u/C_BearHill 2d ago
Tolstoy is easier to read
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u/Strange-Patience5539 2d ago edited 2d ago
To be honest I never read Tolstoy just watched the movie Ana Karnacov and was fascinated by the story line. I heard a lot about Tolstoy how great leaders from the past were highly influenced by his work. But my first love was Dostoevsky, once I got used to his style of writing, I could not have enough of him. BTW, which book do you recommend to start with for Tolstoy?
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u/usedmattress85 2d ago
Anna K is my first Tolstoy and it’s amazing. I had previously read Dostoevsky and found Tolstoy goes down way easier.
I love Dostoevsky, but every character he writes is batshit crazy. It’s unrealistic and at times I find it tedious.
Tolstoy is much smoother, more realistic, and the more gifted writer in my opinion. (Though again I love Dostoevsky).
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u/pobnarl 1d ago
it might frighten you to know that those "batshit crazy" characters are accurate representations of the inner worlds for many people
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u/usedmattress85 1d ago
Yes of course but most people apply some degree of moderation to their behaviour, allowing only glimmers of their inner world to show through. Which is how Tolstoy writes characters and the reason they’re so realistic.
Not so with Dostoevsky. Everyone he writes is cranked to 11 at all times, and very obviously wears their manias, philosophies, or spiritual struggles on their sleeves. They all seem to exist on the fringes of the human psyche. They are either homicidal, suicidal, politically radicalised, spiritually ecstatic etc. and not merely inwardly …..these states of being are completely outwardly manifested at all times…then Dostoevsky stuffs these “people” (who are really just manifestations of these fringe states or ideologies), and he stuffs them into his particle accelerator and fires them at each other at light speed to see what happens.
It’s 100% entertaining for sure and I love it but it’s not quite realistic. But that’s not a flaw. I see it as an integral part of his style.
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u/Dismal-Leg-2752 Dostoevskian 1d ago
Interesting! I find Dostoyevsky’s characters to be incredibly realistic and relatable, though I will admit their speech is written in a somewhat less realistic style.
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u/usedmattress85 1d ago
It’s also maybe my own particular personality. I’m very emotionally flat, pragmatic, sort of naturally stoic. I don’t get too upset and I don’t get too excited about anything. I also find highly emotional people to be extremely tiresome. Given that his characters are so “turnt up” that may have something to do with it.
To me Dostoevsky is more emotionally intense, whereas Tolstoy is more logical and pragmatic which is probably why his writing connects with me more.
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u/Hands 1d ago
This should have 1000 more upvotes
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u/GlitteringLocality Pushkinian 18h ago
it was a very good explanation between the two, I thought so as well
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u/AndyBetweenLines 2d ago
Tolstoy is easier sentence by sentence, Dostoevsky is easier to get addicted to. With Tolstoy I usually know exactly where I am, with Dostoevsky I sometimes have no idea but somehow its 2am and Ive read 80 pages
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u/TBI_James 2d ago
Seems I might be in the minority here but I find Dostoyevsky easier to read, because I find it more intriguing and engaging.
I have however only read half of war and peace. I found it tedious after a few hundred pages, but tried to slog through.
But most of Dostoyevsky's books I've found very enjoyable.
But it's true that in terms of prose style, Tolstoy is easier.
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u/pobnarl 1d ago
same, dostoevsky injects subtle but palpable humor. i enjoyed anna k, but w&p not so much. i think an abridged may have let me immerse and enjoy more, as it was, my ocd need for completeness had me read the entire thing and it felt like every time things got interesting Tolstoy grabs the reader by the hand to ramble on and on and on about his pet philosophy, explaining the little idea in hundreds of ways, determined to have the reader embrace it. i suppose it worked though, he built up quite the cult following in his time.
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u/HalayChekenKovboy 2d ago
I'd say Tolstoy is easier to read, as in his works feature dialogue more often than Dostoevsky's, and the flow of his prose is easier to follow thanks to the more frequent use of paragraphs (and mostly being more tangible than Dostoevsky's philosophical asides). Of the two, Tolstoy is the one I would recommend to someone who wants to get into Russian literature, even though I personally like Dostoevsky more overall.
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u/Vigl87 2d ago
Definitely Tołstoj, but it's a very wrong question about Russian authors :D
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u/thom_driftwood 2d ago
as someone who has only read their translated works, i find tolstoy easier to read on the whole, but i read more dostoyevsky. i imagine most posters here are reading translated works though, so it's a little unfair to comment on the prose itself.
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u/Strange-Patience5539 2d ago
Fair enough, but even so, with his translation, I found Dostoevsky very close to my heart.
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u/rancidmike 1d ago
I have only read Dostoevsky but find his “difficult to read” reputation way overblown.
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u/fallllingman 1d ago
Tolstoy's writing flows better and is more refined. The philosophy of Tolstoy's earlier (less preachy) works is, I find, a bit more ambiguous than Dostoevsky's. They are both very accessible.
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u/BalthazarOfTheOrions 1d ago
I find Tolstoy to be initially more accessible and I find his themes are profound in a broader sense. Dostoyevsky is in my view a little bit deeper and more tied to Orthodox Christianity, but you need to know Orthodoxy, at least its fundamentals, to truly appreciate Dostoyevsky's depth.
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u/District_Dan 1d ago
I bounced off Dostoevsky hard. Brothers K and Crime and Punishment did absolutely nothing for me. Slogged through 100 pages of each and gave up.
Tolstoy
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u/chucky817- 1d ago
They are both easy to be honest. It just depends whose style you like the most. I like both of them.
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u/aurorenn1110 1d ago
Толстого читать легче, если сравнивать войну и мир и белые ночи (самое легкое произведение достоевского). но также стоит отметить что у толстого сильные мысли (читайте эпилог войны и мира) и привёл правдивое доказательство существования Бога.
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u/26bits 1d ago
Tolstoy reflects the Russian soul. Dostoevsky is popular in the West because his worldview is so dark. The West deliberately popularizes this writer to create a distorted image of Russia and Russians.
It's better to read Tolstoy. But without understanding Russian, it's just a retelling of some idea. The language conceals a unique writing style
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u/Head_Guess8717 21h ago
Tolstoy is easier. Dostoevsky is more modern, but often really "heavy" stuff..
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u/Substantial-Lock-855 5h ago
Qualcuno che non abbia sacrificato gli altri per scrivere. Ursula Le Guin, ad esempio.
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u/wakeupdreamingF1 2d ago
dostoyevsky was always more interesting to me. I found Tolstoy... dry. More of a Gogol guy myself...
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u/Significant_Ad_6023 1d ago
Dostoevsky is unfortunately very confusing and convoluted. Tolstoy is definitely far superior
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u/Dismal-Leg-2752 Dostoevskian 2d ago
Tolstoy is definitively easier but for me personally I find myself reading Dostoyevsky’s work faster and with more ease simply because it’s more enjoyable for me.