This book by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (yes, I'm on something of a binge of him lately, can you blame me) is a sort of magical realist novel. By which I mean, its premise is essentially supernatural but its effect is utterly grounded.
So. Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin is a mid-ranking bureaucrat in St Petersburg, and despite his largely ineffectual attempts to climb the ladders of social status, most things are going okay for him. Until someone else shows up; someone who looks exactly like him, has just got a job in the same office, and somehow is even also called Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin. Our original protagonist initially responds to the appearance of the doppelganger with horror & despair - as you would - but soon finds himself inviting him round for a few drinks & even, when learning of Golyadkin Jr's (as he comes to be called throughout the narration) prior impoverished situation invites him to stay in his flat. Only, when he wakes the next morning, Jr is gone, but turns up at work sure enough and seems to be undertaking some complex plot to entirely humiliate, ruin & supplant Golyadkin Sr. I won't ruin the ending but that's basically the premise.
I thought this was an existentially interesting book, playing on themes of identity and authenticity to a genuinely painful degree. While in my opinion still no match to Notes from Underground, this work of Dostoyevsky's is sure to be thought-provoking and a thoroughly emotionally rollercoasterish ride of a read.
No comments:
Post a Comment