Demons

Name: Demons
ISBN: 9787542651013

(俄国)费奥多尔·陀斯妥耶夫斯基Shanghai Joint Publishing Company · ChinaMar 2016

4.4

Word count: 534K words
Chapters: 31
ISBN: 9787542651013

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Demons is the most controversial work of the great Russian writer Dostoevsky. It portrays a gallery of old-style liberal intellectuals of the 1840s and socially radical youth of the early 1870s. Stepan Trofimovich represents the liberal intellectuals, possessing social conscience and a reverence for truth, goodness, and beauty, yet also cowardly and ineffectual; Pyotr Verkhovensky represents the radicals, opposing the old social order and scorning the powerful, yet treacherous and ruthlessly shameless. The other protagonist, Stavrogin, is a typical Dostoevskian figure with a dual nature: base and dissolute, an extreme hedonist whose soul and body are far from Christ, yet also plagued by a nameless anxiety, sensing the beast within and his own sins. Conscious of guilt but unable to bear or redeem himself, he can only destroy his body through suicide. In this absurd world of demons, however, some perception of goodness still glimmers, faintly, in every person.

Editor's review

Demons is a core work of Dostoevsky's late period, and its intellectual depth and narrative tension remain striking today. This book is not a simple political satire but a panoramic portrait of the spiritual crisis of nineteenth-century Russian intellectuals. Using a murder in a provincial town as a thread, Dostoevsky profoundly analyzes how radicalism and nihilism erode the soul like a plague, ultimately leading to collective madness and destruction. The complex figure of Stavrogin is one of the most unsettling characters in literary history; his coldness and nihilism form the vortex of the book's tragedy. In the editor's view, reading Demons is an arduous but necessary intellectual journey. It forces readers to confront the moral abyss that follows the loss of faith and to ask where the boundaries of freedom and responsibility lie. The feverish debates and morbid psychological monologues in the book are not only a record of a particular era but also an exploration of the eternal dark side of human nature. The translation in this Shanghai Joint Publishing edition is precise in language and conveys well the original's urgent, neurotic, and philosophical style, offering Chinese readers a reliable path to this difficult masterpiece.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Deep readers with a strong interest in Russian literature and intellectual history
Readers hoping to understand nihilism, radical thought, and their social consequences
Literary enthusiasts who appreciate complex psychological portrayal and dense intellectual dialogue
Readers seeking serious philosophical reflection beyond the story level

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment or mere plot excitement
Readers impatient with lengthy political-philosophical debate and religious discussion

Reading tips

It may help to first understand the background of the nineteenth-century debate between Westernizers and Slavophiles in Russia, which clarifies the intellectual lines of the characters.
While reading, there is no need to rush toward plot advancement; focus on savoring the dialogue and monologues of the main characters (such as Stavrogin and Pyotr Verkhovensky).
After finishing the novel, one may compare it with Dostoevsky's life and other works (such as Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov) to grasp his overall intellectual vision.

About the publisher

Shanghai Joint Publishing Company China · Founded in 1986

Shanghai Joint Publishing Company focuses on humanities and social science publishing and has developed a distinctive profile in the collation and translation of classical literature and world classics. Its 258 titles in the database cover classical literature, world classics, foreign literature, literary appreciation, general biography, and modern poetry. Representative publications include the Annotated Dream of the Red Chamber by Zhiyanzhai series, as well as collected and selected works by classic authors such as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Shakespeare. Its authors and translators include Cao Xueqin, Zhiyanzhai, Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Zang Zhonglun, Zeng Siyi, Xu Zhenya, and Cao Ying. The press emphasizes the annotated collation of classic texts and the publication of authoritative translations, forming a publishing profile that spans both Chinese classical literature and world literary classics. Because public information on some details of its publishing history is limited, they are not discussed here.

版权信息
“世界名著名译文库”总序
译本序
· 第一部 ·
第一章（代引言）德高望重的斯捷潘·特罗菲莫维奇·韦尔霍文斯基生平中的若干轶事
第二章哈利太子提亲
第三章别人的罪孽
第四章瘸腿女人
第五章绝顶聪明的毒蛇
· 第二部 ·
第一章夜
第二章夜（续）
第三章决斗
第四章大家都翘首以待
第五章游艺会之前
第六章彼得·斯捷潘诺维奇到处奔忙
第七章在我们的人那里
第八章伊万王子
第九章斯捷潘·特罗菲莫维奇被抄家
第十章海盗不祥的上午
· 第三部 ·
第一章游艺会。第一部分
第二章游艺会的结局
第三章头号绯闻
第四章最后的决定
第五章女旅客
第六章费尽心机的一夜
第七章斯捷潘·特罗菲莫维奇的最后漂泊
第八章结尾
第九章在吉洪的修道室
后记

FAQ

What is the theme of Demons?

The novel's core theme is how radical nihilist thought destroys individuals and society. It explores how, after the loss of a foundation of faith, so-called "freedom" degenerates into unbridled violence, and the complex relationship between elite intellectuals and popular movements.

Why is the character Stavrogin important?

Stavrogin is the spiritual core of the book, a "demon" of noble birth and outstanding intellect whose inner life is hollow. He experimentally practices nihilism; his coldness and weariness represent an ultimate form of a certain spirit of the age, and his tragedy reveals the destructive consequences of pure rationality and the negation of all values.

Is this book relevant to today's readers?

Highly relevant. The book's depiction of the mechanisms by which extreme ideologies are generated, spread through networks, and incite collective madness has a foresight that transcends its time. It warns us that when thought is severed from moral responsibility and reverence for concrete life, no matter how noble its original intentions, it may breed terrifying "demons."

Related on WeRead

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

(俄国)费奥多尔·陀斯妥耶夫斯基 Author · Russian · 1821–1881

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881) was a Russian novelist and a major figure in nineteenth-century Russian and world literature. His works often center on the urban poor and the intelligentsia, delving into their inner conflicts amid moral dilemmas, spiritual crises, and questions of faith, with dense and tense psychological portrayal. His representative works include Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, as well as Demons, which is included on this site; Demons revolves around radical thought and social upheaval, revealing the complex entanglement of human nature and ideas. His writing is somber and weighty, and he excels at advancing plot through dialogue and monologue, exerting a profound influence on modern literature. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based only on known works and general literary knowledge.