A Curse on Dostoevsky: A Novel

by Atiq Rahimi

Reading Dostoevsky in Afghanistan becomes “crime without punishment”

Rassoul remembers reading Crime and Punishment as a student of Russian literature in Leningrad, so when, with axe in hand, he kills the wealthy old lady who prostitutes his beloved Sophia, he thinks twice before taking her money or killing the woman whose voice he hears from another room. He wishes only to expiate his crime and be rightfully punished. Out of principle, he gives himself up to the police. But his country, after years of civil war, has fallen into chaos. In Kabul there is only violence, absurdity, and deafness, and Rassoul’s desperate attempt to be heard turns into a farce.

This is a novel that not only flirts with literature but also ponders the roles of sin, guilt, and redemption in the Muslim world. At once a nostalgic ode to the magic of Persian tales and a satire on the dire reality of now, A Curse on Dostoevsky also portrays the resilience and wit of Afghani women, an aspect of his culture that Rahimi never forgets.

• ISBN10: 1590515471
• ISBN13: 9781590515471
• Publish Date: 4 March 2014 (first published 15 August 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Other Press LLC
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781590515471

Reviews

[Lianne]

I was approved of an ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/01/21/review-a-curse-on-dostoevsky/

A Curse on Dostoevsky is a very curious novel, sort of straddling between waking and dreaming. The novel is very internal and reminiscent of Dostoevsky’s infamous Crime and Punishment; the main character, Rassoul, from the very first page finds himself walking in Raskolnikov’s (notice that their names are similar) footsteps, undergoing a similar internal debate and torment. The internal struggles that Rassoul undergoes was probably my favourite aspect of the novel. It’s a bleak outlook, to be sure: over the course of the novel Rassoul finds himself falling into an abyss and the things he’s held on to–his fiancee, his family, his learnedness–fades away the further the reader delves into the novel. I wish events of this novel were a little clearer but the overall murkiness of Rassoul’s thoughts adds to the overall atmosphere of the novel.