Dostoyevsky's Biography

Whatever I say about Dostoyevsky's Biography by Henry Troyat will not be enough. Ever since I started managing my own blog I have conveniently evaded commenting on world classics; I just felt that the titles speak for themselves. Moreover, some of these classics are so profound and psychological; they are amazing on so many levels and I do not flatter myself to think I even understood 1/3 of them.

Dostoyevsky is one of the authors whom I greatly admire. I have read Crime and Punishment, The Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. All three novels reveal the great psychological genius of Dostoyevsky. The plot is not important, the author gives us a limited portrait of the characters' outward appearance. The most important topics in Dostoyevsky's literature are the metaphysical anguish of the soul, the conflict between God and the Church, the meaning of life, the connection children - father, all seen through the eyes of the ordinary person. What made Dostoyevsky, otherwise an aristocrat, to focus on the beggar, the prostitute, the murderer, the thief, the rapist, the atheist, etc instead of the glamorous Russian bourgeois class. Why do women always play a secondary role in his works? Where does the fascination with God and the church come from? Why focus on the metaphysical expressions of the mind? Many more questions rise in my mind and to many of them the answer was given in Henry Troyat's Dostoyevsky's Biography.

Henry Troyat is a French author, biographer, and historian from an Armenian descent. He was born in Russia in 1907 but his family fled the country due to a threat of a revolution. They settled in Paris, where Troyat received a degree in law. His rich biography includes novels about some of the most eminent Russian figures - Dostoyevsky, Pushkin, Gogol, Boris Godunov, Tolstoy, etc. For Dostoyevsky's Biography Troyat shares in an interview: Many famous people have lead a life, which is not as nearly impressive as their works. Faced with their monotonous lives, the biographer feels the incentive to romantize, invent, interpret, and even make up. Dostoyevsky's case is different. His life path is so rich, passing from infinite despair to miraculous exaltation, that the author is more likely to diminish the tones, than to exaggerate them. It seems as the life of the genial writer is his best novel. 


Having read Dostoyevsky's Biography, I would have to agree with Troyat. Dostoyevsky's life, just like his novels, was full of rises and falls. Born in an aristocratic family, the young Fyodor spent his childhood in a severe isolation. His father deprived the family from any social activity; a typical scrooge, he established an unbearable routine, where Fyodor grew up as a loner. Even as a student in St Petersburg, his father refused to send him enough money and Dostoyevsky lived in poverty. A trend that continued during a big part of his life. Hence, the constantly repeating theme of the complex relationship father - son (mostly evident in The Brothers Karamazov). When his father died, Dostoyevsky felt guilty for ever wishing his death (remember Ivan Karamazov).

The four years in prison in Siberia greatly shaped the author's character. He was accused of a betrayal against the king for his ideas; at that time movements for the abolishment of the serfdom were highly popular. Dostoyevsky portrays his sufferings in Siberia in Notes from the Dead House.

Dostoyevsky's personal life was also difficult. He felt unrequited love several times; the author willingly sacrificed his feelings to connect the women he loved to their chosen ones. These love sacrifices have found their places in his novels as well.

The great author struggled with two sicknesses - epilepsy and gambling. The first tortured his physical body, the second - his mind. As a result most of his life he spend in constant poverty, borrowing money from friends and relatives. His second wife, 24 years younger than him, supported him greatly despite the death of two of their children.

The literary career of Dostoyevsky didn't have the best start either. He was accused of copying Gogol, of  not having a talent, even of lack of understanding of the human nature. Still, the author continued writing  and proved his opponents wrong. As already mentioned, the Russian author focused on the metaphysical anguish of the sole; he didn't care about what happened to the individual. Instead, he was fascinated with the internal dialogue, the motivation; not the actual crime, but what happened before that and after that in the human mind. Dostoyevsky was in love with the Russian people. He believed them to be European prophets, meant to take care of and wake up the Western world. The clash between God and the Church and the problem of the true faith were also central in his literature. Again, mostly evident in the novel that made him famous - The Brothers Karamazov.

I can continue writing about Dostoyevsky's life and how it shaped his talent and this blog will not be enough. As for Henry Troyat, his style is amazing. Dostoyevsky's biography is far from boring and uneventful, but I believe that even if it was, Troyat would still make a masterpiece worth reading from it. Indeed, a very good novel. If you are fascinated with Dostoyevsky, just like I am, you won't let go until you finish it. Highly recommended for all of you Russian fans.

Man is the Measure of All Things - the Biography of Pericles

Protagoras, the eminent Greek philosopher and the first and most famous of the sophists said Man is the Measure of All Things. Konrad Haemmerling uses this sentence as a headline of the biography of Pericles.

Konrad Haemmerling, a German writer, was born in the end of the 19th century. With a profound knowledge and understanding of the Greek culture, norms, and traditions, he gives us the biography of the famous Athenian politician. Throughout his rule, Pericles adopts a different, peaceful politics. His regime is characterized by a stress on the development of philosophy, knowledge, and ethics. What's more, Pericles supports the construction of many of the eminent buildings in Athens, including the Parthenon. Instead of focusing on battles and conquests, the politician preaches the advantages of peace; his regime is a democratic one, where all Athenians are given an equal opportunity to participate in the political, economic, and social life. Under Pericles's courtesy flourish the works and ideas of Socrates, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, and Euripides. Unfortunately, Athens at that time is characterized by jealousy, factious actions, defamations, and greed. Pericles becomes a victim of these trends and the Athenians are deprived of one of their cleverest and most capable leaders.

To be honest, I had a difficult time reading Pericles. Haemmerling's style is rather complex to comprehend due to the large amount of thorough descriptions. Personally, I admire the author's extensive knowledge about Greek customs and traditions. Still, I was rather repelled by the extensive focus on rituals, holidays, and sacrifices, which although contribute to a comprehensive picture of the Athenian society, seemed at times repetitive and rather irrelevant to the story.

If you fancy historical biographies, you are going to enjoy Pericles by Konrad Haemmerling. However, if you are headed to the sea side, I strongly recommend you take a lighter reading. The complex philosophies about the purpose of life and death are not really compatible with the carefree life under the sun.

Catching the Wolf of Wall Street - The Sequel

Much less cynical and vulgar. Much more honest and descriptive. Catching the Wolf of Wall Street, the sequel of the famous autobiography The Wolf of Wall Street by Jordan Belfort is quite different from the first novel.

The Wolf of Wall Street was brutal and shocking, answering the vital question How to spend a billion of dollars on drugs and prostitutes? It described the senseless and corrupted life of a clever man, who used his intelligence to manage frauds with securities. We see Jordan as a ruthless alcoholic and drug addict, who doesn't value any social norms and morals - the only rule he follows is the rule of capitalism - earn as much as you can at the expense of others. The result is a disaster - he loses his family, his freedom, and his self respect.
In Catching the Wolf of Wall Street we meet a different Jordan - not the vulgar and ruthless broker, who stole more money than the GDP of a small country but a Jordan who realizes the degree of his mistakes and attempts to fix them; a Jordan filled with regret and remorse.  I enjoyed the sequel better because it is the agony and the ecstasy of a tragic character - one who became a victim of power, glory, and avarice only to be reborn a sincere, honest, and faithful man.

Catching the Wolf of Wall Street begins where the first novel left us off - excited and impatient to understand Jordan's destiny after he was detained by the police. In the sequel throughout endless interrogations with the FBI crew (including Gregory Coleman, the FBI agent obsessed with Belfort's life and the reason for his denouncement) the protagonist shares his path - from meant to be a dentist to one of the most powerful brokers in history.  In that sense Catching the Wolf of Wall Street is a manual of the destructive power of money, glory, and abundance - Belfort transformed from an innocent, naive, and ambitious boy into a ruthless man, who doesn't value any boundaries; who doesn't express any compassion or sympathy; who sacrifices his humanity in favor of the seemingly ideal and glamorous life of the rich and the successful. Quite familiar, huh?

If you thought the first novel too vulgar you will be surprised - we hardly see any of Belfort's typical language in the sequel. Here he is calmer, more patient, and most importantly SOBER. His life proves an important point - you have to hit rock bottom before you start going up. And that is what he does. Even after spending 22 months in prison, Belfort manages to use his intelligence in a constructive way - now he is a motivational orator, teaching businessmen how to earn money without sacrificing ethics and integrity. Sounds ironic coming from the Wolf of Wall Street but who knows better than the man, who lost his family, betrayed his friends, went to federal jail, and still came back?

If you are wondering how he actually looks I posted a picture. Also, I believe the movie by Scorsese will be mainly derived from the second novel, as it will encompass a conversation between Belfort and Coleman, where the former shares his experiences.

@ Amazon: Catching the Wolf of Wall Street: More Incredible True Stories of Fortunes, Schemes, Parties, and Prison

The Wolf of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort

Brutal, cynical, vulgar, shocking, mind-blowing, sincere, honest, and real - this is the world of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.  Indeed one of the best contemporary novels I have read.

Jordan Belfort was born in 1962 in the USA. He is an American author, motivational speaker, and YES ex criminal. The Wolf of Wall Street, his autobiography, focuses on his rise and fall, from one of the smartest and most powerful brokers on WallStreet in the 90s to a drug, sex, and alcohol addict.

As a 31-year old multimillionaire stockbroker Belfort owned the scandalously famous brokerage firm Stratton Oakmant. His subordinates, hungry and vulgar young brokers, were given a script written by Belfort himself to persuade investors to buy stocks over the phone. The Wolf (his nickname at the time) used the popular "pump and dump" scheme, where stocks are artificially inflated through false positive messages. Once the overvalued stocks are dumped, the stock price falls and investors lose their money. For this fraud, as well as for money laundering and drug abuse he was arrested and spend 22 months in a federal prison. For almost 10 years he lived like a rock star - during the day he managed to earn more money than the average person earns per year. During the night he spent them on drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes. It seemed Belfort was a God's favorite as he miraculously escaped death several times: flying smashed the broker landed his helicopter in the back lawn, he sunk his expensive yacht, he crashed into more than 10 cars, and he sniffed a variety of drugs enough to kill a whale.

Due to his fraud and abuses Belfort separated from his wife Nadine and his children but they are now in a good relationship and share custody. In an interview Belfort claims he lives modestly in a three bedroom house in Manhattan. I don't know about you but this doesn't really sound modest to me. Anyhow, 50% of what he earns now covers his debt to deceived investors. Belfort says he is a clean man using his powerful rhetoric skills to lift the curtain in front of the life on WallStreet in the 90s - avid, ruthless, and brutal. In addition, Belfort travels around the world as a motivational speaker, teaching people to be successful without sacrificing integrity and ethics. There is a popular saying in Bulgaria that a wolf may change its appearance but never its nature. I sincerely hope that is not Belfort's case.

At the beginning, I have to admit I was shocked by the language. It was too brutal and vulgar and I believe I haven't heard that many curses from only person even in the most dangerous ghettos. Still, as the novel progressed, I realized that this brutality is the most appropriate approach to fully understanding Belfort's world. His life was indeed shocking and provocative. When reading The Wolf of Wall Street I kept thinking: I admire his honesty, his courage, and his strength. It takes a lot of manhood to stand up to your mistakes, to share your most embarrassing secrets, to admit to pushing your wife down the stairs or nearly killing your daughter, to falling asleep in a pile of cocaine, and to deceiving hundreds of people for personal benefit. What is more, Belfort doesn't attempt to defend himself, nor to blame others for his failures. He sincerely shares his experience without hiding even the most disgusting and gross events. So if you are repelled by his vulgarity and brutality think again. Do you want a soft, romantic, Holywood-type story or do you want the real thing? Because in life, no one is going to sugar-coat it for you - this is the life of the big money and power.

There is a sequel, Catching the Wolf of Wall Street. I don't have to tell you that I can't wait to finish this post and enjoy a little bit more of Belfort's brutal and scandalous, yet addictive and unique style.


For the sake of fun trivia, you should know that his life-story is being turned into a movie by Warner Brothers and Leo DiCaprio is set to star and Martin Scorsese - to direct. Can't wait!!!