{"product_id":"a-curse-on-dostoevsky-isbn-9781590515471","title":"A Curse on Dostoevsky","description":"\u003cb\u003eReading Dostoevsky in Afghanistan becomes “crime without punishment”\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRassoul remembers reading \u003ci\u003eCrime and Punishment \u003c\/i\u003eas 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis 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, \u003ci\u003eA Curse on Dostoevsky \u003c\/i\u003ealso portrays the resilience and wit of Afghani women, an aspect of his culture that Rahimi never forgets.\u003cp\u003e\"A darkly comic meditation on life in a lawless land…In restrained prose, Rahimi explores both the personal and the political; it’s both in dialogue with a classic and is daringly outspoken.\" —\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"In a rare imaginative feat, Rahimi renews many of Dostoevsky’s original psychological insights and opens piercing new ones.  Unforgettable.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist (Starred) Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Rahimi does a masterful job both in echoing Dostoevsky and in updating the moral complexities his protagonist both creates and faces.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e“\u003c\/i\u003eRahimi turns his attention to \u003ci\u003eCrime and Punishment\u003c\/i\u003e and juxtaposes literature against the Muslim world in Kabul, the themes of civil war, chaos, sin, guilt and redemption for Afghani women again being the theme. ‘Crime without punishment?’” —\u003ci\u003eElectric Literature\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Atiq Rahimi brilliantly re-imagines \u003ci\u003eCrime and Punishment\u003c\/i\u003e and, in a daring feat of creative panache, transplants Dostoevsky’s classic morality tale to modern-day Afghanistan. This is easily Rahimi’s most imaginative and complex work yet, and should cement his reputation as a writer of great and unique vision.” —Khaled Hosseini, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Kite Runner\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eA Thousand Splendid Suns\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Atiq Rahimi, like the great story tellers of Afghanistan, is a master of using a small moment to tell the sweeping story of the pain and loss of war.  In \u003ci\u003eA Curse on Dostoevsky\u003c\/i\u003e he yet again imprints images in the memory, as he captures both the unspeakable absurdity of the Afghan civil war and the ingenious ways Afghans have found to move beyond it.” —Qais Akbar Omar, author of \u003ci\u003eA Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “\u003ci\u003eA Curse on Dostoevsky\u003c\/i\u003e is a dark window into a troubled land, and the imprints that land leaves on an individual soul. For that point alone, it is worth reading.” –\u003ci\u003eThe Cleveland Plain Dealer\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Here, Atiq Rahimi sings an incandescent, raging story, which dissects, in a highly sensitive way, the chaos of his homeland and the contradictions of his people.” —\u003ci\u003eL’Express\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “In the light of the Russian writer, [Rahimi] describes his country so that we may understand it like we never have before. His latest novel isn’t only breathless, beautiful, and strong, it is indispensable…He dared—and succeeded.” —\u003ci\u003eLe Point\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAtiq Rahimi \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in Afghanistan in 1962 and fled to France in 1984, where he has become an award-winning author (2008 Prix Goncourt) and filmmaker (2004 Prix un certain regard, Cannes). The film adaptation of his novel \u003ci\u003eThe Patience Stone, \u003c\/i\u003ewhich he co-wrote and directed, was selected as the Afghan entry for the 2012 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In recent years, he has returned to Afghanistan many times to set up a writers’ house in Kabul and offer support and training to young writers and filmmakers. He lives in Paris.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolly McLean \u003c\/b\u003eis a freelance translator from Oxford, England. Winner of the 2009 Scott Moncrieff Prize, she has translated titles by Catherine Deneuve and Sylvia Kristel, as well as the award-winning \u003ci\u003eSecret \u003c\/i\u003eby Philippe Grimbert.The moment Rassoul lifts the axe to bring it down on the old woman’s head, he thinks of \u003ci\u003eCrime and Punishment. \u003c\/i\u003eHe is thunderstruck. His arms shake; his legs tremble. And the axe slips from his hands. It splits open the old woman’s head, and sinks into her skull. She collapses without a sound on the red and black rug. Her apple-blossom patterned headscarf floats in the air before landing on her fat, flabby body. She convulses. Another breath, perhaps two. Her staring eyes fix on Rassoul standing in the middle of the room, not breathing, whiter than a corpse. His \u003ci\u003epatou \u003c\/i\u003efalls from his bony shoulders. His terrified gaze is lost in the pool of blood, blood that streams from the old woman’s skull, merges with the red of the rug obscuring its black pattern, then trickles toward the woman’s fleshy hand, which still grips a wad of notes. The money will be bloodstained.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMove, Rassoul, move!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTotal inertia.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRassoul?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat’s the matter with him? What is he thinking about? \u003ci\u003eCrime and Punishment. \u003c\/i\u003eThat’s right—Raskolnikov, and what became of him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut didn’t he think of that before, when he was planning the crime?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApparently not.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr perhaps it was that story, buried deep within, which incited him to murder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOr perhaps…Or perhaps…what? Is this really the time to consider it? Now that he’s killed the old woman, he must take her money and jewels, and run.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRun!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe doesn’t move. He just stands there. Rooted to the spot, like a tree. A dead tree, planted in the flagstones of the house. Still staring at the trickle of blood that has almost reached the woman’s hand.","brand":"Other Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300095086821,"sku":"NP9781590515471","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781590515471.jpg?v=1767720396","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/a-curse-on-dostoevsky-isbn-9781590515471","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}