Dostoevsky
By: Yama Hotak
The books of Fyodor Dostoevsky can be found in Kabul, even though he lived in Russia more than a century ago. We visited around eight or nine bookstores and small shops selling novels. During these visits, we found some of his books in Persian (Dari) and English. Among them were Crime and Punishment, White Nights, and The Brothers Karamazov.
I was interested to know why Afghan readers, particularly young people, read Dostoevsky. What do they find in his books? What makes them interested in a Russian writer whose books were written so many years ago? We talked with some readers and bookstore owners to hear their opinions.
One young reader spoke very positively about Dostoevsky. He considered him a mature writer and admired his freedom of thinking. According to him, Dostoevsky understood people’s problems and wrote about the difficulties of life.
He said:
“I believe we should read him because he gives us the facts and teaches us how to survive and find better ways to live.”
For this young reader, Dostoevsky was not simply telling stories. He felt that the books had something to teach him about life and the difficulties people face. I found his point interesting, although other readers we met looked at the same writer differently.
We also talked with a young woman who regularly reads Dostoevsky. She called him a brilliant psychologist. She was particularly interested in Crime and Punishment and how Dostoevsky explained the thoughts of Raskolnikov after committing murder.
Raskolnikov kills a woman and later tries to justify what he has done. However, even after trying to defend his action, he cannot find peace of mind. He continues to question what he has done, and this becomes a source of suffering for him. The young woman admired the way Dostoevsky explained this situation.
When reading Crime and Punishment, I think the difficult part is not only the murder. It is what happens to Raskolnikov afterward. He tries to convince himself that he had reasons for his action, but he cannot escape from his own conscience. Dostoevsky spends a lot of time explaining these thoughts.
A bookstore owner also shared his opinion with us. He was interested in Dostoevsky’s religious beliefs and his understanding of human nature. He believed that Dostoevsky knew people’s suffering and was concerned about the problems of society.
He said:
“He was, in my opinion, a devout individual in the fullest sense of the word. I believe he was disturbed about our world.”
What interested me during these discussions was that none of them looked at Dostoevsky in exactly the same way. The young man wanted to learn from his books, while the young woman was more interested in how he described people’s thoughts. The bookstore owner, on the other hand, spoke about his religious beliefs and the suffering of people.
There was another issue during our visits that I wanted to understand. Most of the books we found were in Persian (Dari), and some were in English. We did not find Pashto translations of Dostoevsky’s books in the shops we visited.
For someone who mainly reads Pashto, this makes it harder to become familiar with Dostoevsky. Even readers who know Dari or English may find his writing difficult, particularly when he discusses complicated ideas. For example, The Brothers Karamazov is a long novel, and the conversations between its characters are sometimes complicated. Reading such a book in another language may be difficult for many people.
We also tried to find information about Pashto translations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. But we could not confirm whether any of his books were available in Pashto there. This does not mean that Pashto translations do not exist. We simply did not find them during our research.
In my opinion, Afghan translators and publishers should pay more attention to international literature. If books like those of Dostoevsky become available in Pashto, more readers could have the opportunity to read them in their own language.
Dostoevsky wrote about many problems people face in their lives. In his books, we find people who are poor, lonely, confused, or suffering because of their own actions. Some characters make serious mistakes and later try to find a way to defend themselves. Others struggle with their families, their beliefs, or their personal feelings.
I do not think his books are always easy to read. Sometimes a character speaks for a long time about one subject, and the reader needs patience to understand what he wants to say. But these discussions are also part of his writing.
In White Nights, Dostoevsky writes about a lonely young man who meets a woman and begins to hope that his life will change. He becomes attached to her, but his expectations are not fulfilled. It is a short story compared with his other novels, and it discusses loneliness and love in a different way.
In The Brothers Karamazov, he writes about the problems of a family. The father and his sons have difficult relations, and there are many disagreements between them. The book also discusses religion, responsibility, and the decisions people make.
I believe Afghan readers may understand some of the problems discussed in these books. Poverty, family disagreements, and the suffering of people are also familiar issues in Afghanistan. But I do not want to say that Russian society in Dostoevsky’s time was the same as Afghanistan. The two societies have different histories and circumstances.
During our visits and discussions, we came across or heard about the following books and short stories:
برادران کارامازوف — The Brothers Karamazov
شبهای روشن — White Nights
نازنین — A Gentle Creature (The Meek One)
یک اتفاق مسخره — An Unpleasant Predicament
رویای آدم مضحک — The Dream of a Ridiculous Man
خانم صاحبخانه — The Landlady
یادداشتهای زیرزمینی — Notes from Underground
Winter Notes on Summer Impressions
روستای استپانچیکوو — The Village of Stepanchikovo
شیاطین — Demons
رنجکشیدگان یا خوارشدگان — The Insulted and Humiliated
همزاد — The Double
The Eternal Husband
ابله — The Idiot
جنایت و مکافات — Crime and Punishment
Some of these books were available in the shops we visited, while others were mentioned during our discussions with readers. I cannot say that all these books were available in every bookstore.
Afghanistan has experienced many years of war and political changes. I believe these years of difficulties have also affected the book market and the opportunities people have to read. For many families, buying a novel is not a priority when they have other expenses to manage. During our visits, however, we still came across young readers who were interested in writers from outside Afghanistan.
In my opinion, reading these novels gives young people a chance to know how people in other societies lived and what kinds of problems they faced. It also introduces them to ideas they may not have come across before. They may agree or disagree with the writer, and this is also part of reading.
Our visits were limited to around eight or nine bookstores in Kabul. We did not interview a large number of people, and our findings cannot represent the views of all Afghan readers. We only wanted to see what was available in these shops and hear from some people who were interested in Dostoevsky.
After speaking with these readers, I understood that their interest in Dostoevsky did not come from one particular reason. Some wanted to learn from his stories, some were interested in his understanding of the human mind, and the bookstore owner was especially interested in his religious views.
I also believe that more of his books should be translated into Pashto. There are readers who would like to become familiar with international literature, and language should not prevent them from having this opportunity.
Dostoevsky lived in Russia many years ago, but his books are now available in Kabul. During our visits, we met readers who knew his writings and had their own opinions about them. For me, it was interesting to see people in Kabul discussing a Russian writer who lived so long ago. Their opinions were not always the same, but each of them had found something in his books worth reading and talking about.
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