Review by Choice Review
Cassedy (Univ. of California, San Diego) sees the question of Dostoevsky and religion as more complex than the critical record has heretofore allowed. Taking issue with those who find in Dostoevsky's writings a strident defense of Russian Orthodox Christianity, Cassedy argues that Dostoevsky left "a large body of thought on religion, one that probes the foundations of religion in general and Christianity in particular but without offering a plausible worldview of its own." Because Dostoevsky did not leave behind him a definitive statement about religion, the best one can do is talk about "what he does when the topic of religion comes up in his writing." Though this book works when contextualizing how readers of Dostoevsky's day might have viewed his attitudes toward religion, Cassedy's superficial readings of the novels are problematical. They give almost equal weight to the often-contradictory voices of the opposing characters in order to prove the slippery nature of Dostoevsky's religious views. This approach levels crucial distinctions and fails to account for larger patterns of consistent thought and philosophy that indeed support orthodox readings of Dostoevsky's Christianity. ^BSumming Up: Optional. Comprehensive graduate and research collections. D. Pesta Oklahoma State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
