Who is the Better Writer: Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky? (Book Battle I) (Patreon)

One of the most exciting parts of embarking upon a lifelong reading plan is your ability to weigh and compare authors.

You've met Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky on your journey so far, and you've read them both deeply enough to be qualified to rank and rate them.

The more great writers you encounter and collect on your literary journey, the more gradations of the human spirit you're able to discern. 

Ultimately, we're figuring out our personal tastes. 

Who do you like?

In this video, I have put Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky up against each other and given them a rating on the following aesthetic dimensions:

1) Characterisation

2) Pacing 

3) Language/voice 

4) Theme

Play along at home and score them with me.

Let's compare notes. 

There are no right or wrong answers. It all comes down to your personal taste. 

Timestamps:

• 0:00 who would you pick? 
• 0:15 War and Peace or The Brothers Karamazov 
• 0:30 Hadji Murat or The Idiot/The Gambler 
• 1:00 unpicking your personal taste 
• 2:00 why read difficult writers? 
• 2:50 the value of rereading  
• 5:10 my personal opinion 
• 5:15 characterisation: Tolstoy vs Dostoyevsky 
• 7:20 realism in literature  
• 8:13 pacing: Tolstoy vs Dostoyevsky 
• 8:30 my first reading of Anna Karenina  
• 10:00 why AK lovers will love Proust 
• 10:45 language/voice: Tolstoy vs Dostoyevsky 
• 12:00 how Dostoyevsky wrote C&P 
• 13:50 theme: Tolstoy vs Dostoyevsky  
• 14:50 my final personal opinion  
• 15:00 the importance of not liking certain authors  
• 15:30 let me know your ranking on each dimension

Share your scoring below!