T. A. Kasatkina. ‘We will be faces/persons…’ An analytical-synthetic reading of Dostoevsky’s works

Abstract

The review is concerned with the book about Dostoevsky’s philosophical anthropology, analytical-synthetic reading as a means for its comprehension, the principles of the analysis of a work of fiction, and the levels of its interpretation and commenting. Analytical-synthetic reading suggests text analysis performed within a hermeneutic circle which means to undertake analysis of a detail in the novel’s context and of the novel in the light of the detail’s deep significance; analysis of a work intended for publication in the context of the author’s preliminary drafts and personal notes; and analysis of a text in the context of the author’s entire oeuvre. A broad typological literary and cultural context forms a background for the reviewed analysis of Dostoevsky’s works. T. Kasatkina’s integrity and insightfulness and her thorough and balanced research are enhanced by the scholar’s preoccupation with what other readers make of Dostoevsky’s works. Every one of them can discover new spaces and possibilities in reading this book, authored by a philosopher and theologist who writes with the goal of telling her own story of transformation and guiding her readers down the same path.