As the matter of fact, I think not only Dostoyevsky, but most of the other big classics of pre-20th century wouldn’t be recognized.
First of all, popular genres now are; fantasy, young adult, post-apocalypses, thriller, biography and others, have nothing to do with most of the classics written. “Don Quixote” for example, doesn’t fall in neither of those genres and obviously wouldn’t get as much recognition if he had been published now, simply because only small fraction of people read this genre today.
Secondly, it feels (and maybe I’m wrong) that people now, prefer more fast-paced and filled with action books. I very often hear and read complains how certain books like “Crime and Punishment” or “Anna Karenina” are plain boring, and there is nothing going in them. As I see it, their is a tendency to value real physical dilemmas more then psychological ones.
And lastly, taking the risk to sound like an old man, it seems that less teenagers and adults become interested in reading classics. If so many people are already refuse to read some big classic, there wouldn’t be a chance for it if it was published today.
As I conclude my sad observation, I want to point out that it is only my opinion and I would be more than happy if anyone could prove me wrong.
I couldn’t disagree more.
As a counterexample, take Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s based on a 19th century classic (David Copperfield) and follows the same plot beat for beat, with the same characters recast in modern day Appalachia. It won the 2023 Pulitzer and other awards, sold well, and is widely loved.
Of course, if Crime and Punishment were written today, elements of the plot would have to be updated (the Marmeladov plotline could not happen in that way today), and Dostoevsky would no doubt have incorporated some of the fictional techniques that have been developed since. But there’s a reason why people still enjoy Crime and Punishment, and a similar book absolutely could do well.
It’s easy to get trapped in a genre and think that everything is fantasy or YA. But literary fiction exists, and many very good writers are trying to produce today’s version of Anna Karenina or Crime and Punishment with varying success.
Demon Copperhead took me a solid 2-3 months to read ( a chapter or two every night) but it was such an amazing read.
It’s probably one of those reads that stay with you for a lifetime - totally changed my perspective on how expensive it is to be poor.