Blog The Person Behind the Face: Review of Elif Batuman’s ‘The Idiot’ LRR, April 11, 2020February 8, 2025 By Samantha Bertolino The title Batuman chose is emblematic of Dostoevsky’s 19-century novel, in which Knyaz Myshkin’s goodness and simplicity fool others into believing that he lacks intuition and intelligence. In much of the same manner, Batuman’s central character, Selin, appears at times to be kind and uncomplicated, while in… Continue Reading