I could never get through Dostoyevsky. I've tried, just can't do it. Your brain must be much larger, Steve. Probably a size 08, or something like that. 
Honestly, Don, if Dostoyevsky's writing was
that complex, I certainly wouldn't be able to understand it
As it happens, his main character in the novel, Prince Myshkin, is a very simple soul,
but his simplicity is akin to the great Greek philosophers, in that he makes people question themselves, their behaviour and motivations, their thoughts, their emotions; not in a confrontational Socratic manner, or in the 'looming' fashion of J.B Priestley's Inspector Goole, but in the contrast between his gentle character and theirs - like Christ, he is sometimes ridiculed by other characters for his simple ways and modes of thought, but eventually, all recognise his influence, and are fundamentally changed because of it.
Myshkin's anecdotes about his life & times are set in 'black and white', rather like the Gospels, in that they show his world to be one which focuses on the important matters of existence - compassion, empathy, and understanding.
Also, there seems, to me at any rate, a telling parallel between the moments of enlightenment that Myshkin feels before his epileptic attacks begin, and the onset of inspiration a writer or poet sometimes feels; but this is just a personal view, and may have little realistic merit; it's very well described in the novel, and could easily apply to both situations, I feel.
'The Idiot' is a simple tale, told by inspired prophet-like 'poets' - Myshkin
and Dostoyevsky.
