It is the first novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, (translated by C. J. Hogarth) which he wrote over the span of nine months. First published in 1846, it was lauded by the influential critic Belinsky, who (among others) hailed him as the new Gogol. This book was partly inspired by Nikolai Gogol's short story The Overcoat. This novel is written in a form...More
A Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest psychological novelists in world literature. His books have been translated into more than 170 languages.
His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). (From Wikipedia & Penguin)
A Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist, Fyodor Dostoevsky was born in Moscow on 11th November, 1821. Many literary critics rate him as one of the greatest psychological novelists in world literature. His books have been translated into more than 170 languages.
His literary works explore human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed works include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). (From Wikipedia & Penguin)
Book Summary
It is the first novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, (translated by C. J. Hogarth) which he wrote over the span of nine months. First published in 1846, it was lauded by the influential critic Belinsky, who (among others) hailed him as the new Gogol. This book was partly inspired by Nikolai Gogol's short story The Overcoat. This novel is written in a form of letters of correspondence between two characters. Like "The Overcoat", the novel gives heart wrenching account of life of low income Russians in mid-nineteenth century.
Varvara Dobroselova and Makar Devushkin are second cousins twice-removed and live across from each other on the same street in terrible apartments. Devushkin's, for example, is merely a portioned-off section of the kitchen, and he lives with several other tenants, such as the Gorshkovs, whose son groans in agonizing hunger almost the entire story. Devushkin and Dobroselova exchange letters attesting to their terrible living conditions and the former frequently squanders his money on gifts for her.