The Best Short Stories of Fyodor Dostoevsky -

Dostoevsky,Fyodor

Modern Library

2001

294 páginas

9h 48m

ISBN-1: 0

This collection, unique to the Modern Library, gathers seven of Dostoevsky's key works and shows him to be equally adept at the short story as with the novel. Exploring many of the same themes as in his longer works, these small masterpieces move from the tender and romantic White Nights, an archetypal nineteenth-century morality tale of pathos and loss, to the famous Notes from the Underground, a story of guilt, ineffectiveness, and uncompromising cynicism, and the first major work of existential literature. Among Dostoevsky's prototypical characters is Yemelyan in The Honest Thief, whose tragedy turns on an inability to resist crime. Presented in chronological order, in David Magarshack's celebrated translation, this is the definitive edition of Dostoevsky's best stories.

Resenhas (1)

4 (Muito bom)

The stories often start very slowly, sometimes requiring some effort to keep going, as the narrator's wandering can get boring and confusing. The historical context can be hard to grasp as well.

However, from middle to end they can get very engaging and intriguing. The wandering can reach such depth that I often caught myself questioning which was the time Dostoevsky had written it. Many of the ideas represented can easily fit contemporaneity.

One thing that caught my attention too, was the honesty and truthfulness with which the characters deal with their flaws and social misfits. Dostoevsky seems to have had a great understanding of human psyche, as well as an interest in science overall.

I didn't always like the book, but when I did it really impressed me. Perhaps a second reading would give me a better understanding, but it doesn't appeal to me the prospect of having to endure the boring parts again.