This classic Russian novel was first published in serial form and later published as a novel. The murder of a pawnbroker and her sister becomes the main plot of the novel. A poor student from Saint Petersburg is the killer. The story tells of the mental and physical effects that follow. A simple murder plot would not make this novel a classic, but when your add a list of complex characters and commentaries on family, alcoholism, revolutionary activity, atheism, and socialism the value of this work is established.

This first Russian existentialist novel is depicted as part of the memoirs of a retired embittered man usually referred to as The Underground Man. Like many of Dostoevsky's works the Russian critics were unfavorable, because of his rejection of socialism. The author's feeling that man's needs may never be satisfied goes against Marxist philosophy. The first part of the novel gives a series of riddles that will be answered later. The second part is the actual story of the Underground Man.

The passionate confessions of a suffering soul; the brutal self-loathing of a tormented man; the scathing scorn of an alienated antihero who has become one of the greatest figures in all literature. Notes from Underground, published in 1864, introduces the moral, political, and social ideas Dostoevsky later explores in such masterpieces as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, and The Brothers Karamazov

This novella, first published in 1846, deals with the internal struggle of its main character, "our hero" Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin (which means "naked" or "insignificant.") The narrator depicts a man whose life and reputation are threatened by the appearance of a double of himself, who tries to claim his position in the Russian bureaucracy and social circle.

The first-rate collection includes "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man," "Bobok," "The Christmas Tree and the Wedding," and five other short masterpieces.

The Gambler paints a stark picture of the attractions--and addictions--of gambling. Using skillful characterization, Dostoevsky faithfully depicts life among the gambling set in old Germany. This probing psychological novel explores the tangled love affairs and complicated lives of Alexey Ivanovitch, a young gambler, and Polina Alexandrovna, the woman he loves.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Pomona Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

This early work is Fyodor Dostoyevsky s 1864 novella, Notes from Underground . Presented as part of the memoirs of an embittered and lonely ex-civil servant who loves in St. Petersburg, it is generally considered to be the first existential novel, and constitutes a vehement attack on Western philosophy. This volume is highly recommended for fans of Dostoyevsky s work, and would make for a worthy addition to any collection. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky (1821 1881) was a seminal Russian writer and philosopher. Many classic books such as this are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. We...

This indispensible text can justly be regarded as the forerunner to the great flowering of Dostoevsky's novels which was to follow. The first part of this unusual work is often treated as a philosophical text in its own right; the second part illustrates the theory of the first by means of its own fictional practice. At the same time, the reader is introduced to the phenomenon of the 'Underground Man', one of the first genuine anti-heroes in European literature.

Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg ex-student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker seemingly for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of an evil worthless parasite. Raskolnikov also strives to be an extraordinary being, similar to Napoleon, believing that murder is permissible in pursuit of a higher purpose.