Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of the most famous names in world literature. Author of eleven novels, some of which are among the most acclaimed in history, Dostoevsky has been praised for his superb grasp of psychology and his interest in both philosophical and religious themes. He was born in Moscow in 1821 and published his first novel, Poor Folk, in 1846. In 1849, he was arrested for his involvement with a group of radical liberal utopians and sentenced to death by firing squad. In pure literary fashion, Dostoevsky was spared minutes before his sentence was to be carried out and instead was sentenced to 4 years labor in Siberia. After his release, he struggled for years financially but later in life he became known for his writing abilities and produced some of the masterpieces of western literature. Although he wrote eleven novels in total, Dostoevsky is primarily remembered for five: Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, and The Brothers Karamazov. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to read Demons but the other four are among the best books I've had the pleasure to read. All four novels contain some of the themes that make Dostoevsky one of the all-time great writers: his brilliantly insightful examinations into human behavior, his thoughtful views on philosophical and religious ideas, his cunning insight into his days social problems, and his devotion to having real, human characters, even when they double as philosophical archetypes. Few novels have the kind of impact as do those of Dostoevsky and here are his four best, ranked in terms of their sense of importance, characters, themes, and readability.
4. Notes From Underground
Sometimes considered to be the first existential novel because of its influence on later figures such as Jean-Paul Sarte and Friedrich Nietzsche, Notes from Underground was one of Dostoevsky's first major works. A novella split into two parts, Notes from Underground was not well-received initially, but has grown in esteem ever since. The first part of the novella comes in the form of the Underground Man's diary, which has an introduction, three main sections, and a conclusion. The diary is a fascinating portrait of a miserable man filled with conflicting urges. The underground man is a former civil servant who embraces a nihilistic view of society, leading him to become irrational and a bit paranoid. After the Underground Man shares his views on the nature of pain, suffering, logic, and other intellectual theories, Notes from Underground shifts to a an actual narrative consisting of three parts: the first deals with the man's encounter and subsequent obsession with a police officer, the second being his disastrous experience at a dinner party with his old friends, and the third part shows his complicated experiences with a prostitute. Notes from Underground is a powerful attack on the utopian and socialist ideas of Dostoevsky's time as well as an examination into the artificiality of society. The "underground" in both the title of the book and the unnamed narrator refers to his complete separation from society. A thoughtful, impacting work, Notes from Underground was the first truly great Dostoevsky work.