Бедные люди

By Robert Forrest Burgess

Book Overview

When Poor Folk was first published in 1846, Dostoyevsky -- one of nineteenth-century Russia's most important authors -- was just twenty-four years old. The novel brought him immediate critical and public acclaim. A poignant societal and physiological sketch, Dostoyevsky's masterpiece is written in the form of letters of correspondence between two characters, both trapped within the poverty and circumstance of St. Petersburg's slums. Makar is a writer struggling to survive; Varvara, a low-paid seamstress. The two are in love, but too poor to marry. They long for respect, but can't even muster enough for themselves.
Written during the initial stirrings of the Russian realism movement, Poor Folk is a vivid portrait of society's everyman. A work that is both beautiful and tragic, it unravels an unforgettable tale of the human condition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486456617
• ISBN13: 9780486456614
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Poor Folks is a good place to begin your acquaintance with the great novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Russia has always had a sad history but has been enriched by great novelists such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. In this fine edition of "Poor Folks and Other Stories" we see the young fledgling writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky producing a fine book. He was only 22 years of age winning plaudits for his future career by the influential literary critic Belinsky. Dostoevsky is not only a great Russian writer but one of the handful of great...

Dostoevsky's Genius apparent in this early work

What a beautiful and tragic work. I am a lifelong fan of Dostoevsky's work and this is no exception. While "The Brothers Karamazov" and "Crime and Puhishment" are his most noted achievements, and rightfully so, it is a wonder to me how much insight he had into the human condition at such an early age. This work demonstrates his understanding of the human condition: our need for love and basic necessities of life. What...

The life of the poor is like Makar Devushkin's boots.

Dostoevsky's graphic portrayal of the struggles of the poor is set in St. Petersburg, Russia around 1840. The two main characters are Makar Devushkin, a wretched, 40ish, impoverished scribe in the Tsar's civil service, and, Verenka Alexeyevna, an intelligent, sickly, orphaned teenager. In "Poor People" the desperate struggles of that the poor are psychological laid bare. They have no safety net, no patron to keep them...

An excellent intro to Dostoevsky: a glimpse into a poor soul

"Poor Folk" is a brilliant piece, especially considering that it was written by a 22-year-old Dostoevsky. I don't know how he came up with such characters (none of them resemble himself, except, perhaps, Pokrovsky) or how such a young writer could possibly fathom the depths of the suffering souls he himself created. One will immediately sympathize with Makar Andreich Devushkin in his striving to please and serve his beloved...

Not a conventional love story

This moving story is presented as a series of letters between two fantastically poor Russian lovers. I have never before been confronted with the reality of such poverty as was faced by the down-trodden copywriter and gracious seamstress of pre-revelutionary St Petersburg. Dostoyevsky's intimate portrait of devotion despite the constant battle of poverty charts the everyday battle for survival and dignity. He conveys...