Reviews

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

erika023's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

niya_velichkova's review against another edition

boring, not my cup of tea

caaruz's review against another edition

3.0

En general no fue de mi gusto, pero valió completamente la pena leer esta novela corta por la "segunda noche".

Hace mucho tiempo que no me había sentido tan identificada con un escrito. El relato del soñador es una genialidad

agn1kai's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

s3471g3r12's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This one hurt. Badly.

Shoutout to all of my fellow Situationship Survivors who relate a little too much to the Dreamer.

"She Had the World (Alternate Version)" by Panic! at the Disco is what I listened to on repeat after finishing this short story because it reminded me of Nastenka. This part in particular hits hard:

"I don’t love you
I’m just passing the time
You could love me if I knew how to lie
But who could love me?
I am out of my mind
Throwing a line out to sea
To see if I can catch a dream"

Both the Dreamer and Nastenka felt like real people because of how Dostoevsky explored their respective flaws, vulnerabilities, and contradictions. I thoroughly enjoyed his writing style, as well, which makes me excited to check out his other works once I emotionally recover from this one. 

yerimitskiki's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

xtianincapeside's review against another edition

4.0

A disconnected dreamer floats through a lonely life until he meets a woman by chance. Over the course of four nights, he falls in love with her, but the two will never be. An unrequited love story.

tjard's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

risekolnikov's review against another edition

sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

White Nights is short and sweet but it’s special. I don't think so, white night is very tragic but so beautiful how dostoevsky wrote the love story of a man, who wants a woman to play our emotional dynamics very well, Where is the amazing love journey, you can feel the vibration of love from just reading sheet by sheet everything is summarized with a few pages but you are like in the fairy tale of a love story of 1000 pages, how are all phases alunkan with melodies of beautiful words He captured the joy of falling, the feeling of nothing else in the world mattering, the moment when it doesn’t feel quite right and the heartbreak of losing it all. Love how love can open until you can't forget and only he is the one who can warm your heart's desires, the turbulence and the heartbreak of love all in around 90 pages is very impressive. I found their relationship utterly enthralling. Never have I read a book so short where I wanted two people to get together so much and also felt the maturity and understanding of why they didn’t get together and how well that was dealt with. 

Maybe you have a thought, how can someone be drunk in love if only from a odd conversation. The idea that our two main protagonists met over the space of a few nights and fell so deeply in love just from very odd conversations they had with one another had me wondering what on earth was wrong with these people. But I don't know, that's how love is. love can hit you so hard even you never talk to it. love can stab you very deeply even if you never meet, love can do anything

neshasurya's review

4.0

i read this book because a lot of my friends read and recommended it. so, this review is taken from the perspective of a fomo person (lol) and someone who is reading russian literature for the first time. 

it feels like having a private conversation with dostoevsky. this tender tale perfectly captures the essence of those nights we've all experienced—nights full of hopes, dreams, and the possibility that things may be different.  

i always love a book or film when the characters just yapping about life. so, i like this long dialogue. it feels so personal. i really enjoyed how he talks about loneliness and the wasting of one's youth. 

i find the main character so relatable. but i also think he's funny. i mean, the way he talk about himself especially the self-loathing, made me giggle.  he's literally like, "i'm not like the other guys" lol. 

but as someone who has difficulty believing in love at first sight, the way he expressed his love was silly. it must be admitted that there are a lot of beautiful and poetic sentences tho. 

honesty, it didn't depress me as much as i thought it would but i still liked it. ya... masih masuk fiksi nelangsa sih ya.