Reviews - Notes from a Dead House

120 reviews for:

Notes from a Dead House

Fyodor Dostoevsky

3.94 AVERAGE

maggiesreads's review

3.0

Not much of a plot, but really descriptive. I love how it’s written, and it’s surprisingly light considering it’s subject matter!

kwoolfre's review against another edition

4.5

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A lot of Dostoevsky wrangling with his own privilege in society. There's a scene, I can't find it, where the protagonist realizes that he'll never be a comrade to his fellow prisoners. Even though he holds such compassion for them, even though he wants so badly to be their comrade, the divisions between them just can't be crossed.

zoyanazya's review

4.25

An essential for any Dostoevesky reader. It not only helped me understand him more, I came to understand human nature a bit better to all from the dynamics and complexities of prisoners.

issa_meway's review

4.25

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

A very interesting book. It's definitely worth reading especially if you've already read other novels by Dostoevsky. Don't expect any complex plot that drives the whole book. It's more of a set of stories and insights from the prison camp. I would also sum it up as a light psychological analysis of an individual and a group and their relationship to different values like freedom. It is Dostoyevsky's most autobiographical work and is most likely inspired by his own time in the forced-labor prison camp.