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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
It's with a heavy heart (I know, dramatic) that I'm DNFing this one. I'm about half-way through and not getting much out of it. I've been forcing myself to pick this up. And you know what? This isn't required reading time lol.
I LOVE Dostoevsky, but this is tedious to get through. The first few chapters were interesting, and Dostoevsky makes good insights into the prison/punishment system, but it started to get monotonous once I got a feel for the prison, the prisoners, and his arguments. By the half-way mark it gets very similar to where the plot or argument doesn't seem to be going anywhere else. If you're new to Dostoevsky, or Russian lit in general, I would not recommend this as a starting point.
I LOVE Dostoevsky, but this is tedious to get through. The first few chapters were interesting, and Dostoevsky makes good insights into the prison/punishment system, but it started to get monotonous once I got a feel for the prison, the prisoners, and his arguments. By the half-way mark it gets very similar to where the plot or argument doesn't seem to be going anywhere else. If you're new to Dostoevsky, or Russian lit in general, I would not recommend this as a starting point.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
We stan an anti-carceral king etc. I got a tad exhausted towards the end - there really is no plot, just reflection - but god, what good reflection. The frustration at popular societal demand for humility on top of punishment. The complete lack of judgment for crimes committed. The scathing indictment of men wearing uniforms to make themselves bigger. The constant sorrow at class divisions even as a member of the class who benefits. Glorious.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whoever has experienced the power and the unrestrained ability to humiliate another human being automatically loses his own sensations. Tyranny is a habit, it has its own organic life, it develops finally into a disease. The habit can kill and coarsen the very best man or woman to the level of a beast. Blood and power intoxicate ... the return of the human dignity, repentance and regeneration becomes almost impossible.
“Notes from a Dead House” – A Window into Hell, with Humanity Intact
When you pick up Dostoevsky, you expect philosophical heaviness and existential dread, right? Well, Notes from a Dead House definitely brings some of that—but what really surprised me was how human, oddly funny, and emotionally rich it is. (While randomly hating on germans??)
The book follows a man (a stand-in for Dostoevsky himself) doing time in a Siberian prison camp. It’s not plot-driven, but more like a series of snapshots—raw, vivid, and full of contradictions. These aren’t villains or saints he’s writing about. They’re just people. Sometimes brutal, sometimes strangely kind, often just trying to get through the day.
This isn’t a book about heroes or redemption arcs. It’s about men—flawed, broken, stubbornly alive—serving time in a Siberian labor camp. The days are repetitive, the suffering constant, and still, moments of tenderness and absurdity break through.
What makes the book work is Dostoevsky’s deep, quiet empathy. He doesn’t preach or pity—he just observes. And in those observations, you find weirdly touching moments, unexpected humor, and a lot of psychological insight.
He had a mother, too.
4.0. Very very Russian, sometimes very very mundane, but if you think really hard about what the characters/author are saying you find a very interesting book about how it feels to be a prisoner. Pretty much every aspect of prison life is covered. It gives readers a lot to think about.
This book takes a bit of effort to enjoy because it’s not at all plot driven, the content of the book is just the observations the narrator made in prison. Dostoevsky does an incredible job of helping the reader see things from the prisoners perspective, which makes this more engaging than his other stuff imo. You can actually empathize with the characters despite having nothing in common with them, which I think is very impressive.
If you want to read this I recommend keeping three things in mind. First, Dostoevsky was a political prisoner in Siberia, so the narrators observations and thoughts are all almost certainly his own. I think it adds an additional layer because Dostoevsky actually lived the life of the narrator in prison, so you’re essentially getting a firsthand account. Second, try and think really hard about why each scene was included. Even if you do that, some of the scenes still don’t feel necessary, but you will get a lot out of the seemingly mundane scenes if you always ask yourself why they’re there. Third, try and put yourself in the mindset of some of the characters. How would you feel if the next 15 years of your life were to be spent in the same Siberian camp? How would you feel if you were about to receive 100 lashes? All three of these things take some effort, but it makes the book so much more worthwhile.
This book takes a bit of effort to enjoy because it’s not at all plot driven, the content of the book is just the observations the narrator made in prison. Dostoevsky does an incredible job of helping the reader see things from the prisoners perspective, which makes this more engaging than his other stuff imo. You can actually empathize with the characters despite having nothing in common with them, which I think is very impressive.
If you want to read this I recommend keeping three things in mind. First, Dostoevsky was a political prisoner in Siberia, so the narrators observations and thoughts are all almost certainly his own. I think it adds an additional layer because Dostoevsky actually lived the life of the narrator in prison, so you’re essentially getting a firsthand account. Second, try and think really hard about why each scene was included. Even if you do that, some of the scenes still don’t feel necessary, but you will get a lot out of the seemingly mundane scenes if you always ask yourself why they’re there. Third, try and put yourself in the mindset of some of the characters. How would you feel if the next 15 years of your life were to be spent in the same Siberian camp? How would you feel if you were about to receive 100 lashes? All three of these things take some effort, but it makes the book so much more worthwhile.
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced