A review by loyaultemelie
The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky

4.0

A poignant study of prison life in tsarist Russia, though this work was slow at times it was undeniably compelling. It also left me with an even deeper horror for the degradations convicts are put through. It also reminded me of the way Jean Valjean’s life as a convict was described by Hugo. Though of course Dostoevsky’s account is much more vivid and true to life. Still the parallels were fascinating, though they left me somewhat depressed.

I thought I wouldn’t enjoy this work as much as others because of my dislike for aspects of Dostoevsky’s personal, political, and religious life. Evidently I was wrong.