A review by chery
Notes from a Dead House by Fyodor Dostoevsky

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.25

I was not expecting a semi-autobiography in a philosophical book, but The House of the Dead offers a closer angle on the lives of convicts in Siberia during the harsh conditions of the 1880s, which might even change one’s perspective on life. A nobleman, Alexander Petrovich, experienced the life of peasants, and his view of his temporary life in prison raised his curiosity. Although the stories of his peers in prison can pique general interest, they feel somewhat bleak compared to other works by Dostoevsky. Perhaps I am complaining due to my inexperience with such storytelling, as the book could pass as non-fiction if told as a true story. Each character is perhaps only briefly mentioned, and therefore, I cannot recall particular details about them. Nonetheless, it is eye-opening to peek into a life so harsh and isolated, which could lead to either insanity or repentance. As Petrovich stated:

Nobody, I know, can care much about it at all except myself; but I write because I think people will understand, and because there are those who have been, those who yet will be, like myself, condemned, imprisoned, cut off from life, in the flower of their age, and in the full possession of all their strength.

And I feel that deeply.