Memoirs from the House of the Dead

Memoirs from the House of the Dead

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Jessie Senior Coulson, Ronald Hingley

366 pages· 2001· ISBN 9780192838681
Join Readfeed freeFind clubs reading this bookBrowse readable books
About
In this almost documentary account of his own experiences of penal servitude in Serbia, Dostoevsky describes the physical and mental suffering of the convicts, the squalor and the degradation, in relentless detail. The inticate procedure whereby the men strip for the bath without removing their ten-pound leg-fetters is an extraordinary tour de force, compared by Turgenev to passages from Dante's Inferno. Terror and resignation - the rampages of a pyschopath, the brief serence interlude of Christmas Day - are evoked by Dostoevsky, writing several years after his release, with a strikingly uncharacteristic detachment. For this reason, House of the Dead is certainly the least Dostoevskian of his works, yet, paradoxically, it ranks among his great masterpieces.

Discuss Memoirs from the House of the Dead with other readers

Join or start a book club for Memoirs from the House of the Dead on Readfeed. Live chat, shared reading progress, and AI discussion questions — free to get started.

Sign up freeBrowse book clubs

Frequently asked questions

How do I join a book club for Memoirs from the House of the Dead?

Sign up free on Readfeed, then browse public clubs or start your own club with Memoirs from the House of the Dead as the current read. Invite friends with a share link and discuss together with live chat and AI discussion questions.

Can I discuss Memoirs from the House of the Dead with other readers online?

Yes. Readfeed book clubs let you chat live, share progress, and join discussions about Memoirs from the House of the Dead with readers worldwide — whether your club is virtual, in-person, or hybrid.

Is Readfeed free?

Yes. Creating an account and joining book clubs is free. Sign up to find readers who love the same books and start discussing today.