Memoirs from the House of the Dead (Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press).)
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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Read in July, 2007
I became interested in reading Memoirs after a recent trip to San Francisco, during which I had the pleasure of touring Alcatraz, the most infamous prison in the US. The desolation of its abandoned corridors and my mental image of the horror of life within its decrepit walls led me to pull Dostoevsky’s book from my shelves. Although much differed between the sun-drenched California penitentiary and the hardships of life in Siberia (with its corporal punishment and rough manual labor), the pr...more
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Read in April, 2008
Started reading this last night and am thrilled about stumbling upon a Dostoevsky that I actually feel like reading (other than Notes from Underground, which I adore).
He was sentenced to prison after having a death sentenced commuted. The book itself is written under the guise of finding the manuscripts of a dead man in Siberia.
I am extremely interested in people's experiences of pain, suffering, imprisonment/confinement, torture and so on. But only with the caveat that it isn't self e...more
He was sentenced to prison after having a death sentenced commuted. The book itself is written under the guise of finding the manuscripts of a dead man in Siberia.
I am extremely interested in people's experiences of pain, suffering, imprisonment/confinement, torture and so on. But only with the caveat that it isn't self e...more
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Read in January, 1999
recommends it for:
all and sundry!
I read House of the Dead ten years ago and it's impression has lasted as one of my all time favourites. It delves in to themes that most of us today can't appreciate along with a depth of perception about the time it was written. FD most beautifully captures the misery of prison but also the unexpected emotions that accompany loosing ones freedom. Narrator Aleksandr Petrovich sentenced for 10 years in the Gulag, a Siberian prison, for murdering his wife struggles as a nobleman. He also undergo...more
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Read in November, 2007
Dostoevsky's first book once out of the Siberian prison camp. Veiled as a novel it is his ramblings on being incarcerated. Timid to write a first person account for fear of retaliation and being thrown back to the camp, Dostoevsky writes about his fellow prison mates, the peasants and the noblemen, the hard labor, the prison administration and so on. Being a huge Dostoevsky fan I wanted to go back and read all his works from the beginning. What makes this first book so interesting is that it hol...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
Those who want to read the father of Siberian imprisonment stories
Please mentally add a half star to my rating. Skipped Poor Folks because I couldn't find it and began my travail of reading all of FD's novels with this one. As can be imagined, it had similarities with Ivan Denysovic (but covered 10 years instead of one day) and Kolyma Tales (although FD seemed to actually enjoy the stay). The fictionalized version of FD's term in a Siberian prison, he covered the many hardships endured and provided wonderful characterizations of the varied convicts he serve...more
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Read in January, 1992
This is the best book i have ever read. period. am a huge fan of Camus and Dostoyevsky, as the number of five-star ratings will attest. but this.... the story behind this book is fascinating (Dostoyevsky's being imprisoned and nearly executed for discussing a banned book/books in St Petersburg, having the sentence commuted to a stay in a prison camp in Siberia), and the sheer number of similar books that come after it attest to its importance. wonderfully read, easily approachable (in small ...more
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After I read this book, I couldn't help comparing it to One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. This book is good in it's own right if you're into these kinds of pseudo-personal historical accounts, but if you're reading it for the experiences it tries to relate or if you like to identify with a character, then I would recommend Denisovich instead. It accomplishes nearly ...more
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Read in June, 1999
'Yes, I guess I loved him too
I can still see him in my mind climbin' that hill
Did he make it to the top, well he probably did and dropped
Struck down by the strength of the will
Ain't nothin' left here partner, just the dust of a plague that has left this whole town afraid
From now on, this'll be where you're from
Let the dead bury the dead. Your time will come
Let hot iron blow as he raised the shade'
~Bob Dylan, Foot of Pride
I can still see him in my mind climbin' that hill
Did he make it to the top, well he probably did and dropped
Struck down by the strength of the will
Ain't nothin' left here partner, just the dust of a plague that has left this whole town afraid
From now on, this'll be where you're from
Let the dead bury the dead. Your time will come
Let hot iron blow as he raised the shade'
~Bob Dylan, Foot of Pride
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Buku pertama Dostoevsky setelah pengalaman Siberia-nya. Di sini segalanya dimulai. Aku baca ini, setelah 6 besar-nya Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Notes From Underground, The Idiot, The Devil, The Insulted and The Injured). Kalau diurut menurut kronologisnya, maka akan terlihat kalau Dostoevsky itu semacam ada-untuk-menyampaikan-sesuatu... He's writings are prophetic..
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Read in July, 2006
I read this book on recommendation of St. Elizabeth the New Martyr of Russia. It was her favorite book and is one of mine as well. It was written in the 1800s and is composed mainly of long, descriptive paragraphs and the thoughts of the main character occasionally interspersed with dialogue. Watching the main character change, however, from the beginning to the end, kept me engrossed.
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
All
House of the Dead is a fictionalized acount of the years Dostoevsky spent in a Siberian prison. This book is depressing, but the descriptions of the Siberian landscape are vivid, as is his acount of prison life. It's less dense and meandering than some of his other books, so it's a faster read. I think more of the person of Dostoevsky comes out in this. Really really good book.
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Life in a Russsian prison camp. Admist brutality and depressing hopelessness, prisoners manage to have piognant moments of humanity and compassion.He descends into darkness but comes out the other end. Be forewarned, there is some lanaguage in accordance with the disturbing anti-semantism of the times.
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Read in November, 2007
If any book has given me reason to stay out of prison (not that that notion needed much reinforcement) House of the Dead is certainly it. Yet the really inspirational (ugh, hate that word) part was how Dostoevsky managed to capture the humanity of those in inhuman conditions.
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Read in September, 2007
Reading this it should be remembered that it is more like a theme than a story. Dostoyevsky himself experienced prison life which I think makes this fairly trustworthy. Not his best but overall an interesting insight to the relationships of inmates in 19th century Siberia.
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A semi-fictional account of Dostoevsky's four-year term in a Siberian prison camp. 'Twas written before he reached his creative peak, but in this book you can feel him ready to break out and unleash his genius upon the world.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Dostoyevsky lovers
Intricate journey through Dostoyevsky's typical realm of despair with psychological insights into imprisonment, freedom, solitude, human adaptability, and redemption through the bars of a prison in Siberia.
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recommends it for:
the white rose staff, aleksandr solzhenitsyn
by nature, much more biographical than most of his other works, and as a result the characterization isn't as fully developed. drinking vodka in the snow might be pretty cool though
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Read in April, 2008
I technically didn't finish this one, but I'm done reading it. It was great, for being what it is. A close account of D's prison time. Insightful, and feels surprisingly timeless.
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Awesome! One of the most descriptive writers I have ever read. You can tell he was into psychology. He writes like an Edward Munch painting. Dark, cold, but strong and hopeful.
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A rare miss for Dostoyevsky, perhaps because it is too autobiographical, and lacking in alot of the rich characters and plotlines found in his more famous works...
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