'I am a sick man...I am a spiteful man'

[Mir]

Maybe you could elaborate your request a little more, in terms of the characteristics guidelines for RA. Do you want something stylistically similar to Dostoevsky?

[Mir]

Erm, maybe Doris Lessing or Jean Rhys? Although their prose is not as good as Dostoevsky. I assume you've exhausted his books already?

[[deleted user]]

exactly what I need, also waiting for a nice rec or two :)

[Mir]

Hmm... Gogol?

[karen, future RA queen]

i would maybe suggest Jude the Obscure, which isn't "hard to read" in that it is challenging - writing-wise - but jude goes through a lot of shit, and it's painful to see his dreams explode. it's more social criticism than philosophical, and it gets draggy in places, but it's wonderfully bleak and one of my favorite books ever.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈]

The Stranger comes to mind. It is my favorite book because it assaults my mind every time I read it. It's a short one but excellent. I have never read anything by Dostoyevsky but I am thinking he and Camus are similar.

[Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈]

I have read it five times in my life, each at a different phase when I was going through something. The Stranger is the book I turn to when I need to be reminded of man's fragility but also resilience.

[Dee]

Pooyan wrote: "Is there any read more deeply touching , strongly written, psychologically disturbing and hard to read than Dostoevsky's..."

I think Dostoyevsky is as deep and disturbing as it gets.

But maybe try Jean Genet, The Thief's Journal? I think it's got a similar vibe.

[Sasha]

I'll contribute to the thread's resurrection. Have you tried The Contortionist's Handbook? I had similar feelings about it as with Notes from Underground. I didn't like it very much, but for the reasons that you loved the books. Hope it's right up your alley!

[Sasha]

Sure thing! I also just noticed that you're loving Dazai Osamu. I would also recommend The Woman in the Dunes by another brilliant post-WWII Japanese author. Any of them would probably appeal to you, since a lot of them say Dostoevsky was an inspiration.