Name: A Gentle Creature and Other Stories
Rating: 3.995677749360614 (391 reviews)
ISBN: 9780199555086

W. J. Leatherbarrow

Alan Myers

Fyodor Dostoevsky

In these stories Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality and also his own ambiguous attitude to utopianism, themes central to many of his great novels. This new translation captures the power and lyricism of Dostoevsky's writing, while the introduction examines the stories in relation to one another and to his novels.

White Nights; A Gentle Creature; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

A Gentle Creature and Other Stories

Kay so Queso

My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?

Jiya

camie⁷ 𓂃⊹ ˚ ༘`✦

“May your sky be clear, may your sweet smile be bright and serene, may you be blessed for that moment of bliss and happiness that you gave to another lonely, grateful heart!

My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man’s life?” 

kite

sofia 🪆

“You know, we thank some people for merely living at the same time as we do. I thank you for the fact that I met you, that I will remember you for all my life!”

里森

Excerpt from White Nights: And Other Stories A dreamer! Indeed I should think I do know. I am a dreamer myself. Sometimes, as I Sit by grandmother, all sorts of things come into my head. Why, when one begins dreaming one lets one's fancy run away with one-why, I marry a Chinese Prince! Though sometimes it is a good thing to dream! But, goodness knows! Especially when one has something to think of apart from dreams, added the girl, this time rather seriously. Excellent If you have been married to a Chinese Emperor, you will quite understand me. Come, listen. But one minute, I don't know your name yet. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

And Other Stories (Classic Reprint)

White Nights

thya

if the narrator was still alive he would literally be a where my hug at guy

White Nights And Other Stories The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky From The Russian by Constance Garnett CONTENTS White Nights Notes from Underground-- Part 1. underground Part 2. A propos of the wet snow A Faint Heart A Christmas Tree and a Wedding Polzunkov A Little Hero Mr. Prohartchin

The Novels of Fyodor Dostoevsky

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦?”

clementine ⤜♡→

“𝘔𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘬𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳, 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘦'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦?”

This book is the definition of:

Her: "You were a wonderful experience."

Him: "You were...everything."

In the stories in this volume, Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality and also his own ambiguous attitude to utopianism, themes central to many of his great novels.

A Gentle Creature ; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

Luke Haddon

White Nights And Other Stories by Fyodor Dostoyevsky In the stories in this volume Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality and also his own ambiguous attitude to utopianism, themes central to many of his great novels. In White Nights the apparent idyll of the dreamer's romantic fantasies disguises profound loneliness and estrangement from 'living life'. Despite his sentimental friendship with Nastenka, his final withdrawal into the world of the imagination anticipates the retreat into the 'underground' of many of Dostoevsky's later intellectual heroes. A Gentle Creature and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man show how such withdrawal from reality can end in spiritual desolation and moral indifference and how, in Dostoevsky's view, the tragedy of the alienated individual can be resolved only by the rediscovery of a sense of compassion and responsibility towards fellow human beings.

And Other Stories

Mery

In the stories in this volume Dostoevsky explores both the figure of the dreamer divorced from reality and also his own ambiguous attitude to utopianism, themes central to many of his great novels. In White Nights the apparent idyll of the dreamer's romantic fantasies disguises profound loneliness and estrangement from 'living life'. Despite his sentimental friendship with Nastenka, his final withdrawal into the world of the imagination anticipates the retreat into the 'underground' of many of Dostoevsky's later intellectual heroes. A Gentle Creature and The Dream of a Ridiculous Man show how such withdrawal from reality can end in spiritual desolation and moral indifference and how, in Dostoevsky's view, the tragedy of the alienated individual can be resolved only by the rediscovery of a sense of compassion and responsibility towards fellow human beings.

The tragedy of being a dreamer is that sometimes the dream is more real than the life waiting for you when you wake.

Sara Líf

I absolutely loved this. A great shorter introduction to Dostoevsky. White Nights isn’t a love story, it’s a portrait of loneliness. The narrator casts himself as a victim of a cold world, coping with isolation, until Nastenka enters his life. Even then, the victimhood never fully leaves him. That tension is what stays with you.

Somi Patel

'My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?' A poignant tale of love and loneliness from Russia's foremost writer. One of 46 new books in the bestselling Little Black Classics series, to celebrate the first ever Penguin Classic in 1946. Each book gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

I can’t lie bro, this was fire. Straight heat from Dostoyevsky as always, and you know what, I actually understood it this time. So that’s progress. 

The first story of the book white nights is about a nameless character who we’ve all decided to call the dreamer and finds himself in love with a girl called Nastenka. He asks her for her name, but she never asks for his 👀 Notice that. I think this story was written to portray true everlasting loneliness. That book was never truly about love, instead it was just about the depressive pits of being alone, dealing with that loneliness and the further consequences which we must tackle, for example a disinhibited attachment (check my psychology language out 😏), where you easily form attachments with strangers. It was a beautiful story, knocked offhalf a point because I wish it was longer but at the same time it’s just as meaningful as a short form story. 

As for Bobok, it was such an interesting story which I honestly don't have much to say about. I found it quite entertaining and very funny but still intruiging all the same. 

surtified™

I can’t lie bro, this was fire. Straight heat from Dostoyevsky as always, and you know what, I actually understood it this time. So that’s progress. 

The first story of the book white nights is about a nameless character who we’ve all decided to call the dreamer and finds himself in love with a girl called Nastenka. He asks her for her name, but she never asks for his 👀 Notice that. I think this story was written to portray true everlasting loneliness. That book was never truly about love, instead it was just about the depressive pits of being alone, dealing with that loneliness and the further consequences which we must tackle, for example a disinhibited attachment (check my psychology language out 😏), where you easily form attachments with strangers. It was a beautiful story, knocked offhalf a point because I wish it was longer but at the same time it’s just as meaningful as a short form story. 

As for Bobok, it was such an interesting story which I honestly don't have much to say about. I found it quite entertaining and very funny but still intruiging all the same. 



kate 

thank you aileen, you will forever leave an everlasting memory inside this book.

lytia

Tim Pendry

'White Nights' (1848) was published in a journal when Dosteoevsky was only 27 and before he was sent into Siberian exile for reading and discussing banned books in a literary circle. This novella/short story is not subversive of politics but might be considered subversive of literature. The story is both a pointed and intelligent satire of romantic fiction and an acute psychological study (as you would expect from Dostoevsky) of unconscious human manipulation and self-deception in a world of individuals yearning for something outside their given situation. The intelligence of the piece, itself hovering delicately between romanticism and realism, lies in allowing the story to be as deluded as the protagonists. It is realism about romanticism but done well within the expected tropes of the romantic. The romantic becomes part of the real. Of course, because of the way stories are necessarily constructed, we can see the ending (but no spoilers here) a mile off to the extent that even the realism that unravels the male protagonist's deluded expectation is, naturally, an inverted romanticism that is still ... romantic. The story is essentially told from the male perspective. The female in the story (Nastenka) is very young so that has to be borne in mind. It might even be a case of an author trying to answer the ancient male question of 'what do women want?' and not appreciating the answer. If 'White Nights' reminds us that Russians of the 1840s are as 'normal' in their humanity as we are, this edition also contains a much later story 'Bobok' (1873). This is a more clinical black comedy, a satire on Russian society expressed as posturing conversations between the newly dead in a cemetery. Although of much less interest to us now (unless interested in Tsarist Russian culture), the sly satire still shows a writer of genius offering us something darkly entertaining with a sting - the dead's consciousness remains for only a relatively short time and yet they still posture as they did in life. The critic Bakhtin admired the story as containing an encapsulation of all Dosteoevsky's grand themes. This may be so for the literary critic. The general reader today, however, is going to get that there are jokes but probably without getting the jokes. It is, however, still readable.

dhdhhddhhd

I read Fyodor when I was 14 and then very recently, I always relate reading any book to a specific time in my life and the emotions in the book really dictate the intensity of my emotions. I'm glad I read White Nights after I healed from losing someone close. This might have teared me to pieces if it was before or even during! The sheer loneliness of the Dreamer and the longing he felt for Nastenka and I say longing even while he was with her because I think he knew she would leave as soon as she found him, this feeling is very bitter for those who have experienced it. Amazing book, such depth in so few words.

Ayen De Jesus

White Nights is an elegy on a dreamer’s incarceration in solitude. I’ve been lamenting on how I truly feel about this book because I love when people let themselves yearn but the narrator was giving hints of incel vibes wahahaha 

this book really gets to you. altho it’s a bit confusing at first, with all the... well, yapping. but you do get a hang of it as you dive in. It's beautiful, but it's also heartbreaking bc you know the connection, love, happiness won’t last. that in the end, he's left facing his loneliness again. this book hit me right in the feels. it’s like my heart was both warmed and wounded at the same time. you get so caught up in their brief happiness, and then...oof. it’s the kind of story that stays with you, making you feel a loss that isn't even your own. it also makes you think about how sometimes we hold onto these dreams, even when they might not be realistic, and how painful it can be when they fall apart. what a touching story about how much we crave connection, how lonely we can be, and how bittersweet those fleeting moments of happiness can be. a story that sticks with you, making you think about love, loss, and the line between dreaming and reality.

Liza

Yulez

I was no prepared at all. My heart is thoroughly shattered and I am left contemplative in the end. Overall, I am unwell, and yet, I absolutely loved this. This novella is told from the pov of a complete introvert who is brought out of his shell briefly by love. I love that even though this book was written a long time ago it is still something you’re able to identify with in terms of solitude, introversion, and love.

Una obra cumbre del romanticismo psicológico. Dostoievski disecciona con una melancolía desgarradora la tragedia del idealista, como lo es el choque inevitable entre las fantasías más puras del soñador y la fría, implacable realidad.

i don’t know if i like this book or not. 

solitones

It is so expressive yet so lonely, so short yet so intense.

Heron 

Agh, White Nights really hits different. The narrator's loneliness, the softness, the way he gets overlooked again and again... it's beautiful and brutal at the same time. Loved some parts of this book though. And Nastenka... I genuinely have no words.

'Oh, Nastenka! You know, we thank some people for merely living at the same time as we do. I thank you for the fact that I met you, that I will remember you for all my life!'

Kaarthik sekar 

Agh, White Nights really hits different. The narrator's loneliness, the softness, the way he gets overlooked again and again... it's beautiful and brutal at the same time. Loved some parts of this book though. And Nastenka... I genuinely have no words.

My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?

'Oh, Nastenka! You know, we thank some people for merely living at the same time as we do. I thank you for the fact that I met you, that I will remember you for all my life!'

regarding white nights, i honestly wish i could've liked it more! i was so ready to fall in love with it, but it left me a bit disappointed. i deeply related to the dreamer's loneliness, but when from that loneliness stemmed the unrequited love – a sentiment so estranged to me – i felt less immersed. not that i wish to syndicate what an author ought to write, i have no right to that, but when you so immediately identify with a character that is so painstakingly, almost hauntingly similar to your own self... the smallest deviation from your reality will haul you back to your senses, and make you look at the character in a more objective, detached manner. so i couldn't very much pity the dreamer when nastenka left him, not in the way i pitied him when he was raving about his loneliness.

ironically enough, i think i liked bobok more (i have the penguin classics edition).

regarding white nights, i honestly wish i could've liked it more! i was so ready to fall in love with it, but it left me a bit disappointed. i deeply related to the dreamer's loneliness, but when from that loneliness stemmed the unrequited love – a sentiment so estranged to me – i felt less immersed. not that i wish to syndicate what an author ought to write, i have no right to that, but when you so immediately identify with a character that is so painstakingly, almost hauntingly similar to your own self... the smallest deviation from your reality will haul you back to your senses, and make you look at the character in a more objective, detached manner. so i couldn't very much pity the dreamer when nastenka left him, not in the way i pitied him when he was raving about his loneliness.

ironically enough, i think i liked bobok more (i have the penguin classics edition).

For me, it's just a beautifully written tale of a hopeless romantic man getting friendzoned, lol. Tho, the loneliness, longing and brief connection hits even when ends exactly how you'd expect.

A love that only lasted for a few days. Was it even love? Or were they only bonded by the discrepancies of their heart and soul? Others blamed Nastenka for rekindling hope that she would love the dreamer and someday forget about the man who promised to be with her after a year. Truly, she was wrong for not having enough patience and being impulsive. But at their first meeting, she made it clear that he must not fall for her as she is still deeply broken and her loyalty stands with the man she loves. He knew the repercussions of his feelings yet he still chose to confess.

Honestly, they're both responsible for the weight of their choices. I couldn't make worthy stands since it was them who made it so heavy.

And I was completely amazed by the passage...so well-written. The profound human emotions were there, it wasn't subtly defined! I love, love that these instances happen in real life, and the characters handled it so well. Not perfect, but real. It's just I was expecting so much because I was utterly taken by the reviews from different communities online!

jhet with an h

A love that only lasted for a few days. Was it even love? Or were they only bonded by the discrepancies of their heart and soul? Others blamed Nastenka for rekindling hope that she would love the dreamer and someday forget about the man who promised to be with her after a year. Truly, she was wrong for not having enough patience and being impulsive. But at their first meeting, she made it clear that he must not fall for her as she is still deeply broken and her loyalty stands with the man she loves. He knew the repercussions of his feelings yet he still chose to confess.

Honestly, they're both responsible for the weight of their choices. I couldn't make worthy stands since it was them who made it so heavy.

And I was completely amazed by the passage...so well-written. The profound human emotions were there, it wasn't subtly defined! I love, love that these instances happen in real life, and the characters handled it so well. Not perfect, but real. It's just I was expecting so much because I was utterly taken by the reviews from different communities online!

A Gentle Creature and Other Stories White Nights; A Gentle Creature; The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

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