Poor Folk [Paperback]

Fyodor Dostoevsky (Author), Robert Dessaix (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 16, 2009

Upon its first publication in 1846, Poor Folk was an immediate critical triumph. The influential critic Vissarion Belinsky wrote that "the novel reveals secrets about the life and character-types in Russia of a kind never dreamt of by anyone else," and the unknown twenty-five-year-old author was hailed as "the new Gogol." Composed entirely of an exchange of letters between a middle-aged copy clerk and a young seamstress who live on opposite sides of a Petersburg tenement courtyard, the novel explores the emotional and psychological effects of a threatening urban environment on the psyches of poor people struggling to survive.

Poor Folk is the natural beginning point for anyone who reads Dostoevsky, and the present translation corrects numerous errors and inaccuracies of previous English language editions. The novel occupies a position of particular interest in both history of Russian literature and Dostoevsky’s work as a whole. Several lines of development in Russian prose interest: sentimentalism, naturalism, the physiological sketch, and the phenomenon of Gogol, with whom Dostoevsky maintains a dialogue throughout the novel.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation)

From the Inside Flap

This is the first new translation of Dostoevsky's first novel since Constance Garnett's. Mr. Dessaix is not only more accurate than Garnett, but also makes an effort to deal with the sharply different styles in the epistolary novel in a consistent way. Dostoevsky made a point of saying that the style of the work was not his, but that of his letter writers--Devushkin and Varvara--and the reader will now be able to get some idea of these different styles. The translator's introduction focuses on the history of styles which Dostoevsky used in his very selfconsciously literary debut.

Written in 1845 and publised in 1846, Poor Folk is the natural beginning point for anyone who reads Dostoevsky. The novel occupies a position of particular interest and importance in both the history of Russian literature and Dostoevsky's work as a whole. Several lines of development in Russian prose intersect: sentimentalism, naturalism, the physiological sketch, and the phenomenon of Gogol, with whom Dostoevsky maintains a dialogue throughout the novel.

Robert Dessaix is the translator of The Mysterious Tales of Ivan Turgenev. He is Professor of Russian literature at the University of New South Wales.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP (January 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0882337556
• ISBN-13: 978-0882337555
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,535,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent intro to Dostoevsky: a glimpse into a poor soul, November 27, 1999

By 

Igor Otshelnik - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poor Folk and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

"Poor Folk" is a brilliant piece, especially considering that it was written by a 22-year-old Dostoevsky. I don't know how he came up with such characters (none of them resemble himself, except, perhaps, Pokrovsky) or how such a young writer could possibly fathom the depths of the suffering souls he himself created. One will immediately sympathize with Makar Andreich Devushkin in his striving to please and serve his beloved Varenka and ... well I'd rather not tell you the end. The other heart-wrenching little story inside "Poor Folk" is Varenka writing about her past (it impressed me more than any other works by Dostoevsky, I have read almost all of them). Again, I won't go into details, but this very short story about Pokrovsky and his poor father will forever be embedded in my heart! I honestly couldn't contain my tears while reading it. It probably just reminded me so much of myself and my own father! But.. you will definitely enjoy the book and will become a better person, at least for a while! Also recommended: "C&P" and "The Brothers Karamazov" (both transalted by R.Pevear & L.Volokhonsky, NOT by C. Garnett!) by Dostoevsky and Lev Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina", "Master and Man", "Forged Coupon" and, of course, "War and Peace" (trnsl. by A. Maude or Leo Wiener, again, NOT by C. Garnett).

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poor Folk, October 11, 2001

By 

Bill Churchhill (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poor Folk (Paperback)

_Poor Folk_ is Dost.'s first novel and it was a real success. On the basis of
this short novel (under 150 pp) a leading Russian literary critic at the time
(Belinsky) prophesied that Dost. would become a famous literary star. He
was certainly correct.

_Poor Folk_ is written in the form of letters between a middle aged man and
a girl/young woman (no ages are ever given). Both are very poor, simple folk.
The high degree of pathos, poverty and suffering make this a heart wrenching

read. Add to that Dost. high literary skill and you have a real classic. There
is a high degree of genuineness and hard hitting simplicity so characteristic
of Dost. But it goes beyond a mere tear jerker. The great themes of
forgiveness, human respect and dignity and relation to God are important
components of the novel. The relationship between the man and young
woman is exemplary in its love and devotion and pure chasteness (and a
testimony to the high morality of Dost., a real breath of fresh air in our
oversexed culture). It is truly that of a father and only daughter (though they
were not related at all; though never stated it was probably poverty which
prevented marriage).

Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

"How we wept together, he and I. We thought about you. He's a very nice
man, a good, kind man with deep feelings. I am sensitive to it all myself,
dearest, that's why all this happens to me - because I am so sensitive to it
all. I know my debt to you, my pet. Once I had got to know you, I began, first
of all, to know myself better and to love you. Before I knew you, my angel, I
was lonely and spent my life asleep, as it were. These villians of mine said
that even my very person was repulsive, and held me in disdain and I began
to hold myself in disdain, they said I was stupid and I really thought I was
stupid, but when you appeared you lit up my whole dark life and my heart
and soul were lit up, and peace of mind was mine and I realized that I was no
worse than others, it was just that I didn't shine in any way, there was
nothing outstanding about me, no style, but I was still a man, my heart and
thoughts were a man's. Now that I feel persecuted and humiliated by fate, I
have given myself over to the denial of my own dignity, and weighed down by
my misfortunes I have lost heart. Now that you know everything, dearest, I
humbly beg you to take no further interest in these affairs, because my heart
is breaking, and I feel sorrowful and burdened."

"You and your sad thoughts make me so despondent, my dearest. I pray to
God for you, dearest, how I pray to him!"

"Yesterday I repented before the Lord God with tears in my eyes, begging
his forgiveness for all my sins during this unhappy time"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a conventional love story, November 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: POOR FOLK (Paperback)

This moving story is presented as a series of letters between two fantastically poor Russian lovers. I have never before been confronted with the reality of such poverty as was faced by the down-trodden copywriter and gracious seamstress of pre-revelutionary St Petersburg. Dostoyevsky's intimate portrait of devotion despite the constant battle of poverty charts the everyday battle for survival and dignity. He conveys with particular profundity the humiliation faced by those at the bottom of the social pile - the characters are respected by no one, and worst of all, not even by themselves. A terrible, brilliant read.