Which Dostoevsky Books Are Shortest For Quick Reads?

Dostoevsky is usually considered a hefty read, but I think there are some really powerful, emotional pieces by him that are small enough to finish in a day or two. Many of them I read on lazy Sundays with my coffee, while watching episodes of TV or running errands.

Start with 'White Nights' - a beautifully written, somewhat melancholic little novella (about the length of a very long short story) with a few chapters to get through within an evening or so of reading time. Then there's 'Notes from Underground', more dense but not much longer than 'White Nights', a philosophically idiosyncratic monologue or rant which displays many of the seeds of later Dostoevsky. For something with real plot drive whilst still being fairly short, Dostoevsky's 'The Gambler' is a good choice. Extremely punchy as a read and based in part upon Dostoevsky's own experiences as an addicted gambler, it's a good introduction to the author's oeuvre too.

This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, but if you like to read short little stories, you should look up ‘The Meek One’ and ‘The Dream of a Ridiculous Man’. Both are fairly short, kind of weird little stories, and Pevear & Volokhonsky do a great job of translating Dostoevsky for mood and for language; but Garnett’s a classic and easy to find as well. ‘White Nights’ is melancholy, ‘Notes from Underground’ is ideas, and ‘The Gambler’ is plot. All of these little novellas give you the full Dostoevsky experience without having to read a huge hard book, which is what I need sometimes.

For short, intense reads on my commute, I’m always on the lookout for new literary “shot” of espresso, and Dostoevsky has plenty of them in the form of novellas. Two of my favorites to re-read are Notes from Underground and White Nights. Notes from Underground is a short, furious book that announces itself with a perspective that’s sure to make you uncomfortable. It’s a chewy read that I come back to again and again. White Nights is essentially the opposite of that — a gentle, wistful, often heart-breaking tale that I like to read when I’ve spent too long in the city and it all starts to blur together outside my window.

I highly recommend “The Meek One” (also known as “A Little Citizen”), an extraordinary psychological short story, and “The Dream of a Ridiculous Man” which is an uncommonly sweet and quirky fable of redemption. There’s also “The Gambler” which is a relatively short but intense and very engaging story. My preference for short works by Dostoevsky is for translations that are made to be very readable. Sometimes these have footnotes too. Newbies to Dostoevsky might find “Crime and Punishment” a bit too hefty to start with – read these novellas first to get a feel for his style and then see if you have time for the big novels.

When I want to read some Dostoevsky, I head for his novellas and longer short stories. First, 'White Nights' – short, dreamy, read in one evening. Then 'Notes from Underground' – short but incredibly complex and philosophical as Dostoevsky’s work typically is. It’s a manifesto in the form of a long rant by a self-pitying and angry man who is also highly intelligent and sensitive. The Gambler is longer but extremely fast-paced and even in some ways a thriller, and also highly autobiographical. For very short samples of Dostoevsky’s typical work of exploring moral and psychological issues, try 'The Dream of a Ridiculous Man' and 'The Meek One'. Newcomers might read 'White Nights' first to get a feel of Dostoevsky’s style, then 'Notes from Underground' to really hear his voice, and then 'The Gambler' for lots of action and plot. Choose a recent translation which will have fewer footnotes than an older one and allow the reader to get more into the story and the characters more quickly. All these stories are quite strange, but they’ll stick with you long after you’ve finished reading them.