Povesti i rasskazy [Novellas and Short Stories]

The genius of Dostoevsky is truly universal - in his 'small' works, as in the great novels, he acts as a subtle psychologist, and an attentive observer, and a talented satirist. His 'Uncle's Dream', 'Mister Prokharchin' and 'Honest Thief', in which more than once they saw a roll call with Gogol, are filled with bitter irony, and the life of the deep province and the Petersburg 'bottom' turned inside out makes the reader simultaneously laugh at the shortcomings of the heroes and empathize with them It was in his early stories and novellas that Dostoevsky began to develop the most important philosophical and moral themes, which would later be developed in Crime and Punishment, Demons and The Brothers Karamazov.