Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a name which conjures up the profile of a novelist in the minds of millions of lovers and connoisseurs of literature throughout the world who examined life from a completely different perspective and the popularity of his works has shown the timelessness of a kind that he has carved a niche for himself in the pantheon of all time greats. Russia has produced a galaxy of novelists who have left their indelible marks in the world literature. And Dostoyevsky is one of these immortal novelists.
Dostoyevsky's works belong to a genre of novels which go beyond looking at life in black and white and his novels are a journey into grey areas of the the souls of human beings. By penetrating and plumbing the psychological spaces of a man whose honour has been violated and dignity compromised, he portrayed the character in a manner which lent credibility and uniqueness. His works are explorations into human conduct in situations where he is compelled to suppress his wants and desires- his normal ambitions and aspirations. And he was supremely successful in his efforts .All the characters in his novels and stories are human beings who are out to understand the rules and laws of human development , struggling and striving to meet their distiny disregarding their personal wellbeing and happiness.
What sets Dostoyevsky's from that of others ? He distinguished himself in writing philosophically psychological novels. In his novel “ The Gambler” he portrayed the character of a man whose all consuming passion for gambling tops all other passions even the one for the lady of his love and he is the “underground “man with an excruciatingly schizophrenic personality and contradicting emotionally painful reactions. The grim human tragedy of a man who is subjecting himself to afflictions, indignity and misery with full knowledge and perfect awareness of better things but unable to enter that terrain!
Other novels of this classicist include world famous novels like Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, The Raw Youth, The Possessed and The Karmazov Brothers.