The stories in this volume demonstrate Dostoyevsky's genius for fusing caricature, irony and the grotesque to create a powerful dark humour. "The Gambler" is a breathtaking portrayal of an intense and futile obsession. Based on Dostoyevsky's own experience of financial desperation and the compulsive desire to win money, it focuses on the characters that take their places at the gaming tables of 'Roulettenburg': the outspoken, aristocratic 'Grandmamma', the mercenary Mademoiselle Blanche, the cool, mysterious Polina and Alex, the author's self-portrait; a man gripped by exhilaration and hopelessness. "Bobok" is a blackly comic satire in which a desolate writer becomes drawn into the conversations of the dead, and "A Nasty Story" is a humorous look at the disparity between a man's exaggerated ideal of himself and the sad reality.
- ISBN10 0368267369
- ISBN13 9780368267369
- Publish Date 2 October 2019 (first published 1 July 1866)
- Publish Status Unknown
- Imprint Blurb
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 102
- Language English