The story of one of the greatest Russian writers is told in an innovative style by Peter Leithart in his book Fyodor Dostoevsky. Rather than using the conventional approach of a biographer, Leithart has chosen to portray Dostoevsky through a series of fictionalized conversations which reflect to some extent the style of Dostoevsky’s own works, as well as the atmosphere of brooding melancholy which pervades them.
The book starts with some scenes from Dostoevsky’s early life. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was 15, and his father died two years later, possibly having been murdered by his tenants. He was in the military for a few years before leaving and becoming a writer. At the age of just 24 he became a literary celebrity after publication of his novel “Poor Folk”, but his membership of a liberal intellectual group led to his arrest and death sentence which was commuted after a mock execution into a prison term in Siberia. His years of prison suffering strengthened his Christian faith and informed his later writing which included such masterpieces as “Crime and Punishment” and “The Brothers Karamazov”.
I read Peter Leithart’s book because I wanted to get a greater understanding of Dostoevsky and his background. I think this book does provide a greater understanding, but the problem with the fictionalized format is that I am not really sure of where the border between fact and fiction lies. Having said that, any historical work necessarily reflects the author’s imagination to a greater or lesser extent, and in the present case the extent of the author’s imagination is more apparent than in a conventional biography.
I received a review copy of the book from Booksneeze.