Idiotul

Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin returns to Russia from a Swiss sanatorium, where he was treated for epilepsy. He is gentle, honest and naive, and St Petersburg society treats him as an idiot. He gets entangled in a triangle with Nastasya Filippovna, a beautiful, tormented woman with a scandalous past, and the passionate merchant Rogozhin, while also growing close to the young Aglaya Epanchin. Dostoevsky set out to portray a truly good man in a corrupt world and shows what happens when such goodness meets money, pride and desire. The novel builds toward a dramatic, tragic outcome.

Readers who enjoy long Russian novels with intense psychological scenes and a large cast will appreciate it. It is also a good choice for anyone interested in how fiction handles innocence, compassion and the possibility that kindness can be destructive in the wrong setting.

Deep, inward-looking, contemplative, open-ended and thought-provoking; a demanding read.

Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?