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White Nights and Other Stories
A timeless tale of unrequited love, 'White Nights' follows the adventures of a lonely young man who meets the beautiful Nastenka one night in Saint Petersburg. The following nights see them strike up a friendship and venture around the city while having conversations that still thrill readers and ring true today.
Also included in this collection is 'A Faint Heart', 'The Peasant Marey' and 'The Dream of a Ridiculous Man'. Packed with introspection and unique insights into the complexities of the human mind, these tales are as eye-opening as when they were first written.
Also included in this collection is 'A Faint Heart', 'The Peasant Marey' and 'The Dream of a Ridiculous Man'. Packed with introspection and unique insights into the complexities of the human mind, these tales are as eye-opening as when they were first written.
192 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2026
About the author
Fyodor Dostoevsky
3,516 books79.6k followers
Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский
(Russian)
Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.
Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .
Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.
See also:
Russian → Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский
French → Fédor Dostoïevski
French → Fiodor Dostoïevski
Spanish → Fiódor Dostoyevski
Portuguese → Fiódor Dostoiévski
Works, such as the novels Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), and The Brothers Karamazov (1880), of Russian writer Feodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky or Dostoevski combine religious mysticism with profound psychological insight.
Very influential writings of Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin included Problems of Dostoyevsky's Works (1929),
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky composed short stories, essays, and journals. His literature explores humans in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century and engages with a variety of philosophies and themes. People most acclaimed his Demons(1872) .
Many literary critics rate him among the greatest authors of world literature and consider multiple books written by him to be highly influential masterpieces. They consider his Notes from Underground of the first existentialist literature. He is also well regarded as a philosopher and theologian.
See also:
Russian → Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский
French → Fédor Dostoïevski
French → Fiodor Dostoïevski
Spanish → Fiódor Dostoyevski
Portuguese → Fiódor Dostoiévski
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 1, 2026
Saw this recommended as an approachable way to get into Dostoevsky but imo Notes From Underground is a lot more compelling.
August 12, 2026
Dreams and nightmares.
Let’s refer to “White Nights” as the dream. A lonely man walks the streets of Saint Petersburg when he meets a woman, Nastenka, on a bridge. Over the course of five nights they learn something of each other. He has a story as boring as it is, she has a story which captivates him. She is waiting for a man, who promised to marry her. Our lonely man is more than willing to help. The more they talk, the closer they get to each other. Then reality sets in.
The nightmare is “A Faint Heart.” Two men, Arkady and Vasya have been living together for the last five years. They are the best of friends, almost like brothers. It’s New Years Eve. Vasya has a secret that Arkady gets out of him. Vasya is getting married to Arkady’s old flame. Did he damage their close relationship? No, they can all live together. Vasya is happy. Vasya is grateful for his friend.
However Vasya needs to finish a task for their boss for January 2. No problem, Arkady can help. Vasya is clear, he welcomes the help but needs to finish the task himself. Can he do it? He can work all night. Does he need sleep? Time is running out?
How far can one go to get things done? Is Vasya truly happy? Or stressed beyond belief? What is his breaking point? Is this his living nightmare when too much gratitude is a bad thing?
Two stories about men in love and they can’t seem to navigate it.
Alongside these two stories are two from last years of his life. “The Peasant Marey “ (1876) and “The Dream of the Ridiculous Man” (1877) are more reflective about life. In “The Peasant Marey” a man in prison for killing his wife, recalls an incident from his childhood. As a child, he would wander the forest, beating small animals with a stick when he heard someone shout “wolf.” Scared he screamed and one of his elderly peasants, Marey, came and comforted him. Why would he do that? Was it because he was owned by his father and had to do that? Or maybe he just loved children? The man was baffled but endeared by that peasant. Of course, he never spoke to the peasant again about this incident.
The strangest of the stories is “The Dream of the Ridiculous Man.” A man was made a laughing stock throughout his life and was about to kill himself when a small child called out for help. He doesn’t help her but the incident made him stop his plan. Then he had a very strange dream about killing himself and then taken to a place and time when people all got along. Then they didn’t. Then things got worse. The dream becomes a parable. The dream became a nightmare.
I liked the first two but the latter two were oddly just okay.
Let’s refer to “White Nights” as the dream. A lonely man walks the streets of Saint Petersburg when he meets a woman, Nastenka, on a bridge. Over the course of five nights they learn something of each other. He has a story as boring as it is, she has a story which captivates him. She is waiting for a man, who promised to marry her. Our lonely man is more than willing to help. The more they talk, the closer they get to each other. Then reality sets in.
The nightmare is “A Faint Heart.” Two men, Arkady and Vasya have been living together for the last five years. They are the best of friends, almost like brothers. It’s New Years Eve. Vasya has a secret that Arkady gets out of him. Vasya is getting married to Arkady’s old flame. Did he damage their close relationship? No, they can all live together. Vasya is happy. Vasya is grateful for his friend.
However Vasya needs to finish a task for their boss for January 2. No problem, Arkady can help. Vasya is clear, he welcomes the help but needs to finish the task himself. Can he do it? He can work all night. Does he need sleep? Time is running out?
How far can one go to get things done? Is Vasya truly happy? Or stressed beyond belief? What is his breaking point? Is this his living nightmare when too much gratitude is a bad thing?
Two stories about men in love and they can’t seem to navigate it.
Alongside these two stories are two from last years of his life. “The Peasant Marey “ (1876) and “The Dream of the Ridiculous Man” (1877) are more reflective about life. In “The Peasant Marey” a man in prison for killing his wife, recalls an incident from his childhood. As a child, he would wander the forest, beating small animals with a stick when he heard someone shout “wolf.” Scared he screamed and one of his elderly peasants, Marey, came and comforted him. Why would he do that? Was it because he was owned by his father and had to do that? Or maybe he just loved children? The man was baffled but endeared by that peasant. Of course, he never spoke to the peasant again about this incident.
The strangest of the stories is “The Dream of the Ridiculous Man.” A man was made a laughing stock throughout his life and was about to kill himself when a small child called out for help. He doesn’t help her but the incident made him stop his plan. Then he had a very strange dream about killing himself and then taken to a place and time when people all got along. Then they didn’t. Then things got worse. The dream becomes a parable. The dream became a nightmare.
I liked the first two but the latter two were oddly just okay.
September 27, 2026
ONLY BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR WHITE NIGHTS SEEING THAT I REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
NOW I OFFICALLY HAVE AN ANNOTATED HARD COPY THANK YOU ARCTURUS CLASSICS FOR MAKING THIS EDITION ITS PERFECT FOR MY ARC CLASSICS COLLECTION ON MY SHELF!
NOW I OFFICALLY HAVE AN ANNOTATED HARD COPY THANK YOU ARCTURUS CLASSICS FOR MAKING THIS EDITION ITS PERFECT FOR MY ARC CLASSICS COLLECTION ON MY SHELF!
August 8, 2026
3.9 ⭐️
“What’s it like reading Dostoevsky?”
“😭😭😭”
“What’s it like reading Dostoevsky?”
“😭😭😭”
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews