The Gambler and A Nasty Business

by Fyodor Dostoevsky

'40,000 francs, which lay before him in a heap of gold and banknotes.' Written in twenty-six days to pay off Dostoyevsky's own roulette debts, The Gambler is a graphic psychological study of addiction, accompanied here by a brilliant short story of excruciating social embarrassment. Ten new titles in the colourful, small-format, portable new Pocket Penguins series

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Russian Literature, Literature, Short Stories, Classic Literature

288 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2017

About the author

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.

(Russian: Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский) (see also Fiodor Dostoïevski)

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

“A nasty business” is a short story about one man’s flawed perception of himself, throughout the story we see how the other characters perceptions differ from the main character himself.

It was a quick and witty read and was certainly a good first foray into Dostoevsky’s writing. It’s also good to see that even back in the 1800’s authors knew exactly what it felt like when we get entirely too drunk and make fools of ourselves. Not that I ever have of course…

Actual rating 3.75.
.

[Michelle Sarkisyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“A Nasty Business” is a humorous and witty book that paints a perfect picture of what will happen if you mix delusion and alcohol. The book reads like a cringy sitcom that teaches you about the disconnect between our impression of ourselves and our actual selves and what might happen if your actions are led by the *absurd* question of “what will people say”.

[Raz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly wasn't getting into The Gambler at all until the introduction of Grandmother; if this were a movie you'd say she chews the scenery. She is so brassy and full of energy she injects 1000% more life into every page she's on...I kinda wish the story had diverged into the main character going off on crazy roulette adventures with her :)

A Nasty Business is really interesting from the perspective of seeing a different culture but I have to admit I found it difficult to relate to how scandalous all this business was when if you remove the wedding aspect it sounds like every house party I ever went to...that's not a failing of the author though, you can't really expect Dostoyevsky to have anticipated 100+ years of social change.

[Michael McHugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not actually read The Gambler -but- I did read A Nasty Business and it’s not listed separately anywhere :/

[lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“He crawled on all fours on to the bed and fell into that leaden, dead sleep, the likes of which is slept by those sentenced to be flogged to death on the square the next day.” LMAOO??? and Ivan is so delusional it’s funny

[Alexandra Bruni-Bossio · Rating 3 out of 5]

LISTEN I really WANT to like Dostoyevsky, I do. And I am TRYING. But no matter what I do I just find it kind of a slog

All that aside, not a bad story. A social commentary on the out of touch nature of Russia’s progressive elite. I learned something, and that alone is a win.

Xoxo

[Nera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review for a nasty business and not the gambler as my copy didn’t include the gambler:

A Nasty Business is a perfect short story, portraying the idea of how we see ourselves in comparison with how everyone else views us. Ivan Illyich sees himself in a high regard and constantly reassures himself about his humanness not taking into account how others might perceive and question his actions. He is aware of his superiority as a general, therefore by going to Pseldominov’s wedding uninvited he thinks of it as an honour to have his presence there. Ivan wants to be seen as a general unlike any other and his idea of ‘humanness’ has consumed his mind and is unable to see his actions in any other way than a positive light. This of-course causes suspicion and awkwardness in the wedding and nothing goes to plan as it did in his head. As things start to take a toll for the worst he becomes aware of what he has done and starts to question his morals and the true purpose of why he had come there. This story is an excellent way of demonstrating how we see ourselves in contrast to our actual selves.

[Molly Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A “Nasty Business” follows the familiar feeling of getting way too drunk and then waking up with crippling hangxiety, but make it Russia in the 1860s.

The story follows Ivan Ilyich, a Russian general who crashes a subordinates wedding because he wants to increase his popularity. He is SO obsessed with how he is perceived he ends up drinking way too much vodka and having a night that does the opposite of what he intends to do.

Even though this was published in the 1860s, it’s nice to know that some things are just common throughout the human experience.

3.5 stars

[Rahoz books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started white nights but my edition had two other stories before white nights itself the first story is " a nasty business " which was around 86 pages and i finished it two minutes ago. Honestly it wasn't bad and it wasn't good at the same time. I liked how it was portraying the idea of how we see ourselves in comparison with how everyone else views us. This story is an excellent way of demonstrating how we see ourselves in contrast to our actual selves.

[bebok saci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ivan Ilyich az igazi delulu

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read "A nasty business" in a collection of stories but didn't find it by itself so this review is only for that.
It was so FUN! I don't think I've laughed at a book that much before. I feel like Ivan was so relatably silly in his antics and it was just all a chain of unlucky coincidences and failed decisions. liked this a lot.

[Julian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn’t like this one

[Dain Man · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed the meticulous and unerring description of being drunk off vodka. modern day equivalent to a night out with ur old and boring friend who goes to sleep early and then ur uber driver doesnt turn up so you have to walk home and then drop by the bog for a few.

[Bella Ransom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nasty Business is a painful story. If you choose to read this be prepared for major second hand embarrassment and a tragedy of errors, there is nothing comedic about this story. Other than that’s it is really well written and a fascinating story.

[Joseph Oddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read The Gambler from this book. Some good exploration of gamblers mindset, but also tied in with a short social drama. Thought it might have more of a focus on the former rather than the latter. But I suppose it drove the plot forward.

[rilkean heart · Rating 4 out of 5]

i am furious, how dare dostoevsky call ivan a good man when all he's done is ruin pseldonimov's wedding night, steal their moment and make it his own, AND become such a nuisance for everyone involved by becoming drunk and sick. what an uncouth ; what an egoistic unbearable self-centered prick even.

[Alexa Rydel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating “A Nasty Business”

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

only read a nasty business. funny ahh, had me laughing. Ivan ilyich is like a centrist liberal

[sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

simply put, ivan ilyich is delusional and needs to get a grip. exactly a night gone wrong! an extremely hard read for him and myself!

[Anastasia Berardi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5- A nasty Business. I enjoyed this short story don’t get me wrong but it was definitely mid. But I think it’s a good transition into getting into Dostoyevsky

[natalie❧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

not the worst, not the best haha

[victoria zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

loveedddd a nasty business. the second hand embarrassment was painful enough i had to take multiple breaks. but loved it.

[Alva · Rating 2 out of 5]

An entertaining short story of spoiled white men and their inflatable ego filled with pride and prejudice, sadly not in the romantic way. I was positively surprised by the witty inner dialogue, considering it’s time, but struggled to get through it. As it dragged on into uncomfortable stupid scenarios that didn’t lead anywhere. Thank you and goodbye, I hope I never read this again.

[Jonathan Corfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave Dostoevsky another chance because I currently have a habit of reading Russians and this was the only one in Time Out I hadn't got around to. The last was Crime and Punishment which, although I hated it at the time, it matured and ripened in the memory.
Dostoevsky was forced to write this book because he'd pissed away all his money on the gaming tables. Consequently he wrote a cautionary tale about gambling, shagging and hubris, then I suppose he banked the money he got from this, gambled, shagged and went back to playing the important bearded icon of Russian writing of the 1860s. I was entertained by this book that was unusually short for our Fyodor. I thought, yep, he might be worth another go and I ordered The Brothers Karamazov for my next Russian venture... then it turned up... all 1,000 pages of it.
Bastard.
Anyway, 6.5 out of 10, maybe a wobbly 7 out of 10 as it was a good wee diversion before getting back into something chewy.

[Malay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not find "The Gambler" interesting apart from it's stereotypes. This may be because I've seen this story adapted in multiple forms in cinema.
"A nasty business" is everything I expected. The disconnect between our impression of ourselves and our actual selves is not talked about outside self help books. The story at times reads like a cringy sitcom episode ala "Scott's tots" but it this cringe is enveloped by rationale and practicality so this makes for a good read. Highly Recommend

[kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

...without putting out the candle end and without even putting a pillow under his head, he crawled on all fours on to the bed and fell into that leaden, dead sleep, the likes of which is slept by those sentenced to be flogged to death on the square the next day.

[Larisa Is · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read A Nasty Business and really enjoyed it. The dilemma of a man who preached humaneness just a few pages before yet all his actions were self centered.
It's super well written because I got that second hand embarrassment feeling.

[tickle monster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Marie Sinivee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A review for only A Nasty Business:

Compared to other works from Dostoevsky I liked how this one emphasized the human psyche. The main character – Ivan Ilyich, who’s a feared general, walks into a wedding unannounced. He theorized that being nice to the lower class would guarantee acceptance and notoriety. So, after some daydreaming in front of the house he decided to walk in. In a fateful twist his kindness backfired in the worst way possible, with even me, as a reader, getting heavy secondhand embarrassment. Ivan is completely delusional and ends up in a mess that would haunt someone for the rest of their life. However, by the end of the book he only pities himself and his reputation, not even acknowledging how much the newlyweds were affected.

I’ll rate this a 3, because it made me feel uncomfortable. Also, Dostoevsky only wrote this book cause he had a gambling addiction and needed some cash. Later he wrote a cautionary tale about the dangers of gambling but still continued gambling. Absolute legend.

[Isla Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Nasty Business, a short story by F. Dostoevsky was interesting. From my point of view, it explored the themes of moral ambiguity and the conflict of how one wants to portray themselves in society versus how it is viewed by others. This is what made the story almost comic to read at times as it was uncomfortable to read as the protagonist made so many mistakes in executing his ‘good’ intentions. Moreover, the idea that, Ivan (the protagonist) wanted to almost ‘liberate’ the lower class which comes across as an inflated ego type sort because he does the complete opposite. I would rate it lower because it was not one of my favourite from Fyodor Dostoevsky.