Dostoievski

Written "in a hurry" and "probably unsuccessful", as he himself puts it, the novels of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821-1881) made him one of the most important authors in the history of literature. His biography could pass for one of his novels: he had a difficult childhood, participated in Russian progressive movements, was sentenced to forced labor, wandered all over Europe, suffered from epilepsy, alcoholism, gambling addiction... Up to that point the protagonist, contradictory and surprising acts, he is caught in a whirlwind of stories so unlikely they seem made up. They are not. They subject him to terrible tests that, in order to survive, force him to immerse himself in those normally hidden corners of the personality where the mechanisms of our behaviors are housed. Driving us there, Dostoevsky discovers his characters. He should not be surprised that they resemble him, so profoundly amazing when they touch the mystery of existence, so ordinary in everyday life, in which they are, like him, a being like any of us.