Books

Rodion Raskolnikov is a handsome, yet impoverished student. Morally conflicted, he believes that extraordinary men who contribute much to society by their thinking are above the law, and in order to prove his theory, he decides to murder a grasping old money lender and, through unforeseen circumstances, her sister. Unexpectedly filled with remorse, Raskolnikov is caught in a moral dilemma: while he believes he can get away with the perfect murder, he also finds his conscience challenged by his developing relationship with the beautiful, but deeply religious Sonia. Crime and Punishment was first published in 1866 and has become one of Russian literature's most famous and influential works.

Two brilliant existential novels from one of the titans of Russian literature. Notes from Underground is the dystopian tale of the Underground Man, a retired civil servant living in St Petersburg, who criticises western philosophy and contemporary society. The Double is the story of Golyadkin, who on a bitter snowy night encounters a stranger who looks exactly like him. They become friends, but Golyadkin gradually realises that, unlike himself, his double is socially successful, and he finds himself caught up in a psychological battle that can only end in tragedy. At the heart of both novels lie Dostoevsky's ruminations on the need to establish one's true identity and how society can distort the perception of who one truly is.