150. Fyodor Dostoevsky - Notes from Under the Floorboards

November 15, 2021 John Mitchinson

Welcome to the 150th episode of Backlisted!

To mark the occasion we are joined by authors Alex Christofi (Dostoevsky in Love) and Arifa Akbar (Consumed: A Sister's Story) for a discussion of one of Russia's greatest writers Fyodor Dostoevsky, who was born in Moscow on November 11 1821, 200 years ago this month. We concentrate on his pioneering novella Notes From Under the Floorboards AKA Notes From Underground (1864) and consider its impact and continuing relevance to modern life.

Also in this episode John enjoys Dark Neighbourhood (Fitzcarraldo), the debut collection of stories by Vanessa Onwuemezi; and, having let it settled for a few months, Andy unveils his favourite novel of the year, Gwendoline Riley's My Phantoms (Granta).

Books mentioned:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Notes from Underground (trs. Constance Garnett); Crime & Punishment (trs. Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky); The Gambler (tr. Jane Kentish)
Arifa Akbar - Consumed: A Sister’s Story
Alex Christofi - Dostoevsky in Love; Let Us Be True; What Doesn't Kill You: Fifteen Stories of Survival
Gwendoline Riley - My Phantoms; My Phantoms (audiobook read by Helen McAlpine ); First Love
Vanessa Onmuewezi - Dark Neighbourhood
Fenanda Melchor - Hurricane Season (trs. Sophie Hughes)
Nikolai Chernyshevsky - What is To Be Done?
Franz Kafka - Metamorphosis & Other Stories (trs. Michael Hofmann)
Hemann Melville - Bartleby the Scrivener
Rowan Williams - Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction
Vladimir Nabokov - Lectures on Russian Literature