Devils

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

As ideological ferment grips Russia, a small group of revolutionaries, led by Pyotr Verkhovensky and inspired by Nikolai Stavrogin, plan to spread destruction and anarchy throughout the country. Morally bankrupt, they are prepared to use whatever means necessary to achieve their goal, including murder and incitement to suicide. But when they are forced to test the limits of their doctrine and kill one of their own to secure the secrecy of their mission, the ragtag group breaks up in mutual recrimination. Devils is at once a compelling political statement and a study of atheism and its calamitous effect on a country that is teetering on the edge of an abyss. Seen as Dostoevskys most powerful indictment of mans propensity to violence, this darkly humorous work, shot through with grotesque comedy, is presented here in Roger Cockrells masterful new translation.

Reviews

It is a merciless expos of certain aspects of the Russian revolutionary movements of the mid-19th century, and of the various kinds of revolutionary and terrorist psychology. -- Dr Rowan Williams

Author Bio

Fyodor Dostoevsky (182181) is considered one of the greatest writers of all time. His works include such seminal novels as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Karamazov Brothers.