| Title: | White Nights |
| Author: | Fyodor Dostoevsky |
| Genre: | Classics, Russian, Fiction, Romance, Short Story. |
| Published On: | 1847 |
| No. of Pages: | 82 |
This is a review of “White Nights” by Fyodor Dostoevsky without any spoilers.
White Nights Summary/Plot
Set in St. Petersburg, White Nights is a story of a young man fighting his inner restlessness. It delves into the guilt and torment guilt of unrequited love with a light and tender narrative. Both protagonists suffer from a deep sense of alienation that initially brings them together. A blend of romanticism and realism, the story appeals gently to the senses and feelings.
I have also shared my interpretations and themes that I found in the story.
White Nights Book Review
Even if the story is short there are many things to talk about.
The story is brilliant. I read this story two times in a week. You might have seen this book labeled as romance on social media but it’s not just that, it’s more than that. “What a lonely person sees love or romance as.”
You’ll see two types of love in the story one is Instant love and the second is long-term love. The story also has the yearning, unrequited love, and hope.
About Story
The story takes place in four nights. Then it follows a series of conversations about them in which they reveal many things about themselves.
This is short, sad, and a really good story. You can find something relatable to you as the characters are deep.
Both characters have a bit of similarity as well as differences in life that give us many things to relate to or to understand something in our own life. I too found a few things relatable to me and you might too find something.
Characters
The characters are deep and written very well. Even in a short time, we become familiar with the characters as if we have known them for years.
The unnamed narrator is a shy, dreamer, a lonely man who falls in love with the girl, Nastenka, whom he just met. They immediately became good friends, something that they both hadn’t had for a long time.
The man himself said he was a dreamer and described his life. This makes it clear that he is a lonely man and when he met Nastenka he quickly got attached to her because of his loneliness. He was in the hope of finding love after spending so many years alone.
He dreamed and created expectations of being with her in love, but Nastenka’s revelations destroyed all his expectations. It can look “Friend zoned” in today’s terms but there is sincerity here in the story in both of them.
Nastenka too has a story to tell, she is waiting for someone. With that we see altruistic love, the narrator putting her best interest and doing things for her and Nastenka with no ill intention to use or deceive him.
Ending words
What hit me was that – We create these expectations or dreams about someone, then how much it can hurt when those get destroyed. If you haven’t felt that till now then this story can make you feel that especially if you are or have ever been lonely.
Conclusion
Overall I love this story I loved Dostoevsky’s character writing and how he makes us feel through his story.
This was my first story of Dostoevsky’s after this I read the meek one also known as gentle creature or spirit. I’m also reading Crime and Punishment.
If you have read White Nights or any of Dostoevsky’s work do let me know your thoughts in the comment section.
